Field is Set in E-town, Sampey sets record
Written by Sheila Scarborough · June 23, 2007
Tony Schumacher and Tommy Johnson, Jr. hold onto low qualifier positions, Greg Anderson bumps Richie Stevens, Jr. and Angelle Sampey runs the quickest Pro Stock Motorcycle pass in history.
NHRA.com Saturday recap.
Tony Schumacher’s Top Fuel team is determined to master Englishtown, so they were pleased when the US Army dragster’s Friday night run held through the heat of Saturday to grant Shoe his fifth pole of the year.
“Like usual, the Friday night run was the hero run, but being low of that round we just finished with a 4.60 is just as impressive to me,” Schumacher said. “That was just a good, old-fashioned get-it-down-through-there run in the heat of the day.
“This track owes us. It’s been a tough place for this team and for Alan [Johnson, crew chief]. But right now he has a handle on it and when he gets a handle on a place he’s usually pretty hard to beat.”
Funny Car’s Tommy Johnson, Jr. is psyched to have finally figured out how to hoodoo that voodoo and get back into good racing form this season, as he hangs onto the pole ahead of John and Ashley Force.
“It’s looking more and more like we have found the consistency we’ve been lacking,” Johnson said. “We pushed the limit this morning and smoked the tires so we put it back, so to speak, to the way it was before and we were low of the final session with a 4.86, so it’s responding to the changes we’re making.
“The good E.T.s, I like them, but it’s more for the guys. They’re the ones that put in all the hard work. For the struggles we’ve had in the first nine races, it’s great to give them this and see the smiles in the pit when you get back from the top end. I’ll say this, even when we were down, the chins were up with my group. They’re professionals.”
Greg Anderson bumped Richie Stevens, Jr. to grab his seventh Pro Stock pole of the season.
“I’ve got so much beyond what any driver could ask for,” Anderson said. “I have a great car that can win every week. I’m a very lucky man to have the team I have around me and to have [team owner] Ken Black’s support. I was kicking the dog yesterday when I was second. That’s how spoiled I’ve become.
“We made two great runs today and two above average runs yesterday so I think we’ve got a great package going into race day. We’ve got Craig Hankinson in Round 1 and he may be new to driving but he’s not new to the class. He’ll be tough, just like everyone else, and we’ll need to be perfect to win.”
Richie Stevens, Jr. tried to hang on but was philosophical; “Just too aggressive,” he said of his first run Saturday. “We were trying to go for it. We knew Greg was going to go up there and go for it so we had to go up there and do the same thing. I think we were just a little bit too aggressive. We backed it down for this last run. And that’s what we’re going to need to run tomorrow. A 6.63 and 6.62 should be good enough tomorrow to get around [first round opponent] W.J.”
The big news was three-time NHRA champion Angelle Sampey’s monster Pro Stock Motorcycle run of 6.871 seconds at 194.21 mph, earning her a 20 point bump in the POWERade rankings for a national record and her third low qualifier award of the year.
“I was totally shocked,” Sampey said of her record run. “The bike left well, it felt straight, and I hit my shift points. Steve [Tartaglia, tuner] was aiming for a 6.91 so I figured it was close to that. Then I pulled off and the EMTs were clapping and jumping around so I pulled over there and they said 6.87. I had to ask them three times because I didn’t believe it. I wanted to see the [time] slip.
“We were thrilled to get the 6.87 and then of course we wanted to back it up to get the record. I didn’t think I had run quicker than the 6.939 (which she needed to back up the 6.871 to make it official) because I was hanging off the bike to keep it straight but we still ran a 6.92 so we got it done. That could have been a 6.89 at least if it had gone straight.”
Elimination rounds begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
Top Fuel Field After Four Qualifying Rounds
1. Tony Schumacher 4.455@ (ET) 331.94 (mph)
2. Rod Fuller 4.479 330.39
3. Clay Millican 4.487 330.39
4. Brandon Bernstein 4.500 331.04
5. Cory McClenathan 4.516 326.40
6. Whit Bazemore 4.521 332.51&
7. Hillary Will 4.544 328.38
8. Melanie Troxel 4.555 332.43
9. Doug Herbert 4.555 314.90
10. Bob Vandergriff 4.557 311.13
11. Larry Dixon 4.558 322.42
12. Doug Foley 4.582 331.20
13. J.R. Todd 4.649 307.79
14. Doug Kalitta 4.653 328.38
15. Rit Pustari 4.734 312.78
16. David Grubnic 4.808 314.09
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Morgan Lucas 4.917 289.51
@ = Track ET Record
& = Track Speed Record
Funny Car Field After Four Qualifying Rounds
1. Tommy Johnson Jr. 4.729@ (ET) 321.96 (mph)
2. John Force 4.747 325.37
3. Ashley Force 4.760 321.19
4. Scott Kalitta 4.768 317.79
5. Ron Capps 4.775 319.90
6. Tony Pedregon 4.780 323.04
7. Jim Head 4.785 324.83
8. Jack Beckman 4.789 325.30
9. Del Worsham 4.796 325.22
10. Tony Bartone 4.797 323.97
11. Cruz Pedregon 4.811 318.62
12. Tim Wilkerson 4.819 323.89
13. Jeff Arend 4.841 319.52
14. Robert Hight 4.893 301.67
15. Gary Scelzi 4.925 309.13
16. Gary Densham 4.938 304.32
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Bob Gilbertson 4.947 301.94
18. Jerry Toliver 4.987 299.73
19. Kenny Bernstein 5.005 291.63
20. Mike Ashley 5.017 277.72
@ = Track ET Record
Pro Stock Field After Four Qualifying Rounds
1. Greg Anderson 6.592 (ET) 210.57 (mph)
2. Richie Stevens 6.598 209.20
3. Jeg Coughlin 6.612 209.46
4. Jason Line 6.612 209.95
5. V. Gaines 6.617 209.30
6. Allen Johnson 6.617 208.81
7. Larry Morgan 6.617 208.26
8. Dave Connolly 6.621 208.42
9. Max Naylor 6.624 209.04
10. Dave Northrop 6.627 209.14
11. Kurt Johnson 6.627 208.84
12. Greg Stanfield 6.628 209.01
13. Jim Yates 6.635 208.17
14. Mike Edwards 6.640 207.91
15. Warren Johnson 6.643 208.71
16. Craig Hankinson 6.643 207.66
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Justin Humphreys 6.645 208.71
18. Tom Hammonds 6.651 207.78
19. Erica Enders 6.654 208.20
20. Ron Krisher 6.657 207.40
21. Kenny Koretsky 6.663 207.98
22. Tony Rizzo 6.701 206.45
23. Matt Hartford 6.729 206.54
24. Bob Benza 6.744 204.60
25. Jim Cunningham 6.803 202.06
Pro Stock Motorcycle Field After Four Qualifying Rounds
1. Angelle Sampey 6.871$ (ET) 194.21 (mph)
2. Andrew Hines 6.910 193.57
3. Chip Ellis 6.950 192.30
4. Karen Stoffer 6.954 193.24
5. Antron Brown 6.955 192.55
6. Matt Smith 6.962 191.05
7. Geno Scali 6.965 192.47
8. Craig Treble 6.969 194.77
9. Chris Rivas 6.975 190.48
10. Hector Arana 6.987 189.92
11. Michael Phillips 7.002 193.16
12. Peggy Llewellyn 7.005 190.38
13. Eddie Krawiec 7.023 190.14
14. Steve Johnson 7.024 190.16
15. Paul Gast 7.032 190.40
16. Mike Berry 7.033 189.28
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Shawn Gann 7.047 189.63
18. Tom Bradford 7.058 188.62
19. Barry Henson 7.066 189.31
20. Matt Guidera 7.074 187.31
21. Joe DeSantis 7.123 189.20
22. Connie Cohen 7.350 180.79
23. Jack Baldwin 8.097 163.02
$ = National ET Record
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