Kalitta, Force, Anderson & Ellis All on 50th Annual U.S. Nationals Pole; Densham Bags $100k in Skoal Showdown
Written by Josh Katinger · September 6, 2004
CLERMONT, Ind. - Greg Anderson earned the 13th No. 1 qualifying award of the season and 30th of his career Sunday as racers finished qualifying for the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
NHRA.com: Sunday Recap
IndyStar.com: Densham beats boss for win in Showdown
DragRaceCentral.com: Kalitta, Force, Anderson and Ellis Take The Top Qualifying Spots
RPM.ESPN: Force thanks tuner Coil for big run
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car) and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Bike) also earned the top qualifying spots in their respective categories at the $2.6 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event. Funny Car’s Gary Densham earned a $100,000 bonus for winning the Skoal Showdown bonus event. Anderson has two victories at Indianapolis, but this was the first time he earned the No. 1 qualifying award in Pro Stock here. Anderson drove his Pontiac Grand Am to a 6.794-second pass at 202.87 mph.
“We need that lucky 13th win to go with this lucky 13th low qualifier,” Anderson said. “It’ll be exciting. We didn’t exactly show ‘em up today and I can tell you we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight to get ready for tomorrow. There are a lot of great cars in the field and that’s the way it should be because this is Indy.”
Anderson could tie 12-time NHRA POWERade champion Force for the most wins in a season, 13, this weekend.
Ladders
Top Fuel
Funny Car
Pro Stock
Pro Stock Bike
First-round Eliminations Pairings
Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 4.544 seconds, 320.51 mph vs. 16. Bruce Litton, 4.741, 308.43; 2. Tony Schumacher, 4.567, 322.19 vs. 15. Mike Strasburg, 4.728, 296.89; 3. Scott Kalitta, 4.573, 318.99 vs. 14. Andrew Cowin, 4.721, 311.85; 4. Doug Herbert, 4.574, 318.09 vs. 13. T.J. Zizzo, 4.704, 310.20; 5. Larry Dixon, 4.575, 318.24 vs. 12. Rhonda Hartman-Smith, 4.694, 309.27; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 4.593, 324.51 vs. 11. Brady Kalivoda, 4.686, 316.75; 7. Cory McClenathan, 4.607, 324.28 vs. 10. Morgan Lucas, 4.644, 313.22; 8. Clay Millican, 4.618, 312.21 vs. 9. David Grubnic, 4.632, 314.46.
Funny Car — 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.749, 323.12 vs. 16. Jim Head, Toyota Celica, 4.933, 311.63; 2. Gary Densham, Mustang, 4.782, 322.81 vs. 15. Tony Bartone, Pontiac Firebird, 4.919, 300.40; 3. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.823, 317.19 vs. 14. Jeff Arend, Chevy Corvette, 4.911, 310.13; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.844, 315.93 vs. 13. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.900, 312.64; 5. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.857, 314.68 vs. 12. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.898, 315.56; 6. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Stratus, 4.860, 315.56 vs. 11. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.879, 316.60; 7. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.861, 316.45 vs. 10. Ron Capps, Monte Carlo, 4.878, 316.97; 8. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 4.862, 305.98 vs. 9. Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.870, 319.75.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.794, 202.27 vs. 16. Steve Schmidt, Chevy Cavalier, 6.840, 201.40; 2. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.796, 202.76 vs. 15. Mike Corvo Jr., Stratus, 6.838, 201.40; 3. Mike Edwards, Grand Am, 6.803, 201.88 vs. 14. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.838, 201.76; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Cavalier, 6.805, 202.76 vs. 13. Dave Connolly, Cavalier, 6.832, 201.16; 5. Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.810, 202.12 vs. 12. Warren Johnson, Grand Am, 6.830, 201.67; 6. Rickie Smith, Cavalier, 6.812, 202.36 vs. 11. Greg Stanfield, Cavalier, 6.827, 201.46; 7. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.812, 202.09 vs. 10. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.827, 201.91; 8. Steve Johns, Cavalier, 6.818, 202.03 vs. 9. Bruce Allen, Grand Am, 6.824, 202.24.
Pro Stock Bike — 1. Chip Ellis, 7.115, 186.85 vs. 16. Kurt Matte, Suzuki, 7.264, 184.25; 2. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.165, 186.90 vs. 15. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.257, 184.37; 3. Angelle Savoie, Suzuki, 7.175, 184.70 vs. 14. Josh Helvie, Kawasaki, 7.250, 179.52; 4. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.191, 186.92 vs. 13. Chip Hunter, Suzuki, 7.249, 184.57; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.194, 186.10 vs. 12. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.242, 184.25; 6. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.206, 183.89 vs. 11. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.236, 185.23; 7. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.208, 185.41 vs. 10. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.233, 183.67; 8. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.212, 186.15 vs. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.218, 184.62.
23rd Annual Skoal Showdown Finals
ROUND ONE — Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.152, 284.21 def. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Stratus, 7.713, 110.10; Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.918, 314.39 def. Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 10.548, 73.76; Gary Densham, Ford Mustang, 5.135, 275.79 def. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 6.677, 168.20; John Force, Mustang, 4.903, 318.47 def. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 5.523, 209.36;
SEMIFINALS — Densham, 5.179, 260.11 def. Wilkerson, 11.351, 81.98; Force, 4.875, 316.52 def. Pedregon, 5.028, 264.03;
FINALS — Densham, 4.893, 316.08 def. Force, 5.083, 270.05.
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