Swinging into the West in Denver
Written by Sheila Scarborough · July 14, 2006
Doug Kalitta, Gary Densham, Allen Johnson and Chip Ellis are provisional low qualifiers.
The NHRA “Western Swing” series (three consecutive events staged in Denver-Seattle-Sonoma) traditionally marks the second half of the drag racing season. The drivers and teams are lined up in Denver, Colorado for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
Qualifying rounds got off to a roaring start considering the thin air up at 5,800 feet of Rocky Mountain high.
This race is such a challenge for teams, and a real test of their ability to gauge the impact of the altitude and make engine tuning and driving adjustments needed to compensate for Thunder Mountain’s atmospherics. With the changes and switches between cars and owners and the John Force Racing reality show hype of the last few weeks, some teams will have more mental turmoil to deal with than others.
NHRA.com Friday recap.
In Top Fuel, the consistently hot second place points holder Doug Kalitta continues his strong performance this season, at any altitude, by posting a 4.631 at 319.68 mph in his Mac Tools dragster.
Said Kalitta, “I think it’s really something that all these fans stuck it out here today in this heat. I hope we gave them a good show tonight. It’s always cool to look up and see a packed grandstand. It was a big relief to get down the track tonight. We have a brand new car and we smoked the tires earlier just trying to figure it out. It’s always nice to get that first full pass in. The fact we got the pole is just a bonus.”
In Funny Car, the “old guy” surprised the young ‘uns, as 59-year-old former schoolteacher Gary Densham held a training class for everyone else with his 4.893-second pass at 292.20 mph. This was his first pole in his own car, and he reflected on the tight funding when you don’t have a deep-pocketed sponsor:
“It’s a challenge to race here and I never have done well on Friday at this track,” Densham said. “I always have to sweat it out overnight. Not now. I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.
“If I quit racing tomorrow the one regret I’d have is that Greg [Amaral, crew chief] never got to run on a team where he had a budget to work with. The guy is so talented. I’d rank him up at the top. He’s just always had to work under a tight budget. If I had gone through the timers right there it would have been a 4.84, 4.85. He’s got this thing running great.”
Cruz Pedregon had another car fire to add to his collection this season; he must be made of asbestos. He’s OK, but hopefully his Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo can run again tomorrow.
Pro Stock’s Allen Johnson was the quickest in that highly competitive class, with a 7.064 at 194.60 mph (a track ET record) in his Team Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T.
He had these words of automotive wisdom; “These races are really tough on a driver. It seems like here you can barely make enough power to get your car through the rosin and then we go to Seattle and the air’s so good you overcook it and throw out the pushrods on your first run. You’ve really got to focus on what you’re doing.”
Chip Ellis in Pro Stock Motorcycle has been the low qualifier in 3 of the last 4 races, but even he wrestled with the conditions before putting up a 7.383 at 178.92 mph on his Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin.
“We’re trying something new with the fuel injection system and we blew up the motor in Round 1,” said Ellis. “I put in the one I was saving for Sonoma, because I really wanted to be fast there and I knew this motor was going to be good, and it was.”
Be assured that crews will be tweakin’ and peakin’ tonight, and poring over their data, to be ready for Saturday.
Top Fuel Ladder
Funny Car Ladder
Pro Stock Ladder
Pro Stock Motorcycle Ladder
Qualifying Order, Top Fuel, after Round Two
1. Doug Kalitta 4.631 (ET) 319.60 (mph)
2. J.R. Todd 4.638 316.45
3. Brandon Bernstein 4.640 324.28
4. Tony Schumacher 4.642 321.96
5. David Grubnic 4.643 327.82
6. Larry Dixon 4.654 314.90
7. Hillary Will 4.662 318.69
8. Rod Fuller 4.673 316.60
9. David Baca 4.703 308.71
10. Bob Vandergriff 4.704 311.41
11. Doug Herbert 4.739 305.29
12. Melanie Troxel 4.785 312.42
13. Morgan Lucas 4.854 288.15
14. Mike Strasburg 4.902 254.38
15. Scott Palmer 5.563 176.47
16. Cory McClenathan 6.034 150.16
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Rob Passey 10.931 78.34
Qualifying Order, Funny Car, after Round Two
1. Gary Densham 4.893 (ET) 292.20 (mph)
2. Tommy Johnson Jr. 4.907 307.37
3. Robert Hight 4.916 301.87
4. Gary Scelzi 4.932 308.00
5. Ron Capps 4.941 307.37
6. Phil Burkart 4.952 313.37
7. Del Worsham 4.983 317.64
8. Whit Bazemore 4.985 311.70
9. Tony Pedregon 4.992 309.91
10. John Force 5.049 307.37
11. Eric Medlen 5.088 301.60
12. Mike Ashley 5.138 299.80
13. Scott Kalitta 5.172 254.66
14. Cruz Pedregon 5.422 265.17
15. Tim Wilkerson 5.440 210.54
16. Bob Gilbertson 7.482 138.06
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Terry Haddock 8.540 105.44
18. Tony Bartone 8.707 93.21
Qualifying Order, Pro Stock, after Round Two
1. Allen Johnson 7.064@ (ET) 194.60 (mph)
2. Jason Line 7.069 195.19&
3. Dave Connolly 7.079 194.88
4. Ron Krisher 7.082 193.68
5. Greg Anderson 7.094 194.60
6. Kurt Johnson 7.098 194.24
7. Larry Morgan 7.100 194.49
8. Mike Edwards 7.104 194.30
9. Richie Stevens 7.105 193.07
10. Jim Yates 7.108 193.63
11. V. Gaines 7.113 193.54
12. Tom Lee 7.116 194.27
13. Erica Enders 7.127 192.96
14. Max Naylor 7.140 193.21
15. Mike Thomas 7.147 192.28
16. Greg Stanfield 7.149 193.46
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Gene Wilson 7.153 192.33
18. Shaun Carlson 7.155 192.88
19. Warren Johnson 7.174 193.82
20. Ben Watson 7.174 191.40
21. Tony Rizzo 7.202 191.19
@ = Track ET Record
Qualifying Order, Pro Stock Motorcycle, after Round Two
1. Chip Ellis 7.383 (ET) 178.92 (mph)
2. Tom Bradford 7.421 179.76
3. Angelle Sampey 7.427 179.14
4. Shawn Gann 7.448 180.26
5. Andrew Hines 7.450 180.21
6. Matt Smith 7.479 176.84
7. Geno Scali 7.500 178.17
8. Ryan Schnitz 7.502 179.28
9. Antron Brown 7.505 179.56
10. Matt Guidera 7.506 175.18
11. GT Tonglet 7.512 177.98
12. Steve Johnson 7.521 178.47
13. Chris Rivas 7.521 177.84
14. Marco Andreano 7.536 177.46
15. Karen Stoffer 7.569 177.46
16. Craig Treble 7.572 177.93
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Mike Berry 7.576 176.12
18. Michael Phillips 7.588 176.84
19. Buddy Robinson 7.628 174.48
20. Blaine Hale 7.736 174.01
21. Scott Lewis DQ
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.