It's time for the finals here at Bristol.
PRO STOCK
Jeg Coughlin barely ran Kenny Koretsky down by three hundreths of a second. Koretsky led until the final stretch, he was three hundredths better off the line. Great race.
FUNNY CAR
John Force (4.993s) beat Cruz Pedregon (5.024s) in a great race to win his first of the year!
TOP FUEL
Brandon Bernstein blasts past Bob Vandergriff Jr., who struggled off the start. Bernstein improves to second in the points.
Thank you for following along with my live blog.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Thunder Valley Semis
Semifinals getting ready to begin here in Bristol. By the way, a great crowd on hand all weekend here at Thunder Valley. Both Friday and Saturday were announced as sellouts. Given the size of the crowd today, I would estimate that it's a great possibility this afternoon as well.
The staff at the Dragway have done a great job all weekend. And I can't say enough as a writer about the job done by the Bristol Media Relations staff and also the Media Relations reps of the drivers and the NHRA drivers themselves, who are perhaps some of the best guys I've dealt with.
The NHRA is a good thing. It's something I wish we had twice a year at Bristol. The cancellation of the event in May due to the track's surface has been a blessing in disguise as this event has just been phenominal. I would love to see this event remain in July permanently.
———
TOP FUEL
Brandon Bernstein has had some horrible luck with the handling of his car. Somehow, he's still moving on. Both Bernstein and Larry Dixon smoked their tires and went sideways down the quarter-mile. Bernstein smoked his way to the line and moved to the finals.
"It wasn't pretty. But sometimes you've got to get those lucky breaks. We've had two of them today," Bernstein said.
Bob Vandergriff keeps winning. This time, Vandergriff upset Top Fuel points leader Rod Fuller en route to the finals.
FUNNY CAR
Cruz Pedregon beat Jim Head to reach the semis.
John Force made his first final round of the year with a 4.926 to 5.150 win over Tim Wilkerson.
"If feels good because I've really rode my guys hard," Force said. "Everybody's jumped in here to make this hot rod good. I asked for all of them to forgive me for being a jerk. I think Eric slapped me upside the head this morning and said be who you used to be."
PRO STOCK
Jeg Coughlin topped Justin Humphreys to move on.
Kenny Koretsky scored his third upset of the day, with a .006 from the starting line, beating Dave Connolly to meet Coughlin.
The staff at the Dragway have done a great job all weekend. And I can't say enough as a writer about the job done by the Bristol Media Relations staff and also the Media Relations reps of the drivers and the NHRA drivers themselves, who are perhaps some of the best guys I've dealt with.
The NHRA is a good thing. It's something I wish we had twice a year at Bristol. The cancellation of the event in May due to the track's surface has been a blessing in disguise as this event has just been phenominal. I would love to see this event remain in July permanently.
———
TOP FUEL
Brandon Bernstein has had some horrible luck with the handling of his car. Somehow, he's still moving on. Both Bernstein and Larry Dixon smoked their tires and went sideways down the quarter-mile. Bernstein smoked his way to the line and moved to the finals.
"It wasn't pretty. But sometimes you've got to get those lucky breaks. We've had two of them today," Bernstein said.
Bob Vandergriff keeps winning. This time, Vandergriff upset Top Fuel points leader Rod Fuller en route to the finals.
FUNNY CAR
Cruz Pedregon beat Jim Head to reach the semis.
John Force made his first final round of the year with a 4.926 to 5.150 win over Tim Wilkerson.
"If feels good because I've really rode my guys hard," Force said. "Everybody's jumped in here to make this hot rod good. I asked for all of them to forgive me for being a jerk. I think Eric slapped me upside the head this morning and said be who you used to be."
PRO STOCK
Jeg Coughlin topped Justin Humphreys to move on.
Kenny Koretsky scored his third upset of the day, with a .006 from the starting line, beating Dave Connolly to meet Coughlin.
Pro Stock and More
The Captain of Chaos shocked Thunder Valley.
With a 0.018 reaction time, Kenny Koretsky upset Pro Stock's dynamo Greg Anderson in a great race down the Bristol quarter-mile during the first round of Pro Stock eliminations.
Anderson's teammate Jason Line red-lighted and also missed the final eight.
"We weren't loose enough behind the wheel," Anderson said. "Jason and I both screwed up. It's got to be a 100 percent team effort. I don't care how good your car is, you can't give up six hundredths of a second. It hurts either way. It hurts bad as a driver. The good news is we've got three or four days to work it out."
Greeneville's Allen Johnson won his first round race and will meet Dave Connolly.
"Now we've just got to keep this up. We're up against the only person we'd lose the lane choice to that moved on," Johnson said. "We've got to go up there and see what we've got."
Johnson has now reached the second round in eight of his last ten events.
"That's our goal to be consistent and get to the second round," he said.
Top Fuel Round Two
Bob Vandergraff Jr. continued his stellar day from the 16th qualifying spot with a win over J.R. Todd.
Rod Fuller topped Doug Kallitta, Larry Dixon beat Dave Grubnic.
In the wildest race of the day, Brandon Bernstein topped Cory McClenathan in a run were both drivers nearly lost control of their dragsters. Bernstein got loose first, followed by McClenathan. Bernstein had just enough to pull it out and advance to the semifinals.
"It kept picking the front end up everytime I put my foot on the throttle," Bernstein said. "They're hard to drive when they're not on the ground."
Funny Car Round two
Independent Tim Wilkerson topped Gary Scelzi, who struck his tires, to keep his solid weekend going.
Cruz Pedregon topped Ron Capps, who struck his tires as well.
Mike Ashley was seven hundredths better off the starting line against John Force, but Force continued his good weekend with a win by two hundreths of a second. Force will have an opportunity to reach his first final round of the year.
"It was just another run. It's big anytime I can get to the semis, it's like winning Indy. We're excited. We'll see what happens when we get back to form," Force said.
Jim Head and Jack Beckman both went wild, but Head settled down first and advanced to face Pedregon in the semis.
Pro Stock Round Two
Kenny Koretsky topped Larry Morgan to reach the semis on the first race of the round.
Jason Humphreys reached the semis thanks to two red lights by his opponents, this time from Kurt Johnson who suffered the same fate as his father Warren, who did it in the first round.
Jeg Coughlin, the top qualifier, reached the semis with a win over Jim Yates.
Allen Johnson had a good start but came up short against David Connolly, who pulled away down the stretch.
With a 0.018 reaction time, Kenny Koretsky upset Pro Stock's dynamo Greg Anderson in a great race down the Bristol quarter-mile during the first round of Pro Stock eliminations.
Anderson's teammate Jason Line red-lighted and also missed the final eight.
"We weren't loose enough behind the wheel," Anderson said. "Jason and I both screwed up. It's got to be a 100 percent team effort. I don't care how good your car is, you can't give up six hundredths of a second. It hurts either way. It hurts bad as a driver. The good news is we've got three or four days to work it out."
Greeneville's Allen Johnson won his first round race and will meet Dave Connolly.
"Now we've just got to keep this up. We're up against the only person we'd lose the lane choice to that moved on," Johnson said. "We've got to go up there and see what we've got."
Johnson has now reached the second round in eight of his last ten events.
"That's our goal to be consistent and get to the second round," he said.
Top Fuel Round Two
Bob Vandergraff Jr. continued his stellar day from the 16th qualifying spot with a win over J.R. Todd.
Rod Fuller topped Doug Kallitta, Larry Dixon beat Dave Grubnic.
In the wildest race of the day, Brandon Bernstein topped Cory McClenathan in a run were both drivers nearly lost control of their dragsters. Bernstein got loose first, followed by McClenathan. Bernstein had just enough to pull it out and advance to the semifinals.
"It kept picking the front end up everytime I put my foot on the throttle," Bernstein said. "They're hard to drive when they're not on the ground."
Funny Car Round two
Independent Tim Wilkerson topped Gary Scelzi, who struck his tires, to keep his solid weekend going.
Cruz Pedregon topped Ron Capps, who struck his tires as well.
Mike Ashley was seven hundredths better off the starting line against John Force, but Force continued his good weekend with a win by two hundreths of a second. Force will have an opportunity to reach his first final round of the year.
"It was just another run. It's big anytime I can get to the semis, it's like winning Indy. We're excited. We'll see what happens when we get back to form," Force said.
Jim Head and Jack Beckman both went wild, but Head settled down first and advanced to face Pedregon in the semis.
Pro Stock Round Two
Kenny Koretsky topped Larry Morgan to reach the semis on the first race of the round.
Jason Humphreys reached the semis thanks to two red lights by his opponents, this time from Kurt Johnson who suffered the same fate as his father Warren, who did it in the first round.
Jeg Coughlin, the top qualifier, reached the semis with a win over Jim Yates.
Allen Johnson had a good start but came up short against David Connolly, who pulled away down the stretch.
Thunder Valley Nationals
Welcome to my running blog of the NHRA POWERade Series O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals.
The Top Fuel eliminations have just now begun with J.R. Todd topping Hillary Will to begin the day.
Larry Dixon topped Melanie Troxel, and the first upset of the day saw Cory McClenathan top Doug Herbert.
Through the first three runs, the three victors have all posted better marks than they did in qualifying.
Doug Kalitta bucked the early trend with a 4.63 mark, just lower than his 4.611 mark in qualifying, with a win over Morgan Lucas.
David Grubnic, however, posted a better mark than his qualifying run with a win over number two qualifyer Whit Bazemore, who had some problems off the start.
The biggest upset of the day came early as Bob Vandergriff Jr. beat top qualifyer Tony Schumacher from the 16th spot.
No number one qualifiers have went on to win an event in Top Fuel this season — that streak continues today.
In a great race, third seeded Brandon Bernstein topped Brady Kalivoda with a 4.5 to a 4.6.
Hot Rod Fuller topped Clay Millican to set the quarterfinal round later today.
"I knew when I hit that pedal, it was going to do it," Bernstein said.
Funny Car
In the first round of eliminations:
Seventh seeded Jim Head (4.92) beat Robert Hight (4.913).
Top qualifier Tim Wilkerson (4.935) beat Del Worsham (4.960).
Number three Cruz Pedregon (4.918) topped Jerry Toliver (4.988).
Fourth seeded Mike Ashley (4.920) beat Tony Bartone (5.013).
Second qualifier Jack Beckman (4.891) beat Gary Densham (5.067).
Fifth qualifier John Force (4.864) beat Scott Kalitta (5.984).
Sixth qualifier Ron Capps (4.937) beat Tommy Johnson Jr. (4.987).
In the lone upset of the round, ninth qualifier Gary Scelzi (4.942) topped eighth qualifier Tony Pedregon (5.215).
I'll be back later with updates from Pro Stock and the quarterfinal elminations of Top Fuel and Funny Car.
The Top Fuel eliminations have just now begun with J.R. Todd topping Hillary Will to begin the day.
Larry Dixon topped Melanie Troxel, and the first upset of the day saw Cory McClenathan top Doug Herbert.
Through the first three runs, the three victors have all posted better marks than they did in qualifying.
Doug Kalitta bucked the early trend with a 4.63 mark, just lower than his 4.611 mark in qualifying, with a win over Morgan Lucas.
David Grubnic, however, posted a better mark than his qualifying run with a win over number two qualifyer Whit Bazemore, who had some problems off the start.
The biggest upset of the day came early as Bob Vandergriff Jr. beat top qualifyer Tony Schumacher from the 16th spot.
No number one qualifiers have went on to win an event in Top Fuel this season — that streak continues today.
In a great race, third seeded Brandon Bernstein topped Brady Kalivoda with a 4.5 to a 4.6.
Hot Rod Fuller topped Clay Millican to set the quarterfinal round later today.
"I knew when I hit that pedal, it was going to do it," Bernstein said.
Funny Car
In the first round of eliminations:
Seventh seeded Jim Head (4.92) beat Robert Hight (4.913).
Top qualifier Tim Wilkerson (4.935) beat Del Worsham (4.960).
Number three Cruz Pedregon (4.918) topped Jerry Toliver (4.988).
Fourth seeded Mike Ashley (4.920) beat Tony Bartone (5.013).
Second qualifier Jack Beckman (4.891) beat Gary Densham (5.067).
Fifth qualifier John Force (4.864) beat Scott Kalitta (5.984).
Sixth qualifier Ron Capps (4.937) beat Tommy Johnson Jr. (4.987).
In the lone upset of the round, ninth qualifier Gary Scelzi (4.942) topped eighth qualifier Tony Pedregon (5.215).
I'll be back later with updates from Pro Stock and the quarterfinal elminations of Top Fuel and Funny Car.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Warren Johnson
Almost an hour to go before Nitro qualifying begins at Bristol.
Jeff Birchfield of the Johnson City Press and I were treated to a tour of Six-Time NHRA Pro Stock Champion Warren Johnson's car and trailer. Johnson, who turns 64 tomorrow, was recently inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame joining the likes of Wally Parks, Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme and Joe Amato in the HOF.
Known as 'The Professor' of Pro Stock, Warren has inspired many advances in technology when it comes to Pro Stock racing. He has suggested and developed many changes to the appearance and feel of the car. He was the first driver to use video as a way to monitor different aspects of his model. He has been a long advocate of the safety of NHRA drivers.
"I did it to save my own ass," Johnson joked with us.
The winner of 96 national-event victories, second all time to John Force's 122, Johnson drove into the top five in the POWERade point standings through the first seven races. Lately, however, he hasn't had much luck over the last few events. Johnson is optimistic the new track surface at Bristol Dragway will help his team this weekend.
There will be more on the legendary racer in Sunday's Elizabethton Star.
That thunder in the valley...
This morning around 8 a.m., the annual madness in the Valley began at Bristol Dragway.
Also known as Thunder Valley, Bristol is one of the top drag strips in the country and the site of this weekend's O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals.
Sportsman qualifying and elminations began this morning. Comp qualifuing begins at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. At 4:30, the fun begins with several top flight qualifying sessions that will last through the night, culminating with a spectacular fireworks show.
I will be doing a live blog throughout the event with some comments and feature notes. Be sure to check back with me later this evening.
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