CDR: 2009 Funny Car Lucas Oil Mist NHRA Nationals Qual #3

CHANDLER, Ariz. - PHOENIX - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 25th annual Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals listing lane, driver name, vehicle, elapsed time, and top speed::

The top five remain as they were with Bob Tasca III matching the exact time as fifth-place Mike Neff, but reaching a slower speed across the line. Leif Helander is suddenly in the picture in eleventh spot, and Del Worsham improves upon his time but remains in twelfth. Jerry Toliver improves to within two-thousandths of sixteenth spot, leap-frogging Ashley Force-Hood and Jeff Arend as they now both find themselves on the outside looking in with just one more qualifying run to go as Jack Wyatt joins Helander up into the top sixteen.

Clutch problems plagued Terry Haddock, Grant Downing and Gary Densham, with John Force's chute deploying before the finish line to scupper his attempt. Wheelspin forced the shutdowns of Cory Lee and Andy Kelley, while the mechanical issues continued through the third qualifying round with Brian Thiel's engine giving up the ghost early on.

	Driver	Car	#3	SPEED
L	Bob BODE	Impala	4.150	309.8
R	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	4.216	294.8
R	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	4.344	304.0
R	Matt HAGAN	Charger	4.346	293.0
R	Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	4.399	308.5
L	Leif HELANDER	Camaro	4.423	297.5
R	Del WORSHAM	Solara	4.428	294.0
R	Tony PEDRAGON	Impala	4.432	302.0
R	Robert HIGHT	Mustang	4.437	291.5
L	Daniel WILKERSON	Impala	4.452	299.5
L	Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.461	300.0
R	Jerry TOLIVER	Monte Carlo	4.511	282.5
R	Jack WYATT	Firebird	4.527	302.0
R	Mike NEFF	Mustang	4.584	278.0
R	Jeff AREND	Solara	4.587	298.0
L	Jim HEAD	Solara	4.594	277.5
R	Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	4.647	295.5
R	John SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.716	271.0
R	Jack BECKMAN	Charger	4.743	294.0
L	Cruz PEDRAGON	Solara	4.796	272.5
R	Ron CAPPS	Charger	4.852	279.5
L	Terry HADDOCK	Stratus	5.600	265.5
L	Grant DOWNING	Monte Carlo	5.940	257.5
L	John FORCE	Mustang	7.639	102.5
L	Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	8.179	85.3
L	Gary DENSHAM	Impala	8.711	84.0
L	Justin SCHRIEFER	Camaro	9.502	75.5
L	Andy KELLEY	Stratus	10.442	61.3
L	Cory LEE	Dodge	10.709	59.5

Order After Round Three

Driver	Car	Fast Time
John FORCE	Mustang	4.023
Bob BODE	Impala	4.036
Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	4.159
Matt HAGAN	Charger	4.196
Mike NEFF	Mustang	4.216
Bob TASCA III	Mustang	4.216
Jack BECKMAN	Charger	4.217
Tony PEDRAGON	Impala	4.241
Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	4.292
Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.318
Leif HELANDER	Camaro	4.423
Del WORSHAM	Solara	4.428
Cruz PEDRAGON	Solara	4.429
Robert HIGHT	Mustang	4.437
Daniel WILKERSON	Impala	4.452
Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	4.509

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Driver	Car	Fast Time
Jerry TOLIVER	Monte Carlo	4.511
Jack WYATT	Firebird	4.527
Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	4.577
Jeff AREND	Solara	4.581
Jim HEAD	Solara	4.594
Ron CAPPS	Charger	4.644
Terry HADDOCK	Stratus	4.661
John SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.716
Gary DENSHAM	Impala	4.915
Justin SCHRIEFER	Camaro	4.985
Grant DOWNING	Monte Carlo	5.599
Andy KELLEY	Stratus	10.442
Cory LEE	Dodge	10.709