CDR: 2009 Funny Car Mac Tools U.S Nationals Elims #2-#4

CLERMONT, Ind. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil:

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	8	L	Tony PEDREGON	Impala	0.065	4.791	288.5
L	1	R	Matt HAGAN	Charger	0.108	5.359	271.0

The sixth contest between these two went to form with Tony Pedregon winning his fifth race against Hagan this year. The championship leader had the better start but a change in both drivers' momentum made it look like it may be closer than it actually was. After winning four out his first five quarterfinal races, Matt Hagan has made this stage in the last six rounds but has only won once. Pedregon has only lost one QF race in twelve.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	12	R	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	0.084	4.216	311.8
L	4	L	Robert HIGHT	Mustang	0.102	4.234	300.3

Another six-peat between two drivers but Tasca III goes one better than his title rival and has a clean sweep over seven-times quarter finalist Robert Hight, but it was easily the closest race of the event. Bob Tasca III has made the semifinals in four of the last five rounds but has not made a final since the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals where he gave Tony Pedregon his first defeat of the season.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	10	L	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	0.078	4.030	302.0
L	2	R	Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	0.071	4.456	294.0

Bob Gilbertson takes his first win over the elder Wilkerson driver, but still trails overall 1-2. Both men started well but it was Gilbertson who edged ahead once they had passed the tree.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	14	L	Jeff AREND	Solara	0.084	4.021	310.3
L	6	R	Ron CAPPS	Charger	0.124	4.947	280.0

Meeting in their fifth race results in a third consecutive victory for Jeff Arend as he goes on to his third SF in 2009.

Semifinals

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	12	R	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	0.090	4.362	287.5
L	8	L	Tony PEDREGON	Impala	0.112	5.272	264.5

Bob Tasca III is able to make up some points on championship leader Tony Pedregon, tying the season series between them at 2-2. A terrible start to the race from Pedregon was enough to see Tasca III home safely into his fifth final.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	10	R	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	0.100	4.044	308.8
L	14	L	Jeff AREND	Solara	0.060	4.501	291.5

A problem with the gearbox resulted in Jeff Arend missing out on his third attempt at winning an event, and he was pushing Gilbertson through half the race before misfortune hit him.

Final

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	10	R	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	0.055	4.575	309.3
L	12	L	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	0.099	4.565	311.8

Gilbertson has had the better in the Battle of the Bobs this season and he barely made it 5-1 over Tasca III to win his third final of 2009. The race was back and forth throughout and it took a holeshot victory to decide things in favour of Gilbertson.

SRC - Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2011 - Semifinal

NORWAY - Snarøen CC, Oslo
Lead: Håvard Vad Petersson
Second: Christoffer Svae
Third: Torger Nergård
Skip: Thomas Ulsrud

CANADA - Charleswood CC, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Lead: Steve Gould
Second: Reid Carruthers
Third: Jonathan Mead
Skip: Jeff Stoughton

Semi-finals - 9th April 2011 13:00
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Norway	*	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	2	3	0		9
Canada		0	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2		6

As in the women's world championship there would be rematches of the playoff games in the medal matches here as well. Norway opened the scoring of a match that was even through two-thirds of the contest; Christoffer Svae making the difference in the first end. Canada then wasted little time in making the most of the hammer thanks in large part to Jeff Stoughton's experience.

A blanked end was followed up by the Norwegians retaking the lead, and it was Svae again who got the ball rolling. The second of Norway then had an easier time in the fifth end when the lead, Håvard Vad Petersson, was able to get an advantage with his two shots.

Two ends after the short midpoint break it was tied 4-4. Stoughton continuing to lead his troops in both instances despite his counterpart Ulsrud ending the game with a better percentage. But then a big momentum shift. Torger Nergård played a remarkable draw shot, leaving his skip to finish off a two-point end, before Thomas Ulsrud impressed all by himself to manufacture a five point lead.

Despite the Canadians needing something of a minor miracle to get back on level terms, Stoughter played on through the tenth cutting the deficit by just two. The Norwegians can now look for revenge against Scotland, and Canada will look to win three out of three against the Swedes in the medal games.

SRC - Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2011 - 3/4 Playoff

CANADA - Charleswood CC, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Lead: Steve Gould
Second: Reid Carruthers
Third: Jonathan Mead
Skip: Jeff Stoughton

SWEDEN - Karlstads CK
Lead: Viktor Kjall
Second: Fredrik Lindberg
Third: Sebastian Kraupp
Skip: Niklas Edin

Play-off 3/4 - 9th April 2011 12:30
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Canada	*	0	1	2	0	3	1	0	3	/	/		10
Sweden		0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	/	/		3

Less than 72 hours prior to this game the Canadians took an 8-6 victory over Sweden and that was what divided the teams in third and fourth after the round-robin stage. Unlike the 1/2 playoff with it's great play from the thirds and fourths, this match saw a lot of good shots coming early in the ends as well.

After blanking the first end, Canada started to show that were going to be bringing some excellent form into this game. Jeff Stroughton was able to draw a single point in the second end to open the scoring, and Johnathan Mead picked off a loose Swedish shot to help them increase to a 3-0 lead.

Viktor Kjall then started out the fourth end in style, cleaning up an error from his opposite number, to pull it back to 3-2, but Steve Gould more than made up for his previous mistakes and, starting with the Canadian leads fine play, kept Sweden right on the back foot.

With the score 6-2 at the halfway point Sweden were hoping to gain inspiration from the Scottish and stage a second half comeback. The plan started badly when Reid Curruthers played a blinder, giving his rink every opportunity to steal at least one. Sweden then brought it back to a four-point deficit; Niklas Edin with a force shot to prevent Canada increasing the lead again.

Yet, that is exactly what happened in what would be the final end. It was Mead again winning by a margin in the battle between the thirds and putting the game beyond any doubt. Sweden will have to wait and see who they will compete with for the Bronze medal, and Canada move on to face Norway today. The Norwegians won 8-7 in the extra end of their final round-robin game.

CDR: 2009 Funny Car Mac Tools U.S Nationals Elim #1

CLERMONT, Ind. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil:

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	1	R	Matt HAGAN	Charger	0.097	5.330	274.5
L	16	L	Jim HEAD	Solara	0.122	6.950	198.3

That is three events running that Matt Hagan has defeated Jim Head but it was not the most memorable. Both got away very sluggishly and only a big moment late on for Head allowed the fastest qualifier to take victory.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	8	L	Tony PEDREGON	Impala	0.083	4.033	313.8
L	9	R	Jack WYATT	Firebird	0.102	4.776	287.5

Wyatt's fifth straight defeat comes at the hands of Tony Pedregon, his twelfth first round race win, who cruised home in what would be the second fastest time of this round of eliminations.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	4	R	Robert HIGHT	Mustang	0.110	5.481	273.5
L	13	L	Bob BODE	Impala	RED	No Time	N/A

The second meeting of the season leads to the same result but this time Hight wins by default, Bob Bode red lighting.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	12	R	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	0.087	4.446	286.5
L	5	L	Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	0.066	4.696	281.5

Force-Hood's start and finish were strong but her loss of momentum through the middle of the race was costly and she has now lost five of her last eight races. Four time finalist Bob Tasca III is now an amazing 16-2 in first round races.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	2	R	Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	0.102	4.030	296.3
L	15	L	Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	0.123	No Time	N/A

A major engine fault halted Mike Smith's race, but it may have been academic as Tim Wilkerson put in the fastest time of this round. Wilkerson is 11-4 in his last six events.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	10	L	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	0.103	4.224	310.8
L	7	R	Mike NEFF	Mustang	0.020	No Time	N/A

Since losing in the semifinals of the Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals Mike Neff lost another five races without a win. This after he twice reached the final in the opening eight rounds. For Bob Gilbertson, he will be hoping his fortune is changing as he is now 3-3 with a non-qualification since his third consecutive final race.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	14	L	Jeff AREND	Solara	0.103	5.704	242.0
L	3	R	Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	0.084	No Time	N/A

Arend wins his fifteenth race and takes a 2-1 advantage over Brian Thiel and his 5-10 record this year. Like the two unfortunate men before him, a malfunction was his downfall.

W/L	#	L	Driver	Car	R/T	E.T.	Speed
W	11	L	Ron CAPPS	Charger	0.066	4.293	289.0
L	6	R	Del WORSHAM	Solara	0.064	4.861	281.0

The debut race between these two started off at an electric pace but a minor hiccup forced Worsham to correct his course leaving Ron Capps to win his third race in the two rounds.

Second Elimination Round Schedule (Asterisk indicates fastest driver in previous round and gets the lane choice)
(1) Matt Hagan vs Tony Pedregon (8)*
(4) Robert Hight vs Bob Tasca III (12)*
(2)* Tim Wilkerson vs Bob Gilbertson (10) 
(6)* Ron Capps vs Jeff Arend (14)

SRC - Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2011 - 1/2 Playoff

NORWAY - Snarøen CC, Oslo
Lead: Håvard Vad Petersson
Second: Christoffer Svae
Third: Torger Nergård
Skip: Thomas Ulsrud

SCOTLAND - Curl Aberdeen
Lead: Michael Goodfellow
Second: Scott Andrews
Third: Greg Drummond
Skip: Tom Brewster Jr

Play-off 1/2 -8th April 2011 19:30
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Norway	*	5	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0		8
Scotland		0	0	3	0	0	1	0	2	2	1		9

As with the women's tournament I moved from Tee Live Curling over to Shot Rock for the final games.

Norway had a dream start as a combination of inspired shots, Torger Nergård with the best of the bunch, and pedestrian play from the Scots had the Scandinavians out to a 5-0 lead after only one end. The match would then progress into a battle of wits between each rinks third and fourth. Norway's third again made a key shot to increase his sides lead to 6-0 before Tom Brewster Jr pulled his team together and halved the deficit.

Norway blanked the fourth end and took a single point before the halftime break, Nergård again the architect. The refreshments and team-talk was just what Scotland needed, and they set about taking the game to their opponents. An exchange of singles had Norway in front 8-4 with three ends to play. Up steps Michael Goodfellow, the lead of this Scottish team, to get things going on the right track, culminating in an 8-6 scoreline.

The final two ends was all about Brewster and his impressive draw shot into the middle of the house to tie the game on the steal, and then knock out a wayward Norwegian shot to claim a fantastic victory and move on into the Gold medal game.

CDR: 2009 Funny Car Mac Tools U.S Nationals Qual #4

Matt Hagan is the fastest qualifier for the second time this season; his first coming in the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Tim Wilkerson, the fastest qualifier in the past two rounds, slots into second place bumping Brain Thiel into third. Ashley Force-Hood also loses a place as Robert Hight improves to fourth, and Mike Neff moves up to seventh from fifteenth leaving the champion-elect Tony Pedregon in eighth spot.

Bob Gilbertson's see-saw qualifying ends with him in tenth. Jeff Arend is another driver who forces his way in from the outside; he is fourteenth. The unfortunate two who make way are Daniel Wilkerson, who had qualified in three of the last four rounds, and Jerry Toliver who was searching for his fifth successful qualification.

	Driver	Car	#4	SPEED
L	Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	4.028	302.3
R	Robert HIGHT	Mustang	4.125	304.8
L	Mike NEFF	Mustang	4.173	298.3
R	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	4.192	289.8
R	Jeff AREND	Solara	4.228	294.3
L	Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.257	301.3
R	Tony PEDREGON	Impala	4.301	286.5
L	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	4.306	306.5
L	Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	4.387	292.5
L	Jim HEAD	Solara	4.415	299.5
L	John SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.451	263.0
R	Ron CAPPS	Charger	4.475	292.5
L	Matt HAGAN	Charger	4.481	291.0
L	Del WORSHAM	Solara	4.494	297.5
L	Jack WYATT	Firebird	4.591	278.0
R	Jack BECKMAN	Charger	4.663	272.0
R	Daniel WILKERSON	Impala	4.768	274.5
R	John FORCE	Mustang	5.166	270.3
R	Gary DENSHAM	Impala	5.220	276.0
R	Terry HADDOCK	Stratus	5.272	268.0
R	Jerry TOLIVER	Monte Carlo	5.757	249.8
R	Leif HELANDER	Camaro	7.814	115.5
R	Andy KELLEY	Stratus	8.242	88.0
R	Grant DOWNING	Monte Carlo	11.643	41.0
L	Justin SCHRIEFER	Camaro	No  Time	N/A
L	Bob BODE	Impala	No Time	N/A
R	Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	No Time	N/A
R	Cory LEE	Dodge	No Time	N/A
R	Cruz PEDREGON	Solara	No Time	N/A

Final Order

Driver	Car	Fast Time	Qual Spd	Fast Spd
Matt HAGAN	Charger	4.011	311.8	311.8
Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	4.028	302.3	302.3
Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	4.042	290.8	290.8
Robert HIGHT	Mustang	4.125	304.8	306.5
Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	4.137	298.3	301.5
Del WORSHAM	Solara	4.171	293.3	297.5
Mike NEFF	Mustang	4.173	298.3	298.3
Tony PEDRAGON	Impala	4.189	300.3	302.0
Jack WYATT	Firebird	4.190	305.8	305.8
Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	4.192	289.8	289.8
Ron CAPPS	Charger	4.213	312.3	312.3
Bob TASCA III	Mustang	4.216	289.8	306.5
Bob BODE	Impala	4.222	309.8	309.8
Jeff AREND	Solara	4.228	294.3	300.0
Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.257	301.3	301.3
Jim HEAD	Solara	4.271	308.0	308.0

------------------------------------------------------------------

Driver	Car	Fast Time	Qual Spd	Fast Spd
Daniel WILKERSON	Impala	4.281	N/A	302.5
Jerry TOLIVER	Monte Carlo	4.333	N/A	296.0
Grant DOWNING	Monte Carlo	4.335	N/A	284.5
Jack BECKMAN	Charger	4.444	N/A	288.0
John SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.451	N/A	291.0
Terry HADDOCK	Stratus	4.471	N/A	300.0
Cruz PEDRAGON	Solara	4.489	N/A	293.0
John FORCE	Mustang	4.554	N/A	297.5
Justin SCHRIEFER	Camaro	4.606	N/A	276.0
Leif HELANDER	Camaro	4.753	N/A	291.0
Gary DENSHAM	Impala	5.220	N/A	279.3
Andy KELLEY	Stratus	5.452	N/A	266.0
Cory LEE	Dodge	5.716	N/A	241.0

TLC - Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2011 - Draw #17

Draw #17 - 7th April 2011 19:30
Sheet A		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Korea	*	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2		5
Switzerland		0	2	1	2	0	0	1	0	1	0		7
Sheet B		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Denmark		0	1	0	3	1	1	0	0	1	0		7
Czech Republic	*	1	0	4	0	0	0	1	2	0	0		8
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
USA	*	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0		6
France		0	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	2		7
Sheet D		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Norway		0	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	2	0	1	8
Canada	*	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	7

Norway end on top of the standings thanks to their earlier defeat over Scotland, but they were pushed hard in a thriller against third place Canada that had only one blanked end. The Canadians finish above Sweden for the same reason as the 10-1 wins.

Fifth place France lead the also-rans with victory over the Amercians, coming back to win in the tenth, and the Korean men match their female  counterparts and end the tournament without a win, dropping their final game to the Swiss. The other match saw the Czech Republic score four in the third end and just hold off the challenge of Denmark.

Final Standings

Pos	Team	Record
1	Norway	10-1
2	Scotland	10-1
3	Canada	8-3
4	Sweden	8-3
5	France	7-4
6	Germany	5-6
7	Switzerland	5-6
8	Czech Republic	4-7
9	Denmark	4-7
10	USA	4-7
11	China	2-9
12	Korea	0-11

CDR: 2009 Funny Car Mac Tools U.S Nationals Qual #3

Three times event winner, including the previous round, Matt Hagan goes from seventeenth to first, undercutting Brain Thiel's best time by .031 as, like Hagan in the earlier run, the second place Thiel had a tough mechanical issue to cope with. Tim Wilkerson moves up three to fourth, and  Del Worsham also has a top five fastest time, moving him up from eleventh, bumping Tony Pedregon down to sixth.

Another batch of new entrants to move into the top sixteen and shake things up are Bob Bode, Jim Head, Mike Neff and Jerry Toliver. The drivers who are forced to the outside, and needing to beat out a competitive qualifying stage, are Grant Downing who is outside by two-thoushandths of a second; Jack Beckman, who has won the last two rounds he qualified in; two-time finalist Jeff Arend; Cruz Pedregon who did not reach the finish line; and Bob Gilbertson, the driver who sits third in the championship.

	Driver	Car	#3	SPEED
R	Matt HAGAN	Charger	4.011	311.8
R	Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	4.145	298.8
R	Del WORSHAM	Solara	4.171	293.3
L	Robert HIGHT	Mustang	4.212	294.3
R	Bob BODE	Impala	4.222	309.8
R	Jim HEAD	Solara	4.271	308.0
R	Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	4.278	301.5
L	Ron CAPPS	Charger	4.281	287.0
R	Mike NEFF	Mustang	4.332	290.5
L	Jerry TOLIVER	Monte Carlo	4.333	296.0
L	Daniel WILKERSON	Impala	4.405	294.5
L	Terry HADDOCK	Stratus	4.471	300.0
L	Tony PEDREGON	Impala	4.513	294.5
R	Bob TASCA III	Mustang	4.545	288.0
L	John FORCE	Mustang	4.554	297.5
R	Jack WYATT	Firebird	4.571	293.0
L	Jack BECKMAN	Charger	4.860	288.0
R	John SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.981	291.0
R	Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	5.202	279.3
L	Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	5.221	259.3
L	Grant DOWNING	Monte Carlo	5.451	254.5
L	Andy KELLEY	Stratus	5.452	266.0
L	Gary DENSHAM	Impala	5.482	262.5
L	Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	9.075	81.0
L	Jeff AREND	Solara	11.871	47.3
L	Cruz PEDREGON	Solara	No Start	N/A
L	Leif HELANDER	Camaro	No Start	N/A
L	Cory LEE	Dodge	No Time	N/A
R	Justin SCHRIEFER	Camaro	No Time	N/A

Order After Three Rounds

Driver	Car	Fast Time
Matt HAGAN	Charger	4.011
Brian THIEL	Monte Carlo	4.042
Ashley FORCE-HOOD	Mustang	4.137
Tim WILKERSON	Mustang	4.145
Del WORSHAM	Solara	4.171
Tony PEDRAGON	Impala	4.189
Jack WYATT	Firebird	4.190
Robert HIGHT	Mustang	4.212
Ron CAPPS	Charger	4.213
Bob TASCA III	Mustang	4.216
Bob BODE	Impala	4.222
Jim HEAD	Solara	4.271
Daniel WILKERSON	Impala	4.281
Mike SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.293
Mike NEFF	Mustang	4.332
Jerry TOLIVER	Monte Carlo	4.333

------------------------------------------------------

Driver	Car	Fast Time
Grant DOWNING	Monte Carlo	4.335
Jack BECKMAN	Charger	4.444
Terry HADDOCK	Stratus	4.471
Jeff AREND	Solara	4.481
Cruz PEDRAGON	Solara	4.489
Bob GILBERTSON	Stratus	4.508
John FORCE	Mustang	4.554
Justin SCHRIEFER	Camaro	4.606
Leif HELANDER	Camaro	4.753
John SMITH	Monte Carlo	4.981
Gary DENSHAM	Impala	5.294
Andy KELLEY	Stratus	5.452
Cory LEE	Dodge	5.716

TLC - Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2011 - Draw #16

Draw #16 - 7th April 13:30
Sheet A		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Czech Republic		0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0		3
Germany	*	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2		6
Sheet B		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Sweden	*	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	1	1	0		6
Switzerland		0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1		3
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
China		0	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	/	/		4
Norway	*	4	0	0	3	0	1	0	2	/	/		10
Sheet D		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Scotland		1	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	/		7
USA	*	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	/		1

The four playoff teams are confirmed but the final order will be determined after the last draw. For now the penultimate draw of the round-robin stage brings no surprises with Scotland easily beating out the USA, and Norway doing likewise to the guaranteed eleventh-placed rink China.

Elsewhere, the inconsistent Germany finish off their tournament with a win over the Czech Republic, and Sweden lock out France for the fourth playoff place thanks to their win over the Swiss that included a run of four ends with a point to the Swedes.

Standings

Pos	Team	Record
1	Scotland	10-1
2	Norway	9-1
3	Canada	8-2
4	Sweden	8-3
5	France	6-4
6	Germany	5-6
7	Denmark	4-6
8	Switzerland	4-6
9	USA	4-6
10	Czech Republic	3-7
11	China	2-9
12	Korea	0-10