DRAGS: Southern California Natives Set Pace at First Day of Qualifying at Sears Point
3 July 1999
SONOMA, Calif. - Cliff Bingham of Huntington Beach, Calif. and
Dennis Taylor of Anaheim, Calif., set the pace in Federal-Mogul Dragster
and Federal-Mogul Funny Car, respectively, at the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag
Racing Series event at Sears Point Raceway.
Bingham navigated the quarter-mile track with a strong run of 5.676
seconds at 248.34 mph to take the No. 1 qualifying position in
Federal-Mogul Dragster. Bingham was one of the few drivers to make a full,
clean run in Friday's qualifying session. Many of the first Federal-Mogul
Dragsters down the track shook the tires, smoked the tires, or got out of
the groove at the half-track point. Many of the top drivers had problems
on this day including: Defending National Federal-Mogul Dragster Champion,
Rick Santos of San Leandro, Calif and current Northwest division points
leader, Melanie Troxel from Littleton, Colo.
"We were lucky enough to be one of the last cars to qualify and
could make slight changes on the car as all the others went up in smoke",
said a happy Bingham. "We set the car up almost perfect for today's
weather conditions. Tomorrow all the great cars and drivers that didn't
get into the field will be shooting for us."
Taylor, another Southern Calif. native, took the No. 1 qualifying
position in the Federal-Mogul Funny Car qualifying on Friday much the same
way Bingham did in his Dragster. Taylor sat and watched most of the Funny
Car field go ahead of him in qualifying and it paid off. Like the
Federal-Mogul Dragsters most of the Funny Car field had problems on the
track. Taylor made all the necessary adjustments to have a run of 5.939
seconds at 235.93 mph.
"All the problems the other drivers had really surprised me", said
Taylor. "My car was just great, we set it up well and I saw how the others
were doing on the track and I made adjustments. To tell the truth anyone
could have driven my car today, it was on rails."
The NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series at Sears Point Raceway
continues tomorrow with final qualifying beginning at 9 a.m. and
Federal-Mogul Dragsters and Federal-Mogul Funny Cars qualifying at 3:30 and
7 p.m. At 9:15 p.m. the Jet Cars and Fireworks will begin.
The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul
Drag Racing Series event at Sears Point Raceway:
FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1. Cliff Bingham, Huntington Beach, Calif., 5.676 seconds, 248.34 mph
2. Darren Nicholson, Laguna Hills, Calif., 5.736, 243.01
3. Rick Henkelman, San Jose, Calif., 5.765, 237.68
4. Mark Niver, Scottsdale, Ariz., 5.860, 208.99
5. Brad Hansen, Bellingham, Wash., 6.071, 229.26
6. Larry Miersch, Fallbrook, Calif., 6.235, 167.15
7. Gary Ormsby Jr., Granite Bay, Calif., 8.263, 100.46
8. Mark Foster, Santa Cruz, Calif., 8.271, 121.57
FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
1. Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '99 Dodge, 5.939 seconds, 235.93 mph
2. Dan McGlone, Gladstone, Ore., '98 Ford, 5.961, 238.43
3. Steve Gasparelli, West Covina, Calif., '99 Pontiac, 5.973, 238.51
4. Mert Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., '99 Chevrolet, 6.003, 235.26
5. Don Hudson, Stockton, Calif., '98 Oldsmobile, 6.101, 238.63
6. Larry Miner, Woodbridge, Calif., '98 Dodge, 6.178, 229.16
7. Clint Thompson, Klamath Falls, Ore., '97 Chevrolet, 6.179, 201.06
8. Pete Swayne, Orange, Calif., '98 Pontiac, 6.198, 233.19
COMP ELIMINATOR
1. Jeff Gillette, Benicia, Calif., '97 Dragster, B/ED, 7.088 seconds
(0.532-seconds under Index)
2. Rick Braun, Redlands, Calif., '97 Pontiac, C/EA, 8.310 (-0.500)
3. Alan Freese, Monterey, Calif., '96 Pontiac, C/EA, 8.318 (-0.492)
4. Bryan Morrison, Chino Hills, Calif., '92 Chevrolet, B/SM, 8.895 (-0.475)
5. Jim Kennedy, San Jose, Calif., '97 Pontiac, F/A, 8.680 (-0.460)
6. Fred Gross, La Crescenta, Calif., '95 Pontiac, D/A, 8.072 (-0.458)
7. Tommy Brown, Westminster, Calif., '88 Dragster, F/ED, 8.610 (-0.420)
8. Randy Jones, Monarch Beach, Calif., '98 Pontiac, D/A, 8.127 (-0.403)
9. Rick Houser, Pasadena, Calif, '34 Chevrolet, C/SR, 8.928 (-0.402)
10. Donnie Hedrick, Las Vegas, Nev., '96 Chevrolet, B/EA, 8.137 (-0.383)
SUPER STOCK
1. Jimmy DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., '89 Chevrolet, GT/HA, 10.360 seconds
(0.990-seconds under Index)
2. Tony DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., '98 Pontiac, GT/GA, 10.221, (-0.979)
3. Terry Sherrill, Klamuth Falls, Ore., '57 Chevrolet, SS/AM, 8.642
(-0.908)
4. Fred Moreno, LaVerne, Calif., '69 Ford, SS/GA, 9.948, (-0.902)
5. Frank Grossi, Upland, Calif., '96 Oldsmobile, GT/BA, 9.699 (-0.851)
6. Tim Smith, Rocklin, Calif., '87 Chevrolet, GT/CA, 9.854 (-0.846)
7. John Schiess, North Hills, Calif., '91 Oldsmobile, GT/BA, 9.710 (-0.840)
8. Gary Williams, Mariposa, Calif., '64 Mercury, SS/MA, 11.314, (-0.836)
9. Tony Hewes, Reno, Nev., '96 Ford, SS/GA, 10.028, (-0.822)
10. Bob Fordyce, Vista, Calif., '91 Oldsmobile, GT/FA, 10.284, (-0.816)
STOCK ELIMINATOR
1. Chuck Rayburn, Castro Valley, Calif, '71 Dodge, C/SA, 10.689 seconds
(1.011-seconds under Index)
2. Gary Harper, San Jose, Calif., '81 Dodge, FT/SA, 12.760 (-0.990)
3. Rob Youngblood, Nampa, Idaho, '71 Ford, D/S, 10.819 (-0.981)
4. Steve Wann, Modesto, Calif., '70 Plymouth, C/SA, 10.735 (-0.965)
5. Darin Grossi, Soulsbyville, Calif., '71 Chrysler, B/SA, 10.591 (-0.959)
6. Tom Roberts, Mira Loma, Calif., '76 Dodge, J/SA, 11.806 (-0.944)
7. Jim Meador, Yorba Linda, Calif., '67 Chevrolet, D/SA, 10.933 (-0.917)
8. Danny Missbrenner, San Jose, Calif., '71 Dodge, F/SA, 11.253 (-0.897)
9. Don Little, Westley, Calif., '70 Plymouth, A/SA, 10.413 (-0.887)
10. Gary Kestler, Las Vegas, Nev., '70 Dodge, C/SA, 10.835 (-0.865)
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