NHRA FMDRS: Rain delay can't stop Meyer at Hallsville, TX
4 June 2000
HALLSVILLE, Texas - When the original race weekend of May 19 - 21 was
postponed two weeks because of rain, drag racers from all over the country
were hoping they'd seen the last of the rain when they returned to
Hallsville Raceway.
Not so. Mother Nature delivered another six hours of the wet stuff
Saturday, giving the Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny Car competitors just
two, instead of three, qualifying runs for the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag
Racing Series event.
The rain delay didn't appear to affect the performance of the Federal-Mogul
Dragster contingent when qualifying resumed at 7:30 p.m., the
high-horsepower vehicles thriving in the cool evening air.
Jay Meyer of Freeport, Texas, currently the hottest dragster driver in the
country, underscored his current form with a 5.674-second lap at 247.86
mph, good enough to snatch the pole position away from early pace setter
Troy Buff.
Buff, of Spring, Texas, ran a 5.747-second run Friday but ended up being
bumped down to third place as Tulsa, Okla.'s Shelly Howard improved to a
5.713-second lap Saturday evening.
Five-thousandths of a second separated the top three Funny Cars, with
Artesia, N.M.'s Tate Branch claiming the pole position with a 6.140-second
lap, his second No. 1 qualifying effort of the season.
Todd Simpson of Ponder, Texas, also ran a 6.140 but had to settle for
second place. NHRA rules give the higher qualifying position to the driver
with the faster speed; in this instance Branch ran 230.88 mph, Simpson
229.06 mph. Former drag-boat racer Richard Shaver of San Antonio, Texas,
claimed third place with a 6.144-second run.
First round of eliminations for Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul
Funny Car are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.
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The following are Saturday's qualifying results from the NHRA
Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Hallsville Raceway:
FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1. Jay Meyer, Freeport, Texas, 5.674 seconds, 247.86 miles per hour
2. Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.713, 243.90
3. Troy Buff, Spring, Texas, 5.747, 244.43
4. Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif., 5.784, 223.76
5. Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.835, 223.21
6. Kent Nuckols, Albuquerque, N.M., 5.854, 241.35
7. Bill Ancona, Mansfield, Texas, 5.923, 220.15
8. Gene Snow, Fort Worth, Texas, 6.133, 177.37
Did Not Qualify
9. Larry Becktold, Luther, Okla., 6.436, 202.74
10. James Thompson Jr., Vernon, Texas, 7.334, 128.07
FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
1. Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '99 Avenger, 6.140 seconds, 230.88 miles per
hour
2. Todd Simpson, Ponder, Texas, '98 Avenger, 6.140, 229.06
3. Richard Shaver, San Antonio, Texas, '95 Avenger, 6.144, 231.95
4. Warren Dauzat, Baton Rouge, La., '93 Achieva, 6.350, 237.34
5. Ron Morrison, Oklahoma City, Okla., '97 Cutlass, 6.569, 178.46
6. EJ Johnston, Violet, La., '99 Achieva, 7.287, 136.57
7. Jimmy Jones, Cleburne, Texas, '97 Camaro, 9.218, 84.19
COMPETITION
1. Greg Williams, Carthage, Texas, D/SM '90 Trans Am, 8.239 seconds
(0.561-second under Index)
2. Buddy Nickens, Houston, Texas, D/A '97 Avenger, 8.090 seconds (-0.530)
3. David Myers, Dallas, Texas, C/A '99 Camaro, 7.746 (-0.474)
4. Joey Tanksley, Greenwell Springs, La., B/ED dragster, 7.105 (-0.445)
5. Mike Trumble, Pasadena, Texas, D/SM '92 Camaro, 8.370 (-0.430)
6. Greg Hogue, Aledo, Texas, D/ED dragster, 7.834 (-0.336)
7. Charlie Watson, Humble, Texas, F/A '97 Lumina, 8.875 (-0.295)
8. Bob Haynes, Pilot Point, Texas, C/ED dragster, 7.927 (-0.083)
9. Bill Gibbs, Lufkin, Texas, K/A '95 Daytona, 10.239 (0.409)
SUPER STOCK
1. Brent Johnson, Lecompte, La., SS/NA '66 Impala, 11.305 seconds
(1.145-seconds under Index)
2. Keith Mawhee, Carrollton, Texas, SS/CM '98 Pontiac, 8.958 (-0.942)
3. Terry Emmons, Pasadena, Texas, SS/JA '96 Firebird, 10.369 (-0.931)
4. Billy Moravits, San Antonio, Texas, GT/KA '87 Trans Am, 10.860 (-0.890)
5. Red Leblanc, Memphis, Tenn., SS/F '69 Mustang, 9.761 (-0.889)
6. Gilbert Johnson, Jr., Lecompte, La., GT/KA '91 Calais, 10.964 (-0.786)
7. Sid Bonnecarrere, Gray, La., SS/AA '68 Dart, 9.233 (-0.767)
8. Rodger Brogdon, Tomball, Texas, SS/C '66 Corvette, 9.620 (-0.730)
9. James Lee, Tulsa, Okla., SS/N '55 Chevrolet, 11.545 (-0.705)
10. Korey Mawhee, Frisco, Texas, GT/DA '95 Oldsmobile, 10.111 (-0.689)
STOCK
1. Billy Lynn, Searcy, Ark., K/SA '79 Malibu, 11.596 seconds (1.354 seconds
under Index)
2. Marty Woffard, Gore, Okla., L/S '66 Nova, 11.744 (-1.256)
3. Jeff Teuton, Houma, La., GT/SA '97 Dodge, 12.857 (-1.093)
4. Mike Cotton, Broken Arrow, Okla., H/SA '73 Duster, 11.390 (-1.060)
5. Verne Buchanan, Conway, Ark., J/SA '73 Mustang, 11.694 (-1.056)
6. Bobby Brannon, Bossier City, La., E/SA '98 Firebird, 11.002 (-0.998)
7. Justin Patrick Cardwell, Dubach, La., K/SA '85 Camaro, 11.965 (-0.985)
8. Jimmy Hidalgo, Donaldsonville, La., E/SA '97 Camaro, 11.017 (-0.983)
9. Steve Brack, Lawrence, Kan., I/S '86 Camaro, 11.517 seconds (-0.983)
10. Paula Cotton, Broken Arrow, Okla., G/SA '73 Duster, 11.323 (-0.977)
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