Grubnic and Force Tops in Phoenix Testing
By NHRA Communications
CHANDLER, Ariz. – Dave Grubnic and John Force were tops in their respective categories following four days of pre-season testing at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix. NHRA race teams are preparing for the 2006 POWERade Drag Racing Series season-opener, the 46th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals, Feb. 9-12 at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California.
Grubnic drove his StriVectin-SD dragster to a quick time of 4.454 seconds at 328.62 mph to lead all Top Fuel entries. Defending and three-time POWERade Series world champion Tony Schumacher was close by with a 4.482 at 326.79 in his U.S. Army dragster. Doug Kalitta also dipped into the 4.4-second zone in his Mac Tools dragster, clocking a 4.490 at 324.98. Rod Fuller powered his Valvoline dragster to a 4.503 at 328.78 performance.
Force continued to go low in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. After clocking three runs in the 4.6-second zone last week during testing in Las Vegas, the 13-time champ blasted to a 4.678 at 330.31 to lead the Funny Car contingent at FIR. Defending world champion Gary Scelzi was second in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge, recording a 4.704 at 330.72. Auto Club Road to the Future award winner Robert Hight was third overall in his Auto Club Ford Mustang with a 4.751 at 276.58. Scelzi teammates Whit Bazemore (4.764, 323.27) and Ron Capps (4.773, 315.34) were fourth and fifth in their Don Schumacher-owned Dodges.
Matt Guidera was the only Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor attending the test and produced a weekend best performance of 7.094 at 186.85 on a Buell.
The final weekend of pre-season testing starts Friday with the Last Chance Test Session at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Feb. 3-5. The inaugural Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown will be held at The Strip on Saturday, Feb. 4. The 18th annual Pro Stock SuperBowl will be held at Houston Raceway Park on Saturday, Feb. 4.
CHANDLER, Ariz. – The following lists the quickest performances posted by competitors in Top Fuel and Funny Car categories during four days of pre-season testing at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix, which ended Monday, Jan. 30.
TOP FUEL
Psn---Driver, Home Town, Car Type-----------------TT-ET----TT-Spd-Top Spd
1 Dave Grubnic, Ypsilanti MI, Attac-TFX 4.454 327.98 328.62
2 Tony Schumacher, Long Grove IL, Hadman-TFX 4.482 326.79 326.79
3 Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti MI, Attac-TFX 4.490 324.98 324.98
4 Rod Fuller, Las Vegas NV, Hadman-TFX 4.503 328.78 328.78
5 Cory McClenathan, Anaheim CA, Hadman-BAE 4.524 320.58 329.58
6 Brandon Bernstein, Lake Forest CA, McKinney-TFX 4.549 324.75 325.22
7 Hillary Will, Fortuna CA, Attac-TFX 4.568 306.33 311.85
8 Larry Dixon, Indianapolis IN, McKinney-TFX 4.570 329.67 329.67
9 Michael Gunderson, Middleburg FL, Hadman-TFX 4.692 308.99 308.99
10 Morgan Lucas, Corona CA, Hadman-TFX 4.898 218.19 218.19
11 Melanie Troxel, Avon IN, Hadman-BAE 5.521 161.00 161.00
12 Alan Bradshaw, Odessa TX, Don Long-BAE 6.012 141.73 141.73
13 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, Hadman-BAE* 6.117 140.42 140.42
14 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, Hadman-BAE 6.238 133.25 133.25
* = In Melanie Troxel's dragster
FUNNY CAR
Psn---Driver, Home Town, Car Type-----------------TT-ET----TT-Spd-Top Spd
1 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '02 Mustang 4.678 330.31 330.31
2 Gary Scelzi, Fresno CA, '04 Stratus 4.704 330.72 330.72
3 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '02 Mustang 4.751 276.58 276.58
4 Whit Bazemore, Indianapolis IN, '05 Stratus 4.764 323.27 323.27
5 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '05 Stratus 4.773 315.34 315.34
6 Cruz Pedregon, Camarillo CA, '05 Monte Carlo 4.780 321.81 321.81
7 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield, IL, '05 Monte Carlo 4.794 305.77 305.77
8 Del Worsham, Chino Hills CA, '05 Monte Carlo 4.816 319.67 319.67
9 Eric Medlen, Yorba Linda CA, '02 Mustang 4.817 269.67 269.67
10 Mike Ashley, Melville NY, '04 Monte Carlo 4.872 298.54 298.54
11 Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon IN, '05 Monte Carlo 4.875 276.80 276.80
12 Phil Burkart, Yorkville NY, '04 Celica 4.922 283.25 283.25
13 Tony Pedregon, Chino Hills CA, '05 Monte Carlo 5.122 219.51 219.51
14 Scott Kalitta, Ypsilanti, MI, '05 Monte Carlo 5.352 215.82 215.82
15 Dale Pulde, Sylmar CA, '05 Stratus 7.916 99.80 99.80
