CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES
FALL JUST SHORT
Bakersfield,
CA - 10/18/10: The
19th CHRR was a rough outing for the High Speed team as they
had gremlins, expensive gremlins all weekend. Unlike their win
at the National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green in June, not
much went according to plan here.
Coming into the
event driver Brad Thompson was sitting in the #3 spot in the
2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series points race, just 27 points
behind the leader. Try as they did they could not overcome the
points. The two cars in front of them kept winning and in fact
the eventual champ Adam Sorokin beat Thompson in round two eliminating
him from the chase completely.
Friday - Qualifying
Session One
3:15 p.m. After some timely delays
because of some oil downs Top Fuel finally got out for its first
session. The temperature was in the low 90s which made the track
groove pretty narrow.
For his first shot Thompson
was paired with Rick White.
Walt Stevens backed Thompson
up while Rian Kono observed the engine for any problems.
Stevens sees a fuel leak that
is quickly fixed but may have led to the issues on the top end.
Both cars left hard and
stayed together to the traps.
Just before the
lights Thompson's ride ran out of fuel resulting in a 5.86 at
257.74 and the teams first engine loss of the weekend. White
had no problems at all carding a 5.81 at 254.16.
Saturday - Qualifying
Session Two
1:30 p.m. Unlike the March Meet
which offers three shots to qualify, the CHRR offered only two
which put the tuners and drivers to the test as they have less
room for error. The weather remained HOT.
Last pair out for session two
were Thompson and Jim Murphy who was #2 in the points. With the
field set this was all about position on the ladder... not to
mention a round one tune-up.
Thompson had another
good launch and nearly repeated his session one numbers.
Both cars finished the session
with sterling numbers. Thompson moved up to the #5 hole with
a 5.85 at just 204.59 losing another engine, this time due to
lack of oil. Murphy remained #1 with a 5.88 at 237.78.
Final
Top Fuel Qualifying Order:
01: Jim Murphy
- 5.80/230.35
02: Rick White - 5.81/254.16
03: Rick McGee - 5.82/224.88
04: Adam Sorokin - 5.83/239.61
05: Brad Thompson - 5.85/204.59
06: Denver Schutz - 5.92/226.01
07: Rick Williamson - 5.95/242.98
08: Bill Dunlap - 5.95/211.61
09: Troy Green - 5.99/202.15
10: Brendan Murry - 6.06/222.55
11: James Day - 6.06/244.03
12: Brett Harris - 6.14/180.07
13: Mike McClennan - 6.18/217.46
14: Keith Burgan - 6.31/214.84
15: Rick Rogers - 6.35/227.23
16: John Weaver - 6.83/186.95
Eliminations Round one - Saturday
5:00 p.m. The other difference
between the March Meet and CHRR is that the first round of eliminations
is run Saturday prior to the Cacklefest program.
Thompson's round one
race was with Mike McClennan.
McClennan left first
but was passed by the tree.
Thompson's Donovan started
eating itself up at the 1000' mark.
Although Thompson won the race
with a stout 5.71 (low for the round) at 247.45, for the third
run in a row the High Speed car suffered severe engine damage.
Eliminations Round
Two - Sunday
11 a.m. Following the pre-race
ceremonies round two of Top Fuel was underway. The weather was
considerably cooler than the previous three days and came as
a real relief to the remaining racers.
Pair two matched up Thompson
with Adam Sorokin with Brad having lane choice.
Sorokin had a slight
lead off the line.
This was a great drag race with
Sorokin getting the win by a nose. His 5.816 at 249.72 just beat
Thompson's 5.829 at 252.10.
Sorokin would go on to meet and
then beat Jim Murphy in the next round to win the 2010 Top Fuel
Championship while Thompson and crew were sent packing looking
forward to 2011.
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