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Las
Vegas Testing
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Force
mops up the competition in Las Vegas testing
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Photos by James Drew |
Scelzi wrangles top honors on final day of testing at Las Vegas' Strip
(2-2-2004) - Gary Scelzi put his Hemi-powered Oakley Funny Car at the forefront of Sunday's session of the Las Vegas Blast-Off, the first official weekend of testing for the POWERade Drag Racing Series, which begins Feb. 19 in Pomona, Calif. Scelzi, a three-time Top Fuel world champion with just 30 races of Funny Car experience, cruised down The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 4.794 at 310 mph. Defending NHRA Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon saved his best run for the final day. Pedregon, longtime driver for John Force Racing who chose to guide his own destiny as a team owner in 2004, powered his Quaker State Chevy Camaro down the quarter-mile track in 4.798 seconds at 313.29 mph to end the three-day session.
Despite Scelzi's Sunday heroics, the best passes of the Blast-Off belonged to 12-time champion John Force, who put his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang through a 4.736-second pass on one attempt and reached a top speed of 329.18 mph on other run during Friday's action. Force and teammates Eric Medlen and Gary Densham, who both posted 4.7-second passes of their own, were not in attendance Sunday. Scelzi's Schumacher Racing teammate Whit Bazemore also posted competitive performance numbers Sunday. Bazemore raced his Matco Tools Stratus to a 4.867 at 291.19. Bazemore's run was close to matching his effort from Saturday, a 4.861 at 318.62. Scelzi's best on Saturday was a 4.803 at 313.80.
Del Worsham raced to a 4.926 at 275.17 in his Checker Schuck's Kragen Pontiac Firebird on Saturday, his quickest run of the weekend. NHRA nitro category teams will now move on to Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix for two days of testing (Feb. 7-8) before heading to Southwestern International Raceway for the final three days of testing (Feb. 13-15). The season officially opens with the 44th annual K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway, Feb. 19-22. The $1.7 million race is the first of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series for 2004. While most Pro Stock teams are busy preparing to test at the traditional Pontiac Pro Stock Super Bowl at Houston Raceway Park, Feb. 7, Ben Watson clocked two passes at The Strip on Saturday. He clocked a best of 6.945 at 198.45. Also Saturday, Pro Stock Bike top 10 finisher Mike Berry posted a testing-best of 7.229 at 184.95 on his Suzuki.
PEDREGON CLOCKS 4.7-SECOND EFFORT LATE SUNDAY TO CLOSE NHRA TESTING AT THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
(2-2-2004) - Defending NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon saved his best run for last Sunday during the final day of NHRA pre-season testing at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Pedregon, longtime driver for John Force Racing who chose to guide his own destiny as a team owner in 2004, powered his Quaker State Chevy Camaro down the quarter-mile track in 4.798 seconds at 313.29 mph to end the three-day session. NHRA nitro category teams will now move on to Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix for two days of testing (Feb. 7-8) before heading to Southwestern International Raceway for the final three days of testing (Feb. 13-15). The season officially opens with the 44th annual K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway, Feb. 19-22. The $1.7 million race is the first of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series for 2004. Schumacher Racing teammates Whit Bazemore and Gary Scelzi also posted competitive performance numbers Sunday. Scelzi was quickest for the day with a 4.794 at 310.48 in his Oakley Dodge Stratus. Bazemore raced his Matco Tools Stratus to a 4.867 at 291.19. Bazemore's run was close to matching his effort from Saturday, a 4.861 at 318.62. Scelzi's best on Saturday was a 4.803 at 313.80.
John Force, whose teams did not participate in the test Sunday, posted a Saturday best of 4.782 at 328.06 in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang. Force Racing drivers Gary Densham (4.787 at 325.30 and 4.808 at 322.73) and Eric Medlen (4.969 at 305.91) also were among the quickest Funny Car drivers participating Saturday. Del Worsham raced to a 4.926 at 275.17 in his Checker Schuck's Kragen Pontiac Firebird on Saturday, his quickest run of the weekend. While most Pro Stock teams are busy preparing to test at the traditional Pontiac Pro Stock Super Bowl at Houston Raceway Park, Feb. 7, Ben Watson clocked two passes at The Strip on Saturday. He clocked a best of 6.945 at 198.45. Also Saturday, Pro Stock Bike top 10 finisher Mike Berry posted a testing-best of 7.229 at 184.95 on his Suzuki. A full photo gallery is online at Vegas Test Photos by James Drew.
ROOKIE MEDLEN IMPRESSIVE IN OPENING DAY OF NHRA TESTING AT LAS VEGAS
(1-31-2004) - NHRA Funny Car rookie Eric Medlen made his boss proud Friday during the opening day of NHRA preseason testing at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Medlen, hired recently by John Force to drive the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang that was vacated by Tony Pedregon after his 2003 POWERade championship run, was impressive in his official debut by clocking a 4.797-second run at 324.28 mph. He also posted a 4.810 at 317.79 in another attempt. NHRA teams are utilizing the three-day test session -- the first of three consecutive weekends of testing -- in preparation for the 44th annual K&N Filters Winternationals, Feb. 19-22 at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway. The $1.7 million race kicks off the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season in 2004. NHRA preseason testing sessions also are set for Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix next weekend (Feb. 7-8) and Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 13-15.
Though Medlen raised eyebrows with his effort, it was Force who made the quickest runs of the day. The 12-time NHRA Funny Car champion posted three runs quicker than 4.8 seconds in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang. Force's best effort was a 4.736-second run at 320.05 mph. He recorded two other runs -- a 4.771 at 293.28 and a 4.774 at 329.18. Force Racing's third driver, Gary Densham, raced to a 4.784 at 319.67 in his Auto Club Mustang and followed that performance with a 4.824 at 306.26. Del Worsham was the only other driver to get close to the finish line under power, but elected to shut down his Checker Schuck's Kragen Pontiac Firebird early with a 5.027 at 237.35. Other notable drivers participating in the test who did not record a full pass included Whit Bazemore, Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson Jr., David Baca and Jerry Toliver. Testing continues Saturday.
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