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The latest update as of March 12, 2019
Final Eliminations (continued) at the 2019 Good Vibrations Motorsports March Meet (Bakersfield, CA)
Round Two of eliminations for the Nitro Nostalgia Funny Cars
(LEFT) If you discount the reaction times, this was the closest race of the day, with Kris Krabill (far lane) cranking out a stellar 5.676 - 248.80, to hold off a slightly quicker 5.670 - 246.93 by (near lane) Matt Melendez. The r.t.'s told the tale however, as Krabill's .048 leave easily took the measure of Melendez's slightly tardy .157 time.
(RIGHT) Another pair and another holeshot win, as Jeff Arend (far lane) carded a slightly quicker and faster 5.723 - 255.10 but it wasn't enough to hold off rookie Jerry Espeseth's (near lane) slightly better leaving (.112 to .127) 5.734 - 252.71 timeslip. It's interesting to see former driver Jason Rupert beside the "Littlefield & Rupert" car as Espeseth pulled into the stage beams, and the other half of the team, crew chief Brad Littlefield directing him from in front of the car. Their tutelage obviously worked!
(LEFT) After two very close races, the string was snapped when Billy Morris (far lane) left first, by a .099 to .177 margin, but finished second as he ran into problems at half track and clocked in at 6.572 - 158.74. His opponent, low qualifier Dan Horan (near lane) was a little late at the green, but poured on the horses to put a very strong 5.694 on the boards, coupled with an excellent 262.18 mph speed, just a little slower than the 265.52 he recorded during qualifying.
(RIGHT) With just one car in the picture, it's easy to figure who won this race, as Bobby Cottrell had the luxury of a bye run into the semi-finals after scheduled opponent Steven Densham destroyed his Camaro body in a first-round finish line explosion. Cottrell left hard on his single, but cut the power at the 1000 ft mark and coasted across the line at 5.887 - 201.82 for the win.
Round One of eliminations for Nostalgia Top Fuel
(LEFT) It's another one-car show, but Rick White's scheduled opponent, Phil Ruskowski did get to the line, then banged the blower on the burnout and that was the end of his March Meet. Low qualifier White left hard but packed it in early and was off the throttle just past half track, lighting up the scoreboards with a 6.093 at only 175.09 mph.
(RIGHT) The #2 qualifier, Bret Williamson (near lane), slowed slightly from his qualifying numbers, but a 5.803 - 240.04 was more than enough to handle Brendan Murray's early shutoff 6.663 - 145.36 in his underdog big-block Chevy powered machine.
(LEFT) Defending Heritage Series champion Mendy Fry (far lane) dropped a bomb on the "WW2" entry of former champion Jim Murphy as her 5.518 - 265.43 obliterated Murphy's decent, but seriously outgunned 5.801 - 231.12 pass.
(RIGHT) The final pairing in the opening round featured Adam Sorokin (near lane) in the unique small-block Chevy powered "Champion Speed Shop Special" against the Rick McGee-driven "Overtime Special" (far lane). It wasn't a close race as Sorokin laid down a decent 5.981 - 201.42 to easily handle McGee's hurting 6.754 - 140.59 losing effort.
Round One of eliminations for AA/Fuel Altered
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Round One of eliminations for Classic (5.90 index) Funny Car
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