Post by daj on Apr 18, 2005 22:04:37 GMT -5
Bartone qualifies the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car for his fourth consecutive event
Courtesy of Bill Walters
CMKXtreme Racing
LAS VEGAS, qualifying: Tony Bartone, driver of the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car, qualified for his fourth consecutive race of the season at the 6th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bartone qualified in the No. 11 position with another consistent qualifying effort and will face No. 6 qualifier, Tommy Johnson Jr., during round one on Sunday.
Bartone joined over 20 NHRA drivers who greeted hundreds of fans at a very successful pre-race autograph session held Thursday evening at the ESPN Zone at the New York New York Hotel and Casino. Bartone joined the Jim Dunn Racing/Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday as the team got down to the business of qualifying for the event.
The first Funny Car qualifying session was held in the heat of the day Friday afternoon and only a pair of cars made four second runs. Bartone smoked the tires about 200-feet into his run and recorded an off-pace 7.850 at 109.54 mph to finish the first session in the No. 15 spot. On Bartone’s second run, the former NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion’s Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Monte Carlo stepped up to a 4.957 at 307.65 mph, despite dropping a cylinder. Bartone finished the first day of qualifying in the No. 10 position, much to the delight of CMKX CEO Urban Casavant and his wife Carolyn, who were on hand at Las Vegas Motor Speedway showing their support.
Saturday featured the final two rounds of Funny Car qualifying that would eventually set Sunday’s 16-car elimination field. The weather was warm with plenty of sunshine beating on the racing surface all day. Bartone was paired up against his teammate, CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car pilot Jeff Arend, for his final pair of qualifying attempts. Bartone thundered to a consistent 4.978 at 304.46 mph on his third run, one of only several cars to get down the track in the heat of the day, and remained qualified 10th with one session to go.
By the time the final Funny Car qualifying session began shadows from the grandstands began cooling the track. Bartone ripped off another consistent run, a 4.949 at 282.30 mph, his quickest run of the weekend, but he fell one spot to the No. 11 qualifying position.
“We were on a great pass on our final run in the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car,” said Bartone, “but at 4.3-seconds into the run the mag shut off. We’ve got a pretty consistent race car right now, but we’re a little disappointed because we feel like that last run would have been as quick as a high 4.80 elapsed time. I think we’ve got a good tune up for a hot, sticky race track and hopefully we can go some rounds tomorrow.”
Courtesy of Bill Walters
CMKXtreme Racing
LAS VEGAS, qualifying: Tony Bartone, driver of the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car, qualified for his fourth consecutive race of the season at the 6th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bartone qualified in the No. 11 position with another consistent qualifying effort and will face No. 6 qualifier, Tommy Johnson Jr., during round one on Sunday.
Bartone joined over 20 NHRA drivers who greeted hundreds of fans at a very successful pre-race autograph session held Thursday evening at the ESPN Zone at the New York New York Hotel and Casino. Bartone joined the Jim Dunn Racing/Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday as the team got down to the business of qualifying for the event.
The first Funny Car qualifying session was held in the heat of the day Friday afternoon and only a pair of cars made four second runs. Bartone smoked the tires about 200-feet into his run and recorded an off-pace 7.850 at 109.54 mph to finish the first session in the No. 15 spot. On Bartone’s second run, the former NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion’s Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Monte Carlo stepped up to a 4.957 at 307.65 mph, despite dropping a cylinder. Bartone finished the first day of qualifying in the No. 10 position, much to the delight of CMKX CEO Urban Casavant and his wife Carolyn, who were on hand at Las Vegas Motor Speedway showing their support.
Saturday featured the final two rounds of Funny Car qualifying that would eventually set Sunday’s 16-car elimination field. The weather was warm with plenty of sunshine beating on the racing surface all day. Bartone was paired up against his teammate, CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car pilot Jeff Arend, for his final pair of qualifying attempts. Bartone thundered to a consistent 4.978 at 304.46 mph on his third run, one of only several cars to get down the track in the heat of the day, and remained qualified 10th with one session to go.
By the time the final Funny Car qualifying session began shadows from the grandstands began cooling the track. Bartone ripped off another consistent run, a 4.949 at 282.30 mph, his quickest run of the weekend, but he fell one spot to the No. 11 qualifying position.
“We were on a great pass on our final run in the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car,” said Bartone, “but at 4.3-seconds into the run the mag shut off. We’ve got a pretty consistent race car right now, but we’re a little disappointed because we feel like that last run would have been as quick as a high 4.80 elapsed time. I think we’ve got a good tune up for a hot, sticky race track and hopefully we can go some rounds tomorrow.”