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TOP FUEL? YUK.
If you leave out Darrell Russell's Top Fuel win in Joe Amato's dragster
and his Bud Shootout runner-up, the 41st AutoZone Winternationals Top
Fuel show was lousy. A double digit bubble. 16 cars for 16 spots? The
No. 14 car runs a 5.11? No one in the 4.5s in eliminations? Not my idea
of a good Top Fuel show. My summation? Cory McClenathan, Bob Vandergriff
Jr., and Don Lampus' absence hurt a lot more than we may have known
at the time. However, Top Fuel is not dead, but it did stumble badly
coming out of the gates. (CM)
AUSTIN COIL'S BIGGEST COMPETITION?
 It's
hardly time to check John Force's Castrol car off your dance card. Even
though, Force's crew chief Austin Coil was going for his 100th career
win as a crew chief, the guys came up a little short. The guy who came
out long, though, was the winner Bruce Sarver in Alan Johnson's e-moola.com
entry. Johnson looked like Coil as he dealt the most consistent string
of elapsed times in competition. A 4.90 in qualifying, nothing but 4.9s
in eliminations and a resounding 4.88 in a final-round win over Tony
Pedregon in the Force Syntec car put Sarver and Johnson over the top.
Prediction? Look for Sarver and Johnson to be in the top three most
of the year. I know, I know, I know, real gutsy prediction. Also big-time
congrats to Richard Hogan, who was the "official" crew chief for Johnson
e-moola-making monster. (CM)
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