Hawley Upbeat After First Round Gatornationals Exit

March 18, 2008 by  
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- In his first competitive outing since 1991, former world champion Frank Hawley drove the Gotham City Racing ProCare Rx Dodge Charger R/T to a first round exit in the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Despite losing to "Fast" Jack Beckman in an exciting side-by-side race, Hawley said: "We're the most excited team out there that lost the first round."

"Clearly we would like to have...

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Gainesville: Final eliminations report

March 16, 2008 by  
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Defending NHRA POWERade Series Funny Car world champion Tony Pedregon raced to his first victory of the season and 37th of his career Sunday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

Tony Schumacher, Jeg Coughlin and Matt Guidera also were winners at the NHRA POWERade Series race, the third of 24 in 2008...

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Three of four ’07 season champs get Gatornationals wins

March 16, 2008 by  
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Pedregon completed a great comeback from his terrifying explosion at the season opener in Pomona by reaching his 63rd career final round with his Q Horsepower Impala then defeating Densham in a close battle, 4.921 to 4.924. Pedregon, who paced the field with a 4.78 – the only 4.7-second pass of the event – blew past Jerry Toliver in round one, 4.86 to 4.93, out-pedaled Ashley Force in round two, 5.98 to 6.50, and reached the final with an off-pace 5.03 after Jim Head smoked the tires. Pedregon collected career win number 37 in a close tilt with...

Read the full story by Phil Burgess at NHRA.com

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Gatornationals First Round Pairings

March 16, 2008 by  
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - First-round pairings for Sunday's eliminations at the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Pairings based on qualifying results from the Saturday session.

Funny Car
1. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.780, 326.40 vs. 16. Jerry Toliver, Dodge Charger, 4.973, 291.26;
2. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.816, 326.71 vs. 15. Gary Densham, Impala, 4.953, 311.70;
3. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.820, 320.58 vs. 14. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.944, 291.01;
4. Cruz Pedregon, Impala, 4.841, 316.15 vs. 13. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.936, 312.86;
5. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.847, 325.77 vs. 12. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.927, 319.45;
6. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.847, 324.12 vs. 11. Frank Hawley, Charger, 4.916, 319.60;
7. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.863, 318.39 vs. 10. Del Worsham, Impala, 4.903, 313.80;
8. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.864, 319.45 vs. 9. Scott Kalitta, Solara, 4.892, 325.37.

Did Not Qualify (DNQ)
17. Bob Bode, 4.979, 290.26
18. Gary Scelzi, 5.014, 307.37
19. Terry Haddock, 5.187, 277.15
20. Tommy Johnson Jr., 5.226, 287.96
21. Mike Smith, 5.412, 191.97
22. Melanie Troxel, 5.854, 259.06
23. Tony Bartone, broke.

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Small team still has a shot at Gatornationals

March 14, 2008 by  
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Paul Richards has no illusions regarding what his drag-racing team is up against this weekend in the Funny Car class of the Gatornationals in Gainesville.

"Let's put it this way," the Wellington resident said. "If we go in there (spending) $50,000 or $75,000, the other teams are spending $150,000 or $175,000 per race."

Still, the Palm Beach County-centric "strategic alliance" of two prominent names in drag racing - Richards and Paul Smith...
Read full story by Alan Tays of the Palm Beach Post

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Emotions high as Force’s team returns to site of tragedy

March 14, 2008 by  
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John Force's recovery from the worst wreck of his Funny Car career remains a work in progress, to the extent that basic movements require the utmost effort.

Don't be shocked if the 14-time champion moves with a bit more purpose at this weekend's NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Force and his four-car team return to the track where teammate Eric Medlen died after a testing accident last March ...

Read full story by Gary Graves in USA Today

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2000 Gators Champ Toliver to Debut New Car in Gainesville

March 11, 2008 by  
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Jerry Toliver will be behind the wheel of a new race car at this weekend's NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., the third of 24 races on the 2008 POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule. The driver of the Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car tested two days this week with a new chassis at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga., in advance of this prestigious event.

The 2000 Gatornationals Funny Car winner made several shakedown runs down Valdosta's quarter-mile in the new Murf McKinney chassis on Sunday and Monday. The Rockstar Energy Drink team then packed up and headed to Gainesville.

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NHRA Gatornationals on ESPN2 Sunday

March 11, 2008 by  
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ESPN2 airs coverage of one of the biggest and most prestigious events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series this weekend with action from the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

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