Force beats Tasca in Phoenix eliminations

DEARBORN, Mich. — Bob Tasca III qualified strong, putting his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Funny Car into eighth place for today’s eliminations at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Phoenix, but for the second consecutive event was ousted by fellow Ford Mustang driver John Force.

Bob Tasca III

Photo by: Todd Steitle

“We made the run we wanted to make for the track conditions,” Tasca said. “Force made a better one. That’s the bottom line. We have a great car. Next stop is Gainesville.”

The next round of the Mello Yello NHRA Funny Car series will be the 45th annual NHRA Gatornationals, March 13-16 in Gainesville, Fla.

Tasca made it to round 2 by dispatching Ron Capps with a run of 4.090/312.42 to 4.441/260.66. It was the second elimination victory over Capps in as many events.

Tasca got into the show comfortably with a 4,078/306.40 run in the second qualifying session on Friday even though shaking tires made seeing down the track difficult. His first qualifying run was an unspectacular 7.422/78.68 effort.

“The tires shook during the first run and they did again in the second, but I felt that the car was going straight so I stayed with it and we had the type of run we wanted to make,” Tasca said after the first day of qualifying. “The hot rod is running great.”

During Saturday qualifying runs, Tasca ran 5.136/145.74 and 4.088/309.27 to secure eighth place and lane choice against Capps.

Motorcraft