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[2]The smell of nitromethane was thick in the air this morning as teams get prepped for the first round of eliminations this morning. The race is on a slight delay due to some early morning showers.
[3]Spencer Massey was getting his Top Fuel Dragster situated this morning. As we mentioned yesterday evening, Massey made the big jump from 8th to 2nd with a 3.820 @ 325.14 mph pass.
[4]Stay Tuned! Round one of eliminations will begin shortly!
Funny Car Recap
It was definitely an interesting first round of Funny Car. Courtney Force would take her first round win in her first professional Funny Car race against Bob Tasca with a 4.204 @ 309.27, who got the hole shot on Courtney, but got out of the groove and had to pedal.
In another under dog win, Todd Lesenko won against number one qualifier Robert Height on a 4.695 @ 187.34 mph run, as Height went up in smoke at the eighth mile marker. Tim Wilkerson would run low ET of the round with a 4.068 @ 306.19 to take out Johnny Gray who’s run ended in smoke.
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In the second round, Todd Lesenko had his Funny Car set on kill and went into immediate tire shake off the line, which handed the win over to Ron Capps with a 4.086 @ 311.13 mph run. Courtney Force tried all she could to out run fellow JFR teammate Mike Neff but it would be Neff with the victory with a 4.070, which was also the low ET of the round, to Force’s 4.143.
The next pairing became interesting as Jack Beckman would race Gary Densham crossed the clocks on the big end of the track. Beckman’s car made a violent move into Beckman’s lane and the pair of Funny Cars touched, though just enough to cause minor damage to the Funny Cars’ bodies.
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[11]John Force would go on to take the easy semi-final round victory as Gary Densham red lit in his duct-taped Dodge. On the other side of the ladder, Mike Neff would narrowly beat out Ron Capps 4.101 with a 4.074, with the margin of victory at the stripe being .012 of a second.
It would set the stage for an all JFR final round as Mike Neff took on John Force. The 62 year old Force showed the younger Neff how it’s done on the tree by getting the holeshot victory with a 4.080 @ 315.64 mph to Neff’s 4.036 @ 316.82 This was Force’s sixth win at this event and 15th at this track.
“It’s a great start,” Force said. “You really want to perform. I know all those other kids on our teams and others, like Cruz Pedregon, the Schumacher teams, [Tim] Wilkerson, and [Bob] Tasca, those guys are going to win races, and it was just nice to get a win under my belt. Those boys are bad out there. To make that top 10 is going to be tough. Somebody’s going to be left out, so I’m just going to keep fighting and keep my nose clean.”
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“Before the final, I said, ‘What are we going to do ‘Guido?’ (crew chief Dean Antonelli),” Force said. “He said, ‘We can’t race him the way we are, running .12 or .14. We’re going to have to go after it, and if it smokes the tires, we’ll go home.’ They were all over there, looking at the numbers, and it just went. It wasn’t quick enough to beat him. He was late, so I got the win. He told me something distracted him.”
Top Fuel Recap
Shawn Langdon cut down the tree with a .010 light against Torrence during the first round of Top Fuel. Having the better reaction time allowed Langdon to take the 3.827 to 3.820 win. Another one that took the holeshot win was Brandon Bernstein against Dave Grubnic. The difference at the stripe? Shawn Langdon’s reaction time – a mere .010 of a second.
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In the second round, Bernstein wouldn’t be so lucky as he would go up in smoke against Antron Brown. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t get down the track,” Bernstein said. “You hate giving rounds away, but when you smoke the tires, that’s it. Antron’s run would have been tough to beat. He ran a 3.77 (second) pass, that’s a stout run, so you can’t beat yourself up too much about it.”
Number one qualifier Morgan Lucas nearly lost to 9th qualifier Shawn Langdon during the second round of Top Fuel. Lucas narrowly edged out Langdon on a holeshot victory – a 3.792 to Langdon’s 3.791.
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Also for Lucas, his luck would run out in the semi final pass against Antron Brown where a new rear end broke in his dragster, halting what had been a stellar weekend. “There’s nothing that bugs you more than when a practically brand-new part that should go 40 or 50 runs breaks,” Lucas said. “It breaks my heart, to be honest with you, to know that we were out front, we were charging, we were running our career-best again and on our way to a 3.76. It’s just a bummer.”
It was a picture-perfect weekend for Spencer Massey who ran in the 3.7-range all the way through the finals. It was the his semi final pass against Tony Schumacher that made the crowd roar – a new 328.62 mph national speed record and 3.745 ET that was good for the track record. This was Massey’s seventh career Top Fuel victory and first at Pomona.
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Massey posted a 3.750 @ 325.77 to hold off Brown’s 3.794 @ 320.43. “It took Schumacher a little bit longer than normal to get staged and we burned an additional two gallons of gas,” said Massey. “It carried a wheelie a long way out due to that loss of weight and when I saw the score boards on the top end, I couldn’t believe it.”
“Coming up a little short and ending up in second place last year made us that much more hungry and motivated to win a championship, so we focused this winter and acted like there wasn’t an offseason,” said Massey, who beat Steve Faria, Clay Millican and Tony Schumacher in early rounds.
Pro Stock
We start the Pro Stock recap at the honorable mention – Jeg Coughlin. After taking a year off, Coughlin jumps into unknown territory with a Mopar, goes testing twice, and despite a 14th qualifying spot, ended up in the semi finals against Greg Anderson. Coughlin was nearly taken out in round two against Nobile where the margin of victory was .006.
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“The team really showed a lot of character this weekend,” said Coughlin. “This is the third track we’ve been on since we started this program. We’re really just starting to peck away at our inefficiencies. After the three qualifying runs we were fourteenth, and we kind of clawed our way through it today.”
“We’re going to fly this engine back to Mooresville at JNR Racing engines, and Roy (Simmons) and Nick (Ferri) are going to see if they can fine-tune it through the week. We’ve got a couple of days where we might learn some things about this Mopar HEMI powerplant that is still very new to us. If we can make any gains, that’s going to be huge for us. In the meantime we’ve got to keep our focus on Phoenix.”
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[26]Erica Enders suffered a red light start against number four qualifier Allen Johnson. Mike Edwards would win on a holeshot victory against V Gaines with a 6.649 to Gaines’ 6.646. Another holeshot of the round would go to Nobile as he won against Greg Stanfield with a 6.558 to Stainfield’s 6.585
It wasn’t good news for the Johnson family when father Warren did not qualify for Sunday’s eliminations and son (Kurt) lost in the first round against Humprey.
Though in the end, it was the battle of the mail order parts stores with Summit Racing’s Greg Anderson taking the top honors. “I wasn’t the quickest driver out here today, but I was very consistent,” Anderson said. “We managed to stop the big yellow Mopar [of Jeg Coughlin in the final]. He sure came out swinging. You’re always aware of how good Jeg is driving. I’ve never been very good at tuning that kind of stuff out, but it worked today. The crew made great decisions, and here we are back in the winner’s circle again.”
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It’s going to be a beautiful weekend here in Pomona as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season gets underway with its first race of the year in Pomona. It may be early in the season, but as as the professional teams have found, every point counts and racers in all three categories are aiming to kick the 2012 campaign off with a bang. Stay tuned to DragZine Friday through Sunday for same day updates and photos from the Pomona Winternationals.
Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson. Check out their full line of tires and wheels at www.mickeythompsontires.com [29]
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[31]It's almost a carbon copy to what happened last year - rain during qualifying. This time, it's on Saturday versus last year's Friday rainout. Luckily, rain has stopped early and there are nearly two dozen people out drying the track. With that in mind, Sportsman racing will be pushed back from its intended 8:15 starting time.
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[33]How many times can you say you have heard of a chassis breaking in half while being in the back of a hauler? Well, now you can and that was the unfortunate incident Terry Haddock uncovered when unloading his Top Fuel Funny Car Thursday.
“The frame literally broke in half,” said Chris Defrang. “Then after we fixed that, we realized there was 10 different cracks on the front half of the frame, and it isn’t even that old.”
While the chassis can be front-halved down the road, they needed to find something that was going to work…for this weekend. Luckily the team was able to buy a spare frame from Gary Densham, but to make matters worse, it was by a different manufacture.
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This is where the chassis broke in half, and after welding it back together, realized there were nearly a dozen cracks elsewhere. Now the team scrambles to get the Densham-purchased chassis ready.
“Nothing fits, and I mean nothing,” Defrang exclaimed. “We had to remote virtually everything, from the tanks, to the rear end.”
Defrang is hesitant that the team will be ready for this afternoon’s qualifier as they are still waiting on parts to arrive. The NHRA has already certified the chassis but they will need another certification for safety once they have the car complete.
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Antron Brown was out signing autographs before readying his Top Fuel dragster for Saturday's first round of qualifying. Brown currently sits 9th in qualifying with a 3.882 @ 311.70 mph pass.
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Qualifying Round 3 Quick Updates
[40]While Morgan Lucas maintained the number one spot in qualifying after the third round of Top Fuel, it was Spencer Massey that made the big jump from 8th to 2nd with a 3.820 @ 325.14 mph pass.
[41]Antron Brown also made the jump from 9th to 4th in the third round with a 3.833 @ 322.81.
Funny Car
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Funny Car got off to a slow start today as James Day oiled down the track from the 60 foot clock through the end of the 1320.
[44]It was a different Robert that took over the number one spot in Funny Car during the third round and that was Robert Height with a 4.060 @ 316.52 mph pass, up from a staggering 18th spot.
[45]Another JFR driver that went from unqualified to qualified was Mike Neff with a 4th place pass equaling 4.103 seconds at 307.16 mph.
[46]"Hold onto my Full Throttle and watch this baby." Despite all the shuffling during qualifying Papa JFR still sits in 6th, slightly improving from a 4.185 to a 4.126.
[47]Jeff Arend was finally able to put down a solid pass in his Toyota Funny Car and jumped from 19th to 7th with a 4.139 @ 304.32.
Pro Stock
[48]The Professor Warren Johnson has been struggling with his Pontiac GXP all weekend and is currently one of two unqualified Pro Stock competitors, next to Steve Kent.
[49]While the cooler air is helping the Pro Stockers run a little faster today, the gains have been marginal. Jason Line showed everyone why he has the number 1 on the side of his GXP by taking away the number one spot from Mike Edwards with a 6.535 @ 212.23.
[50]Erica Enders has gone flat black this season with a new sponsor taking over for ZaZa Energy. Enders had a successful 2011 with her switch to Cagnazzi racing, and while she found herself in three final round appearances, failed to take home a Wally. Enders currently sits in 13th with a 6.597 @ 209.43 mph run.
Qualifying Round 4
[51]This photo from last year best represents what's delaying the 4th round of qualifying. Pro Stock is in the lanes and the crew is feverishly trying to get the track dry before the 7pm curfew. The racing for today is officially over due to the rain.
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It’s going to be a beautiful weekend here in Pomona as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season gets underway with its first race of the year in Pomona. It may be early in the season, but as as the professional teams have found, every point counts and racers in all three categories are aiming to kick the 2012 campaign off with a bang. Stay tuned to DragZine Friday through Sunday for same day updates and photos from the Pomona Winternationals.
Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson. Check out their full line of tires and wheels at www.mickeythompsontires.com [29]
[53]It is going to be a beautiful weekend here in Pomona for the 52nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals. Unlike last year where rain plagued racing, this weekend looks to be a perfect, rain free event. Many teams began unloading around 9:30 AM to get ready for their single round of qualifying today.
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[55]Khalid Al-Balooshi is going to be a name to get use to in the 2012 NHRA season. Backed by a championship winning team, Balooshi earned his Top Fuel license, making a number of runs to varying distances, culminating in a great 3.86-second, 319 MPH blast to the 1,000 foot clocks.
In addition to the NHRA Pro Modified crown, the 32-year old Balooshi also won the 2011 Arabian Drag Racing League Pro Mod Championship, winning five of the seven events contested in Qatar. He also finished third in the American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous points standings.
In all, the Dubai UAE native has won 158 races in Pro Nitrous, Pro Modified, Outlaw, and Super Street classes in his career.”Going from 3,000 horsepower in Pro Mod up to 8,000 horsepower in Top Fuel is a big jump, said Balooshi . “It is much faster from start to finish line than Pro Mod; the feeling is just so much faster.”
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[57]At a press conference held at the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Mopar and four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. announced the second generation racer’s return to the factory hot rod ranks in 2012 after a one year hiatus, behind the wheel of a brand new Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Avenger on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Since then, the team has made it to the track twice for testing, once in Palm Beach an once at Las Vegas while en route to this weekend’s race.
“The adrenaline is definitely pumping,” Coughlin said. “The level of factory support Mopar is providing is fantastic and I think it’s going to be very special. The passion the CTC and Mopar folks have for drag racing and for taking the their brand to the top of the sport is invigorating. These guys and gals are on a mission and we’re thrilled to be working with them.”
Coughlin, who is not only a four-time Pro Stock champion, but a four-time division 3 champion and winner of 67 national events, will team with longtime Mopar racer Allen Johnson and father Roy’s J&J Racing Team in his Pro Stock efforts for 2012.
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If you thought John Force got a lot of attention from media and fans, you wouldn’t believe how much exposure rookie Courtney is getting recently. A flood of fans converge to Courtney’s pit anytime she out and about to get their first sight of JFR’s newest driver. With the family heritage deep in Top Fuel racing, we asked Courtney what dinner conversation was like at the Force home, “It’s very awkward if we are not talking about racing! (laughs) I have been involved with this since I was born, and we don’t have much to talk about because this is our passion and we love being out here.”
We asked her how the transition has been into a Funny Car and how the learning curve has been, “It’s been great. I have so many great teachers with my dad and my sister. I am learning something new on every run; the car always throws something new with you, which can be exciting.”
After winning her first NHRA national event in Top Alcohol Dragster in 2009 and earning “Top Agent” honors in the marketing contest that fueled Ford’s Fiesta Movement introduction in 2010, Courtney spent the better part of last season testing in a Ford Mustang Funny Car following selected Full Throttle tour events. We got first glimpse of Tony Pedregon's awesome, new American Racing Wheels wrap this morning. The rat rod-inspired design will be backed by a wrap that is truly unique - looking like an old and rusted out (though carbon fiber doesn't rust!) salvage yard queen. The Funny Car is also sporting red beadlocks with white shoe polish on the Goodyears to simulate the white-wall tire look. Very cool.
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2011 Funny Car champion Matt Hagan was out early signing autographs this morning. The 28 year old is racing in only his third full season in Funny Car. Hagan had an impressive year by winning twice, qualifying number 1 three times and finishing runner-up two times. He was also the first to break the Funny Car 3-second barrier, running 3.995 seconds at zMax Dragway, where he also established the fastest speed in NHRA history of 322.27 mph.
Qualifying Round 2
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Pro Stock
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[67]Jeg Couglin currently sits on the bump with a 6.673 @ 209.01.
Mike Edwards knows the number one qualifying spot too well, and if it holds, it will be the 41st of his career and the 5th at Pomona. His top pass holds from yesterday’s Pro Stock qualifying action where he went 6.545 @ 211.86 mph.
Today though, Edwards still went fast, clocking a 6.571 @ 211.53 mph run, though he said it was less than ideal, “Our car made a hard move out of the groove right off the starting line in the right lane. The 60 foot time was about the same as yesterday, but leaving crooked scrubbed off some E.T.
Tomorrow looks to be about 7 degrees cooler than today’s temperatures, which helps the Pro Stock competitors more than any pro class. “I really think tomorrow will be a better session with the cooler temperatures; the engines in these cars love cooler temperatures,” said Edwards. “If the conditions are good for Saturday morning’s first session, everybody should pick up and I think that it’s going to take a 6.52 to end up with the number one qualifying spot.
[68]Greg Anderson poses for the camera as he gets ready for his first qualifying pass. Anderson's pass of a 6.556 @ 211.43 puts his currently in the number five spot.
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Vincent Nobile had a hard time getting his car into reverse for his pass and had to be pushed back to the line. Nobile currently sits in 6th with a 6.569 @ 210.77.
Funny Car
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[72]All eyes were on Courtney Force for her first run and she put down a solid 4.199 @ 307.09 mph pass that put her in 8th, which is two spots behind her father's (John Force) 4.185 @ 300.40 run.
Bob Tasca is letting everyone know, he isn’t here to play around this season. “Listen. We have high expectations for our program this year,” exclaimed Tasca. “I not out here for any other reason other than to compete for a championship. This is my fifth year racing and I believe this is our best shot to do that.”
Tasca drove his Shelby Mustang to the current number one position with a 4.109 @ 309.34 mph If it holds, it would be Tasca’s third career number one qualifying position.
“That 4.10, based on what everyone else ran, was pretty impressive,” Tasca said. “I tell ya, it wasn’t much of an off-season for us. We tested a week in December and another week-plus in January, so we probably have 50 runs on that Motorcraft/Quick Lane car. We were disappointed with how we finished the season last year, so we dug deep this off-season and made some great runs in testing, and it’s always nice to translate into a race-day tune up.”
[73]Alexis De Joria sits right in between the Force family in 7th with a 4.198 @ 300.40 mph run.
Top Fuel
[74]Second generation Top Fuel pilot Brandon Bernstein, displaced from his Copart ride at the conclusion of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle season when father and team owner Kenny Bernstein announced his retirement from the sport, has been selected to drive the MavTV/Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster for Morgan Lucas Racing in 2012 and beyond.
Morgan Lucas is the defending winner of this race from last year and let the field know he is trying to do it again by running the quickest Top Fuel lap during the session with a 3.835@ 316.38 mph but it was the 3.832 @ 320.28 mph Thursday that actually put him number one.
“To be honest, I’m as shocked as anybody that we’re still low with a 3.83,” said Lucas. “Our run today was pretty similar to what we did yesterday other than that it dropped a cylinder down track. I have to sing the praises of my guys. Since Aaron [Brooks, crew chief] and Rod [Centorbi, assistant crew chief] came over this winter, we adopted the motto ‘If it’s not perfect, it’s not right.’ The way the car is running is a reward for the hard work and extra hours they put in.”