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Friday we were wondering how much racing we were going to get in on Saturday with an 80% chance of rain on the horizon. Luckily, those chances dwindled from 80% to 50% for afternoon showers. The has been working on the track all morning and they are hoping to get started at 12pm with Top Fuel.

Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson. Check out their full line of tires and wheels at www.mickeythompsontires.com

The rain finally stopped about ten this morning

It hailed this morning on my drive into Pomona. Needless to say, I quickly ducked into a local gas station to keep any possible damage to my car minimal

Brian Theil is one of the new men on the block in Funny Car. The owner/driver started up his racing campaign last year, attending three races. “We treated last year like a test session for this year – it is a brand new car and a new team.”

When talking about getting ready for last year, Theil commented, “I had another builder helping me get ready last year and backed out two weeks before Seattle. That is when I had Johnny West come in and help me finish the car and take over the crew chief duties. The car actually wasn’t done and we finished it in the pits at Seattle. It was a rush deal and we didn’t get a chance to do any testing before our first race.”

Things begin to look better during the off season, “Over the winter we had time to go through and fine tune the car. Also we built a backup car as well.”

When I asked Theil about new car driving nerves he responded, “I don’t really get nervous driving the car. I just jump in, hit the throttle, let go of the brake and hold on. Where I get nervous is not doing well. Sucess makes you happy and when you don’t do well, it is hard to swallow.”

Of course a championship is everyone’s goal for the year, but I asked Theil what is realistic goals for the year was and he responded, “I believe we have a top ten car. Anything less than rookie of the year and in the count down would be a failure to me.”

Gallery Updated from Saturday’s First Round. Second Round Starting Now

The ‘Big Unit’ held his ground today in the starting line photo area at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona as he snapped some shots of 7,000 horsepower Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars powerfully launching into action during the season-opening NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event. “It’s amazing,” Johnson said. “It’s adrenaline. When one of those cars goes by I want to grab a baseball and throw it through a brick wall. It’s been a pleasure to come out here and meet some of the drivers and take it all in.”

Final Qualifying Notes

Top Fuel

There was one driver that was able to show the DSR boys who is number one on the Top Fuel ladder, and that is veteran racer Larry Dixon. Dixon went out and blasted a record-breaking 3.770 @ 324.98 mph pass, ousting Antron Brown by .018. “Just qualifying for the event is great, a couple years ago we couldn’t get that done,” said an excited Dixon. “It shook really hard, almost to the point I wanted to give up it was shaking that bad, but then it just cleaned up.”

Dixon continued to say, “Great job by the crew – we have never gone down a track that cold before.

Other notable runs include Brandon Bernstein’s jump from 15th to 8th with a lifting 3.856 @ 293.92 run. Morgan Lucas also jumps from 17th to 9th with a 3.857 @ 314.90 mph run.

Funny Car

Cruz Pedregon bumped up in a big way in Funny Car by taking the number one spot away from Johnny Gray. Pedregon was on a tare in the cold Pomona air and blasted out a 4.015 @ 313.22 pass, bettering his Thursday run by .073 and eclipsing the Pomona track record for a funny car.

John Force had a hairy run as his hot rod began to drift towards the middle of the lane all the way down the track, nearly missing his rival in the left hand lane. One of the crowd favorites Melanie Troxel was only able to get one solid pass down the track and was bumped from the ladder with a 4.459 @ 293.03 mph.

Other notables include Matt Hagan moving from the 12th spot to 7th with a 4.099 @ 302.01 mph pass. Funny Car rookie Brian Thiel managed to get his first solid pass of the weekend, but fell short by drawing the 17th spot with a 4.214 @ 293.28 mph pass.

Pro Stock

“It’s surreal – I almost have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming,” is what Erica Enders said after taking the number one qualifying spot in Pro Stock – the first time in four years Enders has had that honor.

Pro Stock qualifying was cut short as the track temperatures were deemed too cold for the cars to run on. The cut from qualifying could have been prompted from last year’s track preparation drama that developed in the class that resulted in a series of crashes. Top Alcohol would run most of their runs after Top Fuel had concluded their last qualifying effort.

Other notables include defending Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson moving from 5th to second with a 6.556 @ 210.77 mph pass. V Gaines bumped from 14th to 6th in qualifying with a 6.564 @ 209.95 mph run. Pro Stock standout Mike Edwards was among one of the two bumped off the ladder and will not run on Sunday as he was unable to make a complete pass down the track.