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It’s Friday, which means the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona is on its second day of racing, with two rounds of eliminations for some of the Sportsman classes and the second qualifying rounds in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Top Alcohol and Funny Car. Like Thursday, Friday is pretty quiet compared to Saturday and Sunday, which make Friday one of the best days to mill around the pits, talk to drivers and crews, and still see some action on the track.
The Sportsman cars started the day at 8:00 am, and while they were running we wandered the pits to see what’s shakin’. In a few minutes, the Pro Stock cars will begin making their way to the lanes, followed by the Funny Cars and then the big boys (and girls) of Top Fuel. Check back in later today for complete coverage of the Pro classes’ second qualifying shots. Who will move up on the ladder, who will drop a few spots, and who will have to wait until tomorrow to even make the show. The weather is killer here, so we should see some good runs!
The Army is heavily involved in drag racing with major sponsorships, most notably with Don Shumacher Racing's (DSR), Tony Schumacher-driven Top Fuel dragster. There's a slew of Army guys milling around, most of them gravitating to the Army car's pits.
Left: Top Fuel racer TJ Zizzo signs autographs for fans in the big boy pits, which are a little less populated on Friday. Right: The Sportsman pits, on the other hand, are a lonely place to be. These racers, arguably the most hardcore of anyone here, are out in the south 40 at national events, since the majority of the crowd comes to see the superstars of the pro cars.
You know you're a real racer when: Someone says you can have one vehicle, price is no object, and you pick a full-on Renegade toter home and stacker trailer for your race car. This is the rig and pit of Lynsi Torres, the young billionaire who owns the hugely popular In-N-Out Burger empire. Lynsi runs a 3rd gen Camaro in Super Gas.
Here's what happens when you run your Funny Car into the top-end sand trap. This is Gary Densham's Avenger body.
Terry McMillen's car before the second round of qualifying. He was ninth on the ladder yesterday but dropped out of the field into 17th today. He has two more shots tomorrow.
A Dodge musclecar in front of an '80s Plymouth Horizon is a good example of the diversity in the Stock classes.
At the far end of the pro pits was a cool car show with vintage Fuel diggers and some Altereds, as well as a ton of nice street rods and hot rods. There was also a Junior Dragster display meant to get future racers hooked on the way of life. It seemed to be working.
Defending Pro Stock champ Allen Johnson still hasn't found the combination yet, again making an aborted pass. He's at the bottom of the field, not yet on the ladder.
The Johnson father/son duo lined up together again. Kurt (the son) is so far in the number 10 spot while his dad is in 14th.
Matt Hartford dropped from 15th to 16th on the ladder in his "sign of the devil" numbered Avenger Pro Stocker. That's Mark Wolfe's Mustang in the opposite lane, which hasn't made the field yet.
Larry Morgan's 6.61 was decent yesterday, but it puts him barely in the field. The bump spot is currently 6.627 while number one qualifier Mike Edwards sits at a 6.528.
Erica Enders (now Enders-Stevens after her marriage to fellow racer Richie Stevens) moved up a spot to third with a 6.539 in her Cagnazzi Racing Chevy Cobalt.
When you watch the ESPN coverage of the race and see the close up on the right lane, this is the camera delivering you the shot. It's remote controlled from where we don't know.
Shawn Langdon in the Al-Anabi Fueler (near lane) still hasn't made the field, while in the other lane you're seeing Brittany Force make her very first run in competition, qualifying 12th with a 3.85 at 293 mph.
Steve Chrisman and his low dollar (compared to the big boys) team hasn't figured out the combination yet. This isn't his burnout, it's his second attempt to get in the field.
Bob Vandergriff (near lane) sits in the 8th spot while Spencer Massey (far lane) is seven-hundredths off the number one spot but still sits in 13th.
Connie Kalitta watches from the wall as his driver Dave Grubnic does his burnout. Grubnic moved up from 13th to 7th.
Jimmy Prock (left, crew chief for 2009 Funny Car champion Robert Hight) confers with Rahn Tobler (right, Ron Capps' crew chief) on the track surface before their guys run.
TJ Zizzo's Peak Antifreeze-sponsored Fueler sits on the bump spot going into Saturday's last qualifying sessions.
Oops. Jeff Arend's GrimeBoss car dropped its laundry about 100 feet out, ending his pass. He sits in the number 15 spot.
Tony Pedregon blasted to a 4.225 yesterday to qualify 12th on the first day, but his engine let go today and blew the body sky high. Yes, the body-in-flight photo sucks, but it's all we got.
And here's the qualifying status as it sits after day two of qualifying. We're sorry this all got posted up a bit late, but there were computer, internet, and software issues that made today/tonight difficult. Stay tuned for the final three rounds of qualifying tomorrow, then eliminations on Sunday.
