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Feb 6-9, 2008 POMONA, Calif. -- Points standings 1. Tony Schumacher 116 1. Robert Hight 112 1. Greg Anderson 118 Final eliminations POMONA, Calif. -- Hight, Anderson and Schumacher Schumacher, who with the victory moved to second on the Top Fuel all-time wins list behind legend Joe Amato (52 wins), covered the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona quarter-mile dragstrip in 4.499 seconds at 331.28 mph in his U.S. Army dragster, while final round opponent Cory McClenathan trailed in his FRAM dragster at 4.536 at 329.26. "It has been an outstanding week," said Schumacher of his second Winternationals victory and sixth at the historic track. "The car was so consistent all weekend. It's always great to win at Pomona and this is our second Winternationals win. I've loved being in California this week. I'm going home to 13-inches of snow tomorrow (in Chicago)." Schumacher dedicated his trophy to fellow competitor Doug Herbert, whose two young sons were killed in a traffic accident in North Carolina two weeks ago. "We're all part of a family when something like that happens," Schumacher said. "I really wanted Doug to have this trophy. It was bittersweet having to race him in the second round. We were able to go on and get the win so this trophy is going to Doug." Hight raced to his ninth career Funny Car victory and second at this race, powering his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a 4.861 at 284.39, just edging Cruz Pedregon at the finish line, who ran 4.879 at 322.50 in his Advance Auto Parts Chevy Impala SS. Hight earned a first round victory when Ron Capps crossed the centerline, then raced to wins over veterans Gary Densham and John Force in the next two rounds, before defeating Pedregon in the final. He says days like this that feature a lineup of very tough opponents is going to be very common this season. "It's going to be a tough year," said Hight, who finished second in the POWERade Series standings in 2007. "There are an awful lot of really good cars out there. It's going to be hard to win the championship this year, but it's going to be exciting." Defending Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon received burns to his right hand but was otherwise OK after taking a wild ride in a first round loss to John Force. The engine on Pedregon's Q Horsepower Chevy Impala exploded in a spectacular fireball near the finish line, sending chunks of the carbon-fiber body that covers his chassis flying into the air. "There was no warning," said Pedregon, who was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and was later released and returned to the track to cheer on brother Cruz. "A lot of times when something happens to your car, like when you drop a cylinder, you feel it, and I would have reacted," Pedregon continued. "But it blew up, and I had instant flames, like a flame-thrower in my face and the scary part was I didn't know where I was. I hit the wall very hard and I feel very lucky. This is a little bit of a glitch for us, but this is why we have depth. We have good people and I feel fine - I feel great. I'm anxious to get back in the seat at Phoenix, and hey, if this is what it takes to get to the top, these are unfortunate things, but in terms of safety, to have a high-speed wreck like that, blow a motor and go into the wall a couple of times at close to 300 mph, I think it proves a lot about the safety features we've added to these cars." Anderson claimed his 52nd career Pro Stock victory by outrunning rival Jeg Coughlin in the final round. Anderson, who is now tied for fifth place in all-time POWERade Series wins with Top Fuel legend Joe Amato, drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a track record time of 6.616 at 209.23 to hold off defending series champ Coughlin, who posted a 6.638 at 208.42 in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt. "Anytime you match up against Jeg you better bring everything you've got," said Anderson, a three-time series champ who finished second to Coughlin in last year's Countdown to the Championship. "I knew no matter what we ran, he'd be right there and he was. We're going to try to win every race this year, but it's going to be the toughest year in the class because these guys out here aren't going to give an inch." The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues with the 24th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals, Feb. 22-24 at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix. Sunday's final results from the 48th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The race is the first of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series: Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 4.499 seconds, 331.28 mph def. Cory McClenathan, 4.536 seconds, 329.26 mph. Funny Car -- Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.861, 284.39 def. Cruz Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.879, 322.50. Pro Stock -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.616, 209.23 def. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.638, 208.42. Top Alcohol Dragster -- Duane Shields, 5.377, 270.00 def. Joey Severance, foul. Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.558, 260.26 def. Brian Hough, Monte Carlo, 5.779, 250.27. Competition Eliminator -- Jim Cowan, Chevy Cobalt, 8.188, 148.67 def. Dan Fletcher, Cobalt, 9.196, 109.60. Super Stock -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 9.352, 134.56 def. Brad Rounds, Chevy S-10, 9.335, 142.60. Stock Eliminator -- Toby Lang, Chevelle, 11.630, 108.76 def. Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Camaro, 10.502, 125.71. Super Comp -- Kyle Seipel, Dragster, 8.924, 166.64 def. Rick Beckstrom, Dragster, foul. Top Fuel A very light field due to the Knoll Gas sponsorship pull out will likely see one or two events with less than 16 competitors. The creme at the top is still the same and there may be a couple additions to the list this year. Race winner Schumacher, Bernstien, Fuller and Dixon will always be THE threats, but a resurging Cory Mac under the Schumacher stable along as well as early surprise Morgan Lucas and rookie Antron Brown will be there in the late rounds. Hillary Will also looks stronger than she has since she entered the class. Sentimental favorite Doug Herbert needs to win a few events this year to honor his boys, but he will be in tough to take it to the championship level like he has dedicated his season for them. Round 1: Cory McClenathan, Brownsberg IN, Hadman-TFX, Right
lane, (0.044) 4.518 329.34 def. Brandon Rod Fuller, Las Vegas NV, Hadman-TFX, Left lane, (0.055)
4.494 326.24 def. David Grubnic, Ypsilanti Doug Herbert, Lincolnton NC, McKinney-BAE, Left lane,
(0.078) 4.644 325.06 def. Alan Bradshaw, Morgan Lucas, Brownsburg IN, Hadman-TFX, Right lane,
(0.065) 4.546 331.77 def. Bob Vandergriff, Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, Hadman-TFX, Right lane,
(0.104) 4.522 329.26 def. Urs Erbacher, Larry Dixon, Indianapolis IN, McKinney-TFX, Right
lane, (0.079) 4.512 331.61 def. Troy Buff, Carson Tony Schumacher, Long Grove IL, Hadman-TFX, Right
lane, (0.077) 4.508 328.30 def. Doug Kalitta, Hillary Will, Ypsilanti MI, Attac-TFX, Right lane,
(0.142) 5.992 168.89 def. J.R. Todd, Brownsburg Round 2: M Lucas, Right lane, (0.081) 4.564 322.73 def. H Will, (0.411) 4.594 325.85 C McClenathan, Right lane, (0.064) 4.530 329.34 def. A Brown, (0.062) 16.894 47.41 L Dixon, Left lane, (0.054) 4.551 310.05 def. R Fuller, (0.092) 4.691 297.75 T Schumacher, Right lane, (0.078) 4.511 331.45 def. D Herbert, (0.056) 4.678 315.42 Round 3: C McClenathan, Right lane, (0.072) 4.555 329.34 def. M Lucas, (0.080) 4.612 278.98 T Schumacher, Right lane, (0.081) 4.510 329.75 def. L Dixon, (0.055) 4.573 317.27 Finals T Schumacher, Right lane, (0.041) 4.499 331.28 def. C McClenathan, (0.071) 4.536 329.26 Low ET: Rod Fuller 4.494 seconds Funny Car Two words... Team Force......... They were a 'force' to be sure. Three of four cars in the semis, Hight the winner and John as animated as always, but also looking quite frail compared to the John Force of old. Hopefully he gets healthier every week, and the team wins the championship in Medlen's honor. Tony P had a huge explosion and fire that had John running to his aid (he was okay with a few burns on his hands) Back to 90% may cause issues for the first while. Brother Cruz went to the final and lost a very close race to the favorite this season. The field is lighter due to all the Knoll teams hiatus'. Others at Pomona including Gary Densham are rumored to be part time at best. Round 1: Gary Densham, Bellflower CA, '07 Monte Carlo, Left
lane, (0.097) 4.862 312.86 def. Tim Wilkerson, Jack Beckman, North Hills CA, '07 Charger, Left lane,
(0.066) 4.959 309.63 def. Jerry Toliver, Gary Scelzi, Fresno CA, '07 Charger, Left lane, (0.085)
4.911 317.94 def. Scott Kalitta, Ypsilanti Bob Tasca III, Hope RI, '08 Mustang, Right lane, (0.090)
5.235 225.97 def. Melanie Troxel, Avon IN, John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '07 Mustang, Right lane,
(0.101) 4.805 327.66 def. Tony Pedregon, Ashley Force, Yorba Linda CA, '06 Mustang, Right lane,
(0.112) 5.959 300.00 def. Bob Bode, Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '07 Impala, Left lane,
(0.045) 4.927 311.85 def. Mike Neff, Yorba Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '06 Mustang, Left lane,
(0.092) 5.521 280.37 def. Ron Capps, Carlsbad Round 2: R Hight, Right lane, (0.113) 5.291 295.46 def. G Densham, (0.099) 9.088 97.12 A Force, Right lane, (0.119) 4.873 318.62 def. B Tasca III, (0.129) 4.955 310.63 J Force, Right lane, (0.109) 4.871 312.42 def. G Scelzi, (0.060) NT-Broke After Staging C Pedregon, Left lane, (0.048) 5.010 303.84 def. J Beckman, (0.014) 5.122 295.21 Round 3: C Pedregon, Left lane, (0.040) 4.850 325.06 def. A Force, (0.141) 4.996 246.75 R Hight, Left lane, (0.107) 4.842 313.73 def. J Force, (0.110) 11.266 84.45 Finals R Hight, Right lane, (0.061) 4.861 284.39 def. C Pedregon, (0.057) 4.879 322.50 Low ET: Tim Wilkerson 4.790 seconds Pro Stock Pro Stock could see a very good season as at least three teams look ready to win multiple times this year. Of course the Ken Black team was strong and Anderson won the event. Coughlin was right in the mix but was a couple hun back in performance. Kurt and Warren were also a force to be reckoned with. The Dodge clan (Johnson, Naylor, Gaines) were close but yet so far (.05 back) Round 1: Greg Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '08 GXP, Left lane,
(0.045) 6.672 206.99 def. Max Naylor, New Justin Humphreys, Monrovia MD, '06 GTO, Left lane,
(0.020) 6.657 207.56 def. V. Gaines, Lakewood Jason Line, Troutman NC, '06 GTO, Left lane, (0.001)
6.671 208.20 def. Bill Glidden, Whiteland IN, Allen Johnson, Greeneville TN, '08 Stratus, Left lane,
(0.021) 6.645 207.85 def. Matt Hartford, Warren Johnson, Sugar Hill GA, '06 GTO, Left lane,
(0.110) 6.661 208.46 def. Kenny Koretsky, Kurt Johnson, Sugar Hill GA, '08 Cobalt, Left lane,
(0.050) 6.648 208.30 def. Mike Edwards, Coweta Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '08 GXP, Left lane,
(0.030) 6.627 208.94 def. Johnny Gray, Artesia Jeg Coughlin, Delaware OH, '08 Cobalt, Left lane,
(0.040) 6.670 207.59 def. Ron Krisher, Warren OH, Round 2: J Coughlin, Right lane, (0.027) 6.685 207.27 def. J Humphreys, (0.049) 6.724 207.15 K Johnson, Left lane, (0.013) 6.675 207.78 def. J Line, (0.073) 6.653 208.65 A Johnson, Left lane, (0.027) 6.702 205.54 def. W Johnson, (0.024) 6.736 206.57 G Anderson, Left lane, (0.039) 6.637 208.36 def. G Stanfield, (0.027) 6.678 206.89 Round 3: J Coughlin, Right lane, (0.024) 6.666 207.46 def. K Johnson, (0.050) 6.651 208.01 G Anderson, Left lane, (0.030) 6.643 208.62 def. A Johnson, (0.067) 6.654 207.85 Finals G Anderson, Left lane, (0.027) 6.616 209.23 def. J Coughlin, (0.025) 6.638 208.42 Low ET: Greg Anderson 6.616 seconds TAD Optimism was evident at Pomona for the blown cars as there was only a .04 et advantage for the best between A/F and BAD. If that is as bad as it gets (not likely with Riechert not in attendance) then the class may survive the year without too much controversy. Lucas is clearly one of the top three in the class (the only .20 car all weekend) and event winner Shields is right up there too. Five of the eight best blown cars were in attendance (Whitely, Severance, Bayer, Cowie, Demke). In my opinion Severance gave the race away, as he was the most consistent car in elimination's. But like it has happened so many times in the last few years, the blown car, even running with the A/Fuelers, figure they have to pull the trigger on the tree, and it bites them in the butt. Go up there and run your own race guys, and don't lose it on the starting line. Round 1: Duane Shields, Boulder City NV, Hadman-BAE, Right
lane, (0.075) 5.391 270.32 def. Brandon Lewis, Joey Severance, Spanaway WA, Hadman-MBR, Left lane,
(0.071) 5.322 265.64 def. Courtney Force, Yorba Jeff Isbell, Erda UT, Hadman-BAE, Right lane, (0.069)
5.550 255.63 def. Jim Whiteley, Grand Shawn Cowie, Richmond BC, Santos-BAE, Left lane, (0.089)
5.376 268.81 def. Edwin Schmeeckle, Chris Demke, Sunland CA, Uyehara-BAE, Right lane,
(0.029) 5.455 263.36 def. Thomas Bayer, Fontana Dave DeAngelis, Middlesex NJ, Yancer-BAE, Left lane,
(0.096) 5.448 256.36 def. Johnny Ahten, Sagus Kate Harker, Gainesville GA, Spitzer-CRE, Right lane,
(0.094) 5.424 263.26 def. Larry Miersch, Morgan Lucas, Brownsburg IN, Hadman-BAE, Left lane,
(0.073) 5.348 263.72 def. Brandon Johnson, Round 2: J Severance, Left lane, (0.056) 5.329 266.58 def. D DeAngelis, (0.056) 5.547 252.66 D Shields, Left lane, (0.046) 5.319 268.71 def. M Lucas, (0.077) 5.485 261.93 K Harker, Right lane, (0.110) 5.509 260.81 def. S Cowie, (0.112) 5.509 244.87 J Isbell, Right lane, (0.081) 5.704 243.50 def. C Demke, (0.050) 6.227 163.87 Round 3: J Severance, Left lane, (0.043) 5.350 266.79 def. J Isbell, (0.076) 5.790 245.94 D Shields, Left lane, (0.060) 5.543 260.11 def. K Harker, (0.079) 11.182 74.06 Finals D Shields, Right lane, (0.037) 5.377 270.00 def. J Severance, (-0.011 foul) 16.041 52.83 Low ET: Morgan Lucas 5.280 seconds TAFC Alky flopper notes ..........In a word, 'Manzo'! What can you say about the most crowned world champion. He is not getting any softer for sure. Total domination in qualifying, total domination in elimination's He even had better lights than three of his four opponent in elimintions, and was almost a tenth quicker than each of them in elimination's When he is at the races, everyone else is looking for the runner-up cheque. And they worry about parity in TAD. Jay Payne was the closest but at best he was half a tenth back. Is everyone running for second place, Well when the West Coast teams seem to have a half dozen in the top ten at the end of every year, I would say that is where the fight will be. Not having Bob Tacsa in the class (he was the next quickest and actual quickest TAFC driver out there) further puts Manzo in front. Newberry retiring does as well. Round 1: Frank Manzo, Morganville NJ, '06 Monte Carlo, Left
lane, (0.031) 5.538 262.23 def. Sean O'Bannon, Paul Anderson, Erie CO, '07 Charger, Right lane, (0.144)
5.648 254.18 def. Bret Williamson, Jay Payne, Claremont CA, '07 Mustang, Left lane, (0.172)
5.587 257.48 def. Jason Rupert, Yorba Brian Hough, Junction City OR, '06 Monte Carlo, Left
lane, (0.073) 6.935 158.65 def. Ron August Jr, Doug Gordon, Paso Robles CA, '06 Monte Carlo, Left
lane, (-0.006) 5.620 259.71 def. Bernie Jeff Carroll, Santa Barbara CA, '06 Monte Carlo, Right
lane, (0.061) 6.707 204.08 def. Sean John Patton, Peoria AZ, '99 Firebird, Right lane,
(0.096) 5.770 224.81 def. Don Hudson, Stockton Dennis Taylor, Anaheim Hills CA, '02 Camaro, Left
lane, (0.088) 5.768 251.39 def. Clint Thompson, Round 2: B Hough, Right lane, (0.014) 6.743 175.91 def. J Carroll, (0.046) 6.865 244.56 D Gordon, Left lane, (0.056) 5.652 257.83 def. P Anderson, (0.075) DQ-Centerline J Payne, Left lane, (0.059) 5.608 257.09 def. J Patton, (0.065) 5.754 231.44 F Manzo, Left lane, (0.072) 5.509 262.69 def. D Taylor, (0.125) 10.868 63.19 Round 3: B Hough, Right lane, (0.029) 5.799 251.34 def. J Payne, (0.030) 5.858 252.95 F Manzo, Left lane, (0.050) 5.560 259.96 def. D Gordon, (0.025) 5.651 258.86 Round 4: F Manzo, Left lane, (0.016) 5.558 260.26 def. B Hough, (0.043) 5.779 250.27 Low ET: Frank Manzo 5.509 seconds Final qualifying
Brown, who earned 11 No. 1 qualifying awards in nearly a decade of racing on two wheels, was able to stay at the top of the field after a competitive day of qualifying. His run of 4.495 at 330.07 from Friday in his Matco Tools dragster was good enough to lead the 16 car field. "It's just an unreal deal out here right now," Brown said. "For a kid out of Chesterfield, N.J. to come out here, race Pro Stock Motorcycle in NHRA drag racing, then get the chance to race all of the different (Top Fuel) drivers that I look up to is just unbelievable. And then to go out there and run a 4.495 is even better." Former two-time world champion Larry Dixon drove his U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company dragster to the second spot in the field, posting a 4.497-second run at 325.14 mph during the last session of qualifying.
"We left a lot on the table after the morning run today and really had our backs against the wall coming into the last run," Wilkerson said. "We had about three different timing scenarios made up on my graphic editor depending on whether or not we were in the show and after the morning run when we were still in we decided to stick the top one in there and go for the throat and it just happened to work." Melanie Troxel qualified third in her first Funny Car race, and John Force qualified fifth in his return to racing.
"We knew we didn't make a real clean run on Thursday so we thought as the week went and the track got better we should be able to make a better run, and we did just that," Anderson said. "Thankfully we were right on that." Final eliminations for the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Friday Qualifying
POMONA, Calif. --
Brown, who earned 16 victories in nearly a decade of racing on two wheels, powered his Matco Tools dragster to the best run of his early Top Fuel career, posting a performance of 4.495 seconds at 330.07 mph.
Defending world champion Tony Schumacher moved to second overall in his U.S. Army dragster with his run of 4.513 seconds at 331.53 mph from Thursday. Kalitta remained the leader in Funny Car in his DHL Toyota Solara (4.818 seconds), but driver Cruz Pedregon posted the quickest run of the day and moved from 16th to second overall, driving his Advance Auto Parts Chevy Impala SS to a run of 4.818 at 322.65.
Kurt Johnson was the only driver in Pro Stock to improve his performance from Thursday. He drove his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt to a 6.646 at 208.36 to narrow the gap between qualifying leader Anderson's Summit Racing Pontiac GXP. "We took our information from yesterday and we went in that left-hand lane," Johnson said. "It looks like that left-hand lane is probably a couple hundredths quicker." Saturday's two qualifying sessions are at Noon and 3 p.m. Thursday qualifying POMONA, Calif. --
Schumacher picked up where he left off last season by clocking the quickest run of the day in his class -- a 4.513 second effort at 331.53 mph in his U.S. Army dragster. "That was a pretty decent run on a great track," Schumacher said. "The computer showed that there's a lot left in (the tune-up). We have an outstanding race car and we're hoping to get off to a better start this season. Alan (Johnson, crew chief) seemed happy with the run, so that's good." Former Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Antron Brown made his Top Fuel debut and posted a 10th place effort. He covered the quarter-mile distance in 4.560 seconds at 326.16 mph in his Matco Tools dragster.
"The car is OK, but the body will need to be repaired," said Kalitta, who noted that his parachutes failed because a last-minute body change didn't leave him with enough time to properly adjust the levers that control the parachutes' operation. "They'll probably put a new front clip on it. "We're happy with the run but there's still three more rounds of qualifying left, so that run probably won't stay number one," Kalitta continued. "I am just happy that it went down the track." Defending Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon is third with a 4.845 at 325.45 in his Q-Horsepower Chevy Impala, while 14-time champ John Force was 14th in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang after making a comeback from a serious crash last season at Dallas that sidelined him with multiple injuries. Former Top Fuel racer Melanie Troxel will try to become the 14th competitor in NHRA history to win in both nitro categories. She opened her Funny Car career with a 4.900 second run at 316.45 mph in her ProCare Rx Dodge Charger, good enough for eighth overall.
"This is a magic place for me," Anderson said. "I love coming here. I love the facility and the race track and the people around here. I've got a lot of special memories here." Defending champ Jeg Coughlin was third with a 6.651 at 207.98 in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt.
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