NHRA Chess Game Continues At Pomona Finale
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Pacesetters remained the same after two days and two sessions of qualifying for the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals on the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Tony Schumacher is at the top of the heap in Top Fuel, Robert Hight leads Funny Car, Mike Edwards and Andrew Hines have No. 1 spots in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, respectively.
Behind them, the chess game is getting more intense. Championship contenders Antron Brown (Top Fuel, 22nd) and two-time Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon (17th) remain on the outside looking into the final field of 16 in their classes.
This is the last of 22 races on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series calendar, and three of four championships are still up for grabs. Jason Line is the undisputed champion in Pro Stock, but the others are definitely there for the taking.
By setting the best ET in Friday's sole qualifying session, Del Worsham regained the Top Fuel points lead over Spencer Massey. Bonus points for top qualifier go to the top three on a 3-2-1 basis, so Worsham's best pass of the day got him three bonus points and the lead.
"It was a great run; we're making good runs and getting ready for Sunday," he said.
There were some changes in mid-pack as Larry Dixon moved from eighth to fifth, helping his title hopes, too. Dixon is the caboose in a top-five of Schumacher, Worsham, Spencer Massey and Morgan Lucas.
Matt Hagan widened the gap in Funny Car when he took third place - and three bonus points - with his Dodge Charger at 4.088/310.41 in rapidly changing conditions. Although forecasters said there would be doom and gloom with accent on the latter, the weather turned out to be pretty nice, alternating between clouds and bright sunshine with moderate temperatures.
Jack Beckman was a big mover in Funny Car, coming from Thursday's 16th place result to ninth. Cruz Pedregon still couldn't get down the track at reasonable pace and lies 17th; John Force straddled the line and the 15-time champ remains on the outside in 18th. Alexis DeJoria made a solid pass down the 1000-foot dragstrip to vault ten spots, from 19th to ninth. Robert Hight, Mike Neff, Hagan, Tim Wilkereson and Ron Capps lead the category.
The cloud cover began to change during Pro Stock, going from sunshine to occasional overcast and back again to sun. Ronnie Humphrey and Shane Gray swapped spots (8th & 9th) and Allen Johnson joined those fairly safe for race day in 10th spot. Ron Krisher still hasn't made it down the track and he does have the same engine builder as No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards. Greg Anderson, Line, Lary Morgan and Kurt Johnson complete the top five.
In Pro Stock Motorcyle things remain pretty much the same. Top Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer still hasn't qualified for Sunday's eliminations, but rookie Jerry Savoie has taken his Hayabusa-bodied Suzuki to ninth place from 11th on Thursday. Hines continues to lead Arana III and point leader Krawiec with Hector Arana fourth and Matt Smith fifth.
NHRA is hoping the L.A. forecasters promise a monsoon and deliver fair skies on Saturday, when there are two more scheduled qualifying sessions scheduled for late morning and mid-afternoon. The field will be set for Sunday's final eliminations of NHRA's 60th anniversary season.
© 2011 Anne Proffit
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