38th Auto Club of California Finals
(Nov. 7-10th, 2002) Pomona, CA
Notes |
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
NHRA season-ending event is severely affected by Mother Nature. Heavy-duty rain storms wash out both Friday and Saturday schedules without a single car turning a wheel. Instead of postponing the event, NHRA makes a semi-controversial decision to set the Pro field based on current “top ten” points seeding combined with qualifying results from a single session which went of on Thursday. Pressures from both looming POWERade Awards ceremony on Monday and available ESPN television slots ultimately take precedent over the event’s local integrity. Difficult decision (which is allowed for within the rulebook) costs NHRA big time in lost gate receipts. Sunday’s eliminations completes all Professional and Alcohol category racing however Sportsman action does not wrap up until Monday afternoon.
Event’s scheduled Budweiser Shootout for Top Fuel cars is postponed by the poor weather. That race-within-a-race will now be run off during NHRA’s 2003 season-opening event back at Pomona -- next Feb. 8th. Kenny Bernstein, who was scheduled to drive in the Budweiser Shootout retired from driving after the Pomona Finals and it was announced his son Brandon will drive the Budweiser King car in the Shootout. Bernstein’s last race as a driver ends in disappointment. His last ever ride ends in tire smoke in round one and an upset loss to Japan’s Yuichi Oyama.
Cory McClenathan ended a winless drought with an impressive win in Top Fuel, driving the Henkelman and Baca machine. It is Cory‘s first win of the season and his first since Dallas in October of 2000. McClenathan wins the final round on a holeshot beating Yuichi Oyama who had his best finish yet in NHRA competition. NHRA came up just short of it’s first ever all international Top Fuel final round. McClenathan beat Australia’s Andrew Cowin in the semi final round.
John Force ices his 10th straight NHRA POWERade Championship after a dramatic display of power and consistency. Force qualifies low and sets top speed of the meet at 4.762 secs and 324.05 mph but still has to take the measure of his teamate Tony Pedregon in the semi-final round to assure himself of his 12 career World Title. That match is as dramatic as they come with Force in fact winning on a holeshot; 4.954 secs 315.12 mph to a quicker 4.935 secs at 310.84 mph. RT’s are .447 for John and .471 for Tony. Despite that emotion Force does not let down his guard as he goes on to win for the 106th time in his career and 8th time in 2003 by beating Tommy Johnson Jr in the final round.
Kurt Johnson ended a winless streak in Pro Stock which dated back to the 2001 Winternationals when he took the title driving his special edition Kiss-themed AC Delco Chevy Cavalier. Kurt pounds out low ET of eliminations in the final round at 6.801 secs at 202.88 mph to get by a gutsy bid by Team Mopar driver Gene Wilson who ran 6.843 secs. Johnson’s win avenged Wilson’s semi-final round victory over his father Warren. Gene won that match largely on a brilliant .404 RT. Warren Johnson had set low ET of the meet during Thursday’s only class qualifier -- at 6.797 secs.
Top Alcohol Dragster racing saw Morgan Lucas win for the second time in his career and in record setting fashion. Lucas qualifies on the pole and then beats Tony Bartone in an all injected-nitro final round pairing. Lucas runs a fantastic 5.239 secs which is both low ET of the meet and a new NHRA national ET record. Lucas backed up the mark based on a 5.287 secs recording in the semi final round.
Multi-time IHRA event and World Champion Anthony Bertozzi won for the first time in NHRA Super Stock competition at Pomona. The win for Bertozzi came driving the Jegs Mail Order SS/CM ’02 Chevy Cavalier instead of his familiar Parts Pro-sponsored Pontiac Grand-Am. Bertozzi, who had collected his first ever NHRA title win (in Super Comp) during October’s event in Dallas, had already wrapped up the 2002 NHRA Super Stock World Championship coming into the Pomona event.
Rookie Pro Stock Bike rider Karen Stoffer is forced to withdraw from competition after she crashes in the sand traps at the end of the shutdown area during Thursday qualifying. Riding for Greg Cope, Stoffer had run a career best time of 7.267 secs just prior to the incident.
The Pro Stock Bike title went to Colorado’s Matt Hines who rode his Eagle One Suzuki past the upset-minded Kawasaki driven by Geno Scali in the final round. Hines timely win moved him past Antron Brown into a final third place standing in POWERade Pro Stock Bike points. Overall 2002 Champion Angelle Savoie suffered an extremely rare early exit in eliminations. Angelle is caught napping by upstart rider Scott Lewis in round one. Lewis who had qualified for the first time in PSB competition, laid down a .419 RT on Angelle and that equated to a shocking 7.337 secs to 7.191 secs decision.
Season-ending Pomona event concludes some fiercely fought Sportsman World Championship title races. Todd Stewart’s runner-up finish in Super Gas gives him that world title. Jim Hughes (Super Comp) and Mike Saye (Competition) also clinch Lucas Oil World championship title during Monday’s final elimination action.
Pomona event also featured the prestigious Summit Racing National E.T. Championship finals. That invitation only event collected the best ET Bracket racers in four categories from each of NHRA’s seven geographical divisions. Canadian racers Les Belle (Springfield, ON) and Martin Rachel (Richmond BC) collected titles in Super Pro and Pro ET respectively while U.S. racers Jerry Hefler and Richard Pedraza won in Sportsman ET and in Motorcycle.
