43nd K&N FILTERS WINTERNATIONALS
Pomona, CA (Feb. 6-9th, 2003)
Notes |
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
Defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel World Champion Larry Dixon flashes his credentials again with a huge win at 2003 season-opening event. Dixon wins the rain deferred 2002 Budweiser Shootout from last November on Saturday when he beats Brandon Bernstein for a $100,000 first place cheque. Dixon wins a sensational match-up-- 4.558 secs 324.59 mph to 4.564 secs 323.89 mph. Dixon then doubles up on Sunday by taking the K&N Filters Winternationals title winning over Cory McClenathan in the final round. Dixon runs a 4.541 secs 322.04 mph driving Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite car while Cory cards a losing 4.597 secs at 309.42-mph driving Darrell Gwynn’s NY Yankees/Berryman Products dragster. The event double up earns Dixon an extra $50G from NHRA in bonus money. The win was Dixon’s 2nd straight Winternationals Top Fuel title making him the first repeat winner in the event’s fabled 43 year history.
Top Fuel racing sees a number of drivers run career quick and fast times. That includes Doug Kalitta who notches both low ET and top speed of the meet during Saturday’s final qualifying session when he runs 4.482 secs at 332.18 mph in Uncle Connie‘s Mac Tools dragster. Kalitta is however upset in round one of Top Fuel by Melanie Troxel when his car blows a motor. Defending IHRA World Champion Clay Millican has another strong crossover NHRA event. Millican leads most of qualifying after running a career quick and fast 4.522 secs at 326.79 on Friday and finishes in the semi final round.
Tony Pedregon bolts out of the gate first on which many believe will be a POWERade championship title winning season, taking his 20th career event win. Pedregon cards a superb 4.739 secs to open eliminations, which holds up as low ET of the meet. Tony spots final round opponent Johnny Gray a slight starting line advantage in the final round however roars by to win at 4.765 secs at 324.44 mph in the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang. Tony in fact runs nothing but 4.7s throughout eliminations.
Much anticipated Schumacher Racing Dodge Stratus Funny Cars driven by Gary Scelzi and Whit Bazemore debut at Pomona and both are fast out of the box. Bazemore qualifies the Matco Tools car second at 4.766 secs 325.69 mph but falters in round two. Gary Scelzi’s first assignment driving for the team and sponsor Oakley produces a 5th place 4.790 secs at 322.58 mph qualifier but also a first round loss.
FC racing at Pomona features a surprise pole sitter with Illinois-racer Tim Wilkerson taking the pole driving the Levi, Ray & Shoup Pontiac. Wilkerson rides out a sensational 4.759 secs during Thursday’s first session which ultimately holds up for the #1 spot. The FC bump at Pomona is the quickest in class history at 4.895 secs -- topping the 4.900 secs mark set a Joliet in 2001.
Warren Johnson draws first blood in Pro Stock with a national speed record setting effort driving the GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand-Am. Johnson resets the NHRA mph mark at 204.91 mph while taking the 89th win of his career. The final is Johnson versus Johnson with Warren edging out Mopar racer Allen Johnson, 6.788 secs 204.01 mph to 6.802 secs 204.73 mph. Johnson’s win also comes over a record setting field. Terrific track and atmospheric conditions allow Pro Stock class racers to knock 2/100ths off the all time quick bump spot -- to 6.811 secs. The previous quickest field had been 6.831 secs set at Reading in 2001.
Pro Stock class racing features the debut of the 4-car factory backed Mopar Motorsports team comprised of Allen Johnson, Darrell Alderman, Gene Wilson and Larry Morgan. Johnson and Alderman run Hemi-powered Neons and make the late rounds. Wilson and Morgan debut the much anticipated ‘03 Stratus but cars are untested and miss the cut.
Former Pro Stock Truck class standout Greg Stanfield earns his first pole in Pro Stock when he rides Donna and Bart Price’s Hemi-powered Neon to the pole at 6.772 secs. Stanfield is however bitten by a red-light bug in round one and falls to Brad Jeter.
NHRA K&N Winternationals is the first event ever run using new LED Christmas tree starting system. Reaction to the system is mixed overall with reputed leavers complaining about a lost advantage but that is countered by veteran drivers touting the system as a positive. The reality is the LED lights produce rather dramatic improvements in overall starting line reaction times.
The injected nitro cars of Tony Bartone and Morgan Lucas face off in a spectacular TAD final round pairing. Bartone wins for car owner Roger Dean when he beats Lucas in the quickest and fastest side-by-side pairing in class history. Bartone wins at 5.262 secs 266.74 mph to 5.292 secs 273.03 mph. Bartone also comes away from the event holding a new NHRA ET record for the class at 5.227 secs.
TAD class racing produces the event’s only serious wreck with Montana’s Greg Tacke going for a nasty spill during the final qualifying session. Tacke had earlier the same day during another run knocked himself out from tire shake, but it is not apparent if that was a factor in the later crash. The more likely culprit was a rear wing failure. Tacke was taken to hospital as a precaution but was later released.
Stock eliminator racing produced that classes first ever “nine” in national event competition. Wisconsin’s Al Corda wheeled his fuel-injected Pontiac Firebird to a 9.974 secs to qualify second in the category. (New Mexico’s Bobby DeArmond is credited with Stock eliminator history’s first ever “nine” driving his A/SA ‘69 Camaro to that barrier breaking mark at Mission BC in 2001.)
California’s Doug Gordon won his third career national title in TAFC scoring a upset win driving his Chevy Camaro. Gordon is able to beat pole qualifier Cy Chesterman in the final round when Chesterman’s car breaks at about half track. Canada’s Les Davenport had tuned Chesterman to low ET of the meet during qualifying at 5.581 secs. Bucky Austin set Top Speed in the TAFC class at 259.71 mph.
Shirley Muldowney attends the Pomona event however does not race. Instead she hosts a press conference during which she reveals that she will be retiring after 30 years as a driver following the 2003 season. Shirley will race three special edition Mac Tools cars at a total of six events this year at: Gainesville, Englishtown, Indianapolis, Chicago, Las Vegas and Pomona’s season ending NHRA Finals.
