K&N Filters Winternationals
Pomona
(Feb. 7-10)
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42nd annual |
| Sunday |
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first NHRA POWERade victories |
The first race of the POWERade Drag Racing Series is officially in the books with a happy group of professional winners. Top Fuel ace Larry Dixon, Funny Car pro John Force, and Pro Stock veteran George Marnell shot to the top of their respective points standings with exciting victories at the 42nd annual K&N Filters Winternationals.
Dixon was arguably the happiest of the group as he dispatched beer rival Kenny Bernstein by a 4.535 to 4.612-second margin in the Top Fuel finale. John Force came within one win of No. 100 by out-pedaling final-round opponent Del Worsham, taking the win with a 6.26 at 219 mph in front of Worsham's 6.64 at 243.68 mph. Las Vegan George Marnell rode a streak of superb reaction times to his win, taking out Jim Yates by .0009-second for the Pro Stock title.
Dixon left little doubt about the outcome of his final round race against Bernstein, beating the reigning champion off the starting line and never looking back, clicking every incremental timer well ahead of Bernstein. His 4.535 at 324.75 mph against Bernstein's 4.612 at 324.67-mph effort combined with his starting line advantage to hand him the win by nearly a tenth of a second.
 Larry Dixon
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This marks Dixon's 17th win in 34 final rounds. It's his second win at this racetrack and second at the Winternationals. His other victory here came in 1998. Six-time champion Bernstein has now run for a national event title 106 times, 58 times in each Funny Car and Top Fuel.
"This is Bernstein's farewell tour and I know they're geared up over there but this team worked awfully hard in the off-season also," Dixon said. "We stumbled a bit at the beginning of the day but we had our act together by the finals. Those few lucky rounds early on gave us enough of a break to let Dick [LaHaie, crew chief] get this Miller Lite car dialed in.
"I was looking for a ride on the Clydesdales but they already left. It's great to get out of the gate like this. The Winternationals is one of the oldest races on the circuit so it's a nice one to win, for sure. My son, Donovan, already took the trophy from me. He loves those gold men, almost as much as I do.
"We might have started with me and Kenny but I expect a lot more cars to be involved. Obviously, the Yankees car will be tough. Doug Kalitta was right there this weekend. Schumacher was tough. I don't look at this as just a two-horse race."
Dixon and the Miller Lite crew sailed through a fortunate pair of early rounds when Darrell Russell and Don Lampus both lost traction at the starting line, while the San Diego native had to pedal his machine to post beatable 4.992 and 4.708-second passes, respectively. When the pressure was on, however, Dixon came to life and earned lane choice over his nemesis Bernstein with the day's second-best pass of 4.580 seconds at 324.98 mph. He then drove the point home in the finals with his doubt-erasing 4.53 at 324 mph.
Bernstein coaxed a pair of competitive 4.59-second passes out of the Budweiser dragster in Rounds 1 and 3 to beat Dave Grubnic and Cory McClenathan, respectively. In the quarterfinals, Bernstein caught a break when Doug Kalitta drew a red-light disqualification and posted a 4.670 against Bernstein's labored 5.013 at 204.94 mph, which was the result of a fading powerplant. Top Fuel results
Local hero Force added to his popularity with another hometown win, the 99th of his illustrious career. It wasn't exactly pretty, with both Force's and Worsham's cars billowing clouds of tire smoke all the way down the track. The difference was the timing of the loss of traction, which slowed Worsham before he could get any momentum at all. The final numbers showed Force crossing in 6.260 seconds at 219.76 mph with Worsham closing at 6.642 and 243.68 mph.
 John Force
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"That was a wild one," a very emotional Force said. "We almost hit the wall but I got her straightened out and she trucked on down there. That was a wild ride just like that Jurassic Park ride. I can't believe I got another win at this place. It feels good. This is [crew chief] Austin Coil and 40 other guys that made this happen.
"Luck's a big deal here. He got in trouble first and that was the difference. Neither car had much engine left at the other end and we got across first on about three cylinders.
"I'm drained. I slept in the trailer between rounds. It's amazing what five minutes will do for a 52-year-old. I could just cry. I love driving these cars so much and now my daughters driving out here. It makes me emotional. Winning at my age, it means a lot. I can't even talk about it any more."
Low qualifier Force started strong in the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, running a pair of 4.80s in wins over Tommy Johnson Jr. and Scotty Cannon. He then slowed to a 4.972 against Ron Capps in the semifinals, which awarded lane choice to Worsham in the finals. In the end, it didn't matter as both cars failed to find adequate traction.
Worsham and Co. kept the Checker-Schuck's-Kragen Pontiac Firebird in the 4.8-second range to help the Chino Hills, Calif., resident dismiss John Lawson, new national speed record holder Gary Densham, and Johnny Gray en route to his 14th final-round appearance. Funny Car results
Marnell pulled off his unlikely win over 2001 series runner-up Yates with a huge .417 to .485-second holeshot win that translated to an eyelash-width victory at the other end of the racetrack. The final margin of victory was nine ten-thousandths of a second (.0009), or about three inches.
 George Marnell
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Yates did all he could in his 53rd career final round but the headstart he spotted Marnell was too much for his 6.812-second, 202.61-mph pass to overcome. Marnell earned his second career national event title with a steady 6.880 at 200.89 mph.
"That was a great ride," Marnell said. "I got out there first and was able to hold him off. These cars are all so close. There's not 16 good cars, there's 25 or 30 cars that can win at any time. We started today as the 16th qualifier, just so happy to be in the show. Then I started hitting some lights and it built from there.
"I dedicate this win to Bill Smith, my longtime crewman, transportation captain, and good friend, who passed away Thursday. He was right there with me all day, in my thoughts, helping me stay focused.
"That's about as close as I ever want a race to be at the other end. I dropped fourth gear and I could feel him out there. When I went through the lights I peaked over and he was right there. Then I looked for the win light and when I saw the one in my lane on I lost it. I was screaming like crazy in there. What a rush."
Marnell had to fight hard in his GM Motorsports Pontiac to claim the hardware. Starting from the No. 16 qualifying position, he opened with a .428 to .474-holeshot win over low qualifier Ron Krisher. He then beat Mike Edwards by four-thousandths of a second before taking another holeshot win over Tom Hammonds, this one by a .438 to .480-second starting line advantage, to get to the finals where he pulled off the biggest holeshot win of his life.
Yates' and his SplitFire/Peak team decided that consistency was the key to going rounds. The two-time series champion averaged .459-second reaction times and 6.823-second passes -- including a track-record elapsed time of 6.803 seconds in the opening round -- to dispatch Mark Pawuk, defending series champ Warren Johnson, and defending event titleholder Kurt Johnson. But his steady starting-line prowess left him in the finals.
Of note, W.J. ran a Pomona Raceway top speed of 203.12 mph in his second-round loss to Yates. Pro Stock results
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