by Phil Burgess and Candida Benson, NHRA.com

Welcome to Day 6(!) of the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals. 

TV COVERAGE OF TODAY'S RACING WILL AIR SUNDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET

Feedback on this feature? E-mail us!
 

TUESDAY

5:19 p.m. That ends our live blogging from the Winternationals. The Lucas Oil Sportsman cars will continue to race until champions are crowned in each of those classes. Full results from the LODRS action is in the results section, accessed by clicking on the Results button on the right of the NHRA.com homepage. Thanks for joining us for the long journey that was the 2009 Winternationals!

5:15 p.m. Pro Stock final
Mike Edwards and Jason Line are up to the ready line, waiting for John Crosby of the Safety Safari to make one final pass on the tractor. Edwards will be in the left lane, and Line will be in the right. Neither guy has won the Winternationals, so either way we'll have a first-time event winner. The sun has pretty much set -- there's just a hint of light glowing in the distance -- and the track is shaded and cool, meaning we could see some more record-type runs.

The burnouts are complete, and they are both pulling up to the line right now. Line is better off the starting line, and he stays in front all the way downtrack, winning a thriller, 6.56 to 6.57. Line runs the second-fastest speed of all time, 211.63 mph. Line gets the Wally. Greg Anderson will leave with the national speed record and the 20 extra points.

4:58 p.m. The alcohol classes have just finished running their semifinals, and Super Stock is now on track. The crews of both Mike Edwards and Jason Line are beginning to gather near the starting line. Jason Line is also up trackside at the moment, so it appears we are close to the Pro Stock final.

4:04 p.m. Think the wait was long for the Pro guys? The Super Gas racers have had to be a patient bunch. Here they are hitting the track for their first round. The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes will be on the track for a while to give Jason Line and Mike Edwards a little time to prepare for their final-round bout. We'll be back when Line and Edwards pull up for the final.

4 p.m. Funny Car final
It's Ron Capps versus Jim Head for the first Wally of the year and the early points lead. It all goes to Capps after Head experiences tire smoke early. It's Capps' 25th Funny Car win (26th overall) and his first win since the 2007 Madison event. Could this finally be the year for Capps and "Ace" to win the title? They're certainly off to a good start, but there's still a lot of racing left, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

3:51 p.m. Top Fuel final
Well, this is it. It took six days, just one qualifying attempt, and many delays, but we're finally to the first final round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown are the only drivers left in Top Fuel. A.B. had lane choice and has selected the right lane, putting Dougie in the left.

Burnouts have commenced, the crews are making final adjustments, and it's just about go time. What a way to start the seson! A.B. and Doug are separated by just two-thou on the Tree, and they stay glued together all the way downtrack with Kalitta just pulling ahead on the top end and taking his first win since the end of 2007. Oh, and he gets the points lead, too.

3:45 p.m. Pro Stock semifinals (newest first)
Well, Mike Edwards spoils the all-Summit final with a huge holeshot win. Edwards cuts an .008 light and runs a 6.579 to beat Anderson, who clocked a 6.551. It's going to be a tough couple of weeks for Anderson until he gets a second shot at a win in Phoenix in two weeks. The only consolation at this point is it appears he will likely leave with the national e.t. record and get the 20 extra points that go with it.

Pro Stock is still a round behind nitro, so they will go first this time. First up are the 6.549 guys, Allen Johnson and Jason Line. Line and Anderson are on opposite sides of the ladder, so we have the potential of an all-Summit team final. We still have the potential of the all-Summit final because Line takes this one easily after A.J. has troubles early and clicks it off.

2:58 p.m. After a round of Comp (all singles), we're back into the alcohol classes.

2:42 p.m. Comp round one is now on the track (no live reporting here).

Pro Stock round two (newest first)
After seeing the 6.54s by Line and A.J., the question right now is: What will Greg Anderson do? We're just a few seconds away as he and Gaines take off. Anderson's run is a thing of beauty as his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac goes straight down the track and runs the quickest lap in history, 6.528. Anderson's earlier 6.568 is good enough to back up his run for the national record. Gaines was no slouch at 6.594, but that does you no good when the guy in the other lane runs a national record time. Anderson naturally will have lane choice over Edwards next round.

Next up, Mike Edwards and Jim Yates. Yates is better at the Tree. Unfortunately for him, his car gets loose on the top end, and he has to get off of it. Edwards puts another 210 mph on the boards as he takes the win.

Johnny Gray was in one of the two pairs that ran Sunday, so after a very long break, he's back. Oh boy, this is getting fun now! Jason Line matches A.J.'s 6.549. He runs a monster 210.90, and that will give him lane choice against A.J. next round. Kind of strange to match the second-quickest time of all time and not have lane choice next round, huh?

2:22 p.m. The Pro Stockers are a round behind their nitro brothers because of the rain. Not sure yet if the plan is for them to run two back-to-back rounds to have their finals at the same time. First up will be A.J. and Jeg. That one was a doozy! Jeg runs a 6.58 and loses; unreal! A.J. runs a 6.549, a new track record and the second-quickest time in history, and takes out the champ.

Funny Car semifinals (newest first)
2:17 p.m. Capps streaks to a 4.05 to reach the final, the 55th of his career, to defeat Hight's 4.08.

2:15 p.m. Two unsponsored cars, Head and Densham. Head runs 4.10 as the former shop teacher is up in smoke in the other lane. Head goes to his first final since Memphis 2007. he hasn;t won a national event since the 1997 Memphis event, in Top Fuel, and hasn't been to the Funny Car winner's circle since the 1985 Brainerd event.

Top Fuel semifinals (newest first)

2:12 p.m. Kalitta will join Antron in the final after Lucas shakes the tires hard. Lucas was trying to make his first Top Fuel final since the 2005 Denver race.

2:07 p.m. First pair rumbles to life. AB and BB. Antron runs 3.778, second quickest in history behind Schumacher's 3.777 from Richmond last year. Speed was just 312 ... makes one wonder. 
 

2:00 p.m. Top Fuel is ready for the final four. Tractor grooming and track spraying ongoing.

1:50 p.m. Racing resumes after a lengthy downtime after Randy Eakins put his alky digger into the sandtrap. He was evaluated and released by the medical team.

Here's the view out our back door. Spectacular, eh?

12:53 p.m. Round one of Top Alcohol Dragster under way.

12:30 p.m. Top Alcohol Funny Car round-one continuation (no live reporting here).

Pro Stock round one continued (newest first)
Sorry, Jason, but you only got to hold the track record for a moment because your teammate just laid down quite a run, resetting both ends of the track record with a 6.568 at 210.97 mph en route to victory over Ron Krisher.

Next up, Jason Line and Rickie Jones. Jones' car makes a move toward the centerline, and he wisely clicks it off. Line was .004 on the Tree, and he sets a new track speed record at 209.82 for the win.

Whoa, a pedalfest in Pro Stock?!?!? Allen Johnson and Tom Hammonds both experience tire shake early and are forced off the throttle. Each one realizes the other is having troubles and start pedaling. A.J. wins with an 8.67. The funny thing is that is good enough to give him lane choice next round against Jeg, who took more than 10 seconds to get down the quarter-mile.

The higher-qualified cars are back in the left lane, with Mike Edwards taking it against Greg Stanfield. The pair of former Sportsman champs put on a great show with just .006-second separating them at the finish line. Stanfield had the better light and led most of the way, but Edwards knocks out a 6.5 for the win.

After seeing Jeg's wild ride in front of him, W.J. elects to move to the right lane and let Jim Yates take a shot at that left lane. Well, Yates is able to figure out the left lane, running a 6.603, which betters his qualifying time by more than six-hundredths. W.J. was better at the Tree, but his car starts drifting at the top end, and he has to get off of it.

12:15 p.m. Well, it's two days later, but Jeg Coughlin and Larry Morgan are back on track, ready to do battle. Jeg has moved back into the left lane, which is where he originally was before briefly swapping lanes with Morgan on Sunday before the rain. Morgan goes red, then Jeg goes on a ride, making a sharp move toward the wall. Jeg keeps 'er off the wall, and though it wasn't exactly the run he wanted, he advances.

Funny Car round two (newest first)
12:12 p.m. Capps all the way as Tasca's engine goes south at the big end.

12:07 p.m. "Fast Jack" is "Too Fast Jack" and red-lights to Hight.

12:03 p.m. High drama on the line as the Al-Anabi team tries repeatedly to fire its engine for Del Worsham, but clearly something is wrong. Densham does his burnout and backs up before the Al-Anabi crew finally diagnoses a crossed plug wire and gets 'er lit. Densham is ready to stage but politely waits as Del does a short burnout to the line. Will it hook? Yes, as both cars leave clean (who needs a long burnout?), but Del's Toyota gives up the ghost at half-track, and Densham goes to the semi's.

11:59 a.m. John Force and Mike Neff may have lost in round one, but they're on the line to cheer on teammate Ashley. Head drills her at the Tree and drifts far right and brushes the wall, but it's past the finish line, so the win will stand. Her 4.05 was low e.t. of eliminations, but in a losing cause.

Top Fuel round two (newest first)
11:56 a.m. Tony "Shoe" won't repeat as Winternats champ as Bernstein sends the Army team back to their tents early. He faces Antron in the semi's.

11:53 a.m. Well, Chrisman will have to be content with the one win as his mount drops a cylinder then chucks the blower belt. Lucas will race Kalitta in the semi's. Still, a great outing for the local hero.

11:45 a.m. Steve Chrisman is appearing in the second round of Top Fuel for the first time in his career. He'd never won a round in Pomona ever -- even in his alcohol car -- and quipped Sunday after beating David Baca in round one, "That's the first time a Chrisman has won at Pomona since 1963," when his dad, Jack, won the Winternationals.

11:40 a.m. The right lane seems to be the lane of choice as C-Mac also saddles up over there, but "Dougie K" puts him on the trailer. That should make Conrad's decision a little easier to continue running beyond their announced first two races.

11:34 a.m. We have cackle! As reported, Strasburg is a no-show. Next pair will be Cory Mac and Doug Kalitta. A.B. shakes and smokes and backfires the blower, automatically triggering the parachute's release. National DRAGSTER's Brad Littlefield (pictured) is doing color commentary on the audiocast with Lewis "Stat Guy" Bloom. ND's Kevin McKenna was doing color commentary on the earlier Sportsman cars.

11:30 a.m. The Safety Safari is spraying the track in anticipation of the nitro cars, which are filling the lanes. There's a surprisingly good and hearty bunch of fans on hand.

We've received word that Mike Strasburg had to head home to Utah, so Antron Brown will get a single into the semifinals. In fact, here comes A.B. now, all by himself. Poised behind the water box. We're probably five or so minutes away from thunder.

Track temperature is 78 degrees, air temp is 50.

11:20 a.m. Super Stock is on the track, running first round, and we are getting ever so close to running Top Fuel, which is evident by the large number of nitro crew chiefs and crewmembers standing trackside and checking things out.

10:32 a.m. We are back racing! John Shaul and Kevin Dupre are the first pair of cars downtrack today. Shaul is the winner.

10:20 a.m. Wait, what's that sound we hear? It's the rumble of the first pair of Stockers pulling through the opening to the left of the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona tower and stopping at stage left as we are now calling it in preparation for their run. The jet dryer is making a final pass up the track to put a little more heat into it on this cool, crisp SoCal morning. We are just a few minutes from pulling that pair up and running ... finally! :)

8:50 a.m. Now this ... this is how the Winternationals is supposed to look. Clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight, sun beaming down on Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The mountains behind the track, blanketed with snow by the same storms that soaked the track, are now beautifully visible. It's chilly outside, in the mid-40s, but will warm up quickly. Plan is to begin at 10:30 a.m. Can't see anything that will stop us from completing the event today.

MONDAY

10:55 a.m. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is the winner again today. Officials have just called it a day, and we'll come back and try again tomorrow. Tomorrow's schedule will be the same as what was planned today with Stock at 10:30 a.m. and Top Fuel at 11:30 a.m. NHRA.com will present a live audiocast of the day's action.

Tickets will be available for Tuesday's racing for $26. Fans holding tickets for any of the rain-delayed days (Thursday, Friday, or Sunday) may redeem those tickets on Tuesday for entry.

The television program scheduled to air tonight on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will still run at 9:30 p.m. ET as scheduled with a 30-minute highlights package. Coverage of tomorrow's action will air Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

10 a.m. Bad news: The rain has returned in Pomona, so the waiting game begins.

9:30 a.m. Well, here we are, day number five of the Winternationals. We know why we're here writing  ... why are you here reading this? It's Monday. Don't you have some work you're supposed to be doing there at the office? Just remember, when the boss walks in, ALT + TAB is your best friend.

Skies are once again dark and cloudy, and it's pretty chilly, but at least nothing is falling from the sky right now. Crews are on the track getting things prepped for racing, which is slated to begin an hour from now with the second round of Stock.

SUNDAY

5:50 p.m. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not going to cooperate, and once again officials are forced to call it a day. Racing will resume tomorrow. Stock is scheduled to run at 10:30 a.m. Top Fuel will follow at 11:30 a.m.

Pro Stock round one (newest first)

5:25 p.m. Rain has stopped, track drying under way. Under best conditions, we're looking at a minimum 20 minutes to dry the track.

5:20 p.m. The Pro Stockers are towing back to the pits as the rain picks up a little bit and reaches the starting line.

Jeg doesn't like what he saw from Kurt's car and opts to change lanes to the right, but both cars are shut off by starter Rick Stewart. The Safety Safari is checking out the top end of the track, and both cars have been pushed back out of the water box. And now we discover the reason for the delay. Apparently there is rain at the top end. We're on hold.

K.J. lights 'em up at the green in the right lane and goes nowhere. Gray fights tire shake down low and for control at the top end, too, but brings 'er home safe for the win..

A pair of Dodge drivers, Dave Beckley and V. Gaines, kick off the factory hot rods. Pro Stock Showdown winner Allen Johnson must be in the later pairings because until a few seconds ago, he was still inspecting the starting line. Red-lights may be an issue with the darkening sky. Beckley's car balks at the drop of the clutch, and Gaines' car gets loose at the top end. Wild start. Gaines had an awesome .970 60-footer. Conditions are ripe for brewing power.

5:05 p.m. We're ready to head into Pro Stock, then complete the first round of Top Alcohol Funny Car that we started yesterday, then go right back to Top Fuel. TADs will sit this one out.

Funny Car round one (newest first)

Gary Densham and Jeff Arend will round out the opening round, and I'm sure both are prepared to pedal after watching what happened ahead of them. Stop me if you've heard this before, but both drivers have to get on and off the throttle early. Both cars make a move toward the centerline, and Arend's car then shoots toward the wall, forcing him off the throttle. Densham recovers fairly quickly and takes the win.

The craziness continues. Both Tony Pedregon and Jim Head have to pedal. "T. Ped" does two pedal jobs, and on the second one, it lifts the front end of the car and pushes him to the centerline. He takes out the cones at the eighth-mile and is disqualified, which has everyone groaning since he was far ahead and on his way to a win. Head didn't even make it all the way to the finish line and had to be towed off the track. Ouch!

Oh boy, another monster match, with John Force and Ron Capps squaring off. This one lives up to the billing with side-by-side 4.1s. Capps gets the nod despite a quick slap on the pedal early.

Interesting spectators for Jerry Toliver's debut in the Canidae car: former driver and two-time Pomona winner Tony Bartone and 1981 and 1985 Winternationals champion Brad Anderson are checking things out as Toliver takes on top qualifier Robert Hight. It's another pedalfest. Toliver never recovers. Hight does and continues on.

As Bob Frey would say, another wacky pairing with Matt Hagan and Ashley Force Hood having to pedal early. Ashley does a great job of getting her car to recover. Rookie Hagan is forced to get out of it, chalking this one up as another learning experience.
 

Neff goes red, then things get interesting. We see both sides of his Ford as it sashays wildly across the lane after he pedals the car. Fellow Ford driver Bob Tasca III goes right down the lane and advances.

We're back with Del Worsham and Bob Bode on track. Some good news for Alan Johnson's team. The Top Fuel car may not be racing today, but the Funny Car marches on. Both Worsham and Bode had to pedal their cars. Despite having to pedal it, Worsham runs 310.74 mph, the fastest speed ever for a Funny Car at 1,000 feet, on his way to the win.

Time for the floppers, and we get a great match right out of the gate with the champ, Cruz Pedregon, taking on last year's number 3 finisher, Jack Beckman. "Cruzer" finished 2008 great with a win here, but his 2009 won't begin the same way because he has to pedal it and fades back as Beckman goes straight through. Interestingly, the higher-qualified cars in Funny Car are taking the left lane, a reverse from Top Fuel, where all the higher qualifiers took the right. Of course, only four of the higher-qualified cars won the opening round, so perhaps that pushed the Funny Car tuners to change their lane of choice. And, oh no! The Safety Safari trucks are rolling out on track again because Beckman pushed a rod out of the car and left fluid on the track.

4:20 p.m. Top Fuel is complete, and we're heading into the first round of Funny Car.

Top Fuel round one, continued (newest first) 

New year, new tuner, same story for Tony "Shoe" as he sends the last rookie, Del Cox Jr., home. And he did it from the right lane without a pedal job. Impressve.

Think that Shawn Langdon spent the long rain delay a little nervous? He was on the line for his nitro debut almost four hours ago against one of the class' all-time winningest drivers and then had to wait ... and wait ... and wait. "I just want to get this one under my belt," he told us a few minutes ago in the lanes. Now he's gonna get his chance. For the record, it has been three hours and 55 minutes between pairs. Track temp is 64 degrees. C-Mac advances, though, for the record, Langdon left first, .066 to .093. Also for the record, Shawn left some of that Lucas oil on the track. We're down for cleanup.

3:50 p.m. The Top Fuel cars have returned to the lanes. First up will be Cory Mac and Shawn Langdon, probably in 10 minutes or so.

3:15 p.m. Things are beginning to look up in Pomona, where the Safety Safari is making progress on the track drying. Though it's not the dragging we really want to see, there is some going on with the tractor now dragging the track and laying down rubber. The jet dryer is also making passes up and down the full length of the track. Though that's a good sign that we're getting closer to racing again, it does appear the top end may still have some moisture because there is a lot of activity still near the quarter-mile mark. Right now, officials are projecting a 4 p.m. start time. 

2 p.m. Rain has stopped, and blue sky is actually breaking through the clouds. The sun is actually shining (I know, shock, huh? Photo proof attached) on the track. No one's about to slather on sunscreen, but it's an uplifting moment. Track drying is under way, but we have no ETA for the return for the fuelers. Okay, before I could even post this, the sun went away. But for one moment there ...

1:30 p.m. The rain has slowed to next to nothing, but it's still lightly falling. The jet dryer is working the shutdown area. Must not be raining down there. Or maybe 100 percent of the predicted 30 percent chance of rain is only falling on just the first 30 percent of the track?

1:11 p.m. Rain has returned to Pomona. :(

12:50 p.m. Rain has stopped, and track drying has begun.

Top Fuel round one (newest first) 

The car covers are going on, and some of the cars are towing back to the pits. This may be a lengthy delay. Where's Albert Hammond when you need him?

12:10 p.m. Well, it just started to rain lightly here. Action is on hold. On the plus side, just spent a great 10 minutes with Hillary Will, who's here to try to drum up a sponsor for her Top Fuel efforts. It's her first race as a spectator in a long time, and she's managing okay. "I did a lot of pouting, but pouting doesn't help," she said. "I'm glad I came out here to get it out of my system. I do have to admit I was okay here until they ran the first session yesterday, and it was like, 'Hey, they're running without me!' That was kind of hard. I plan to go to a few more races, definitely Phoenix, to keep a presence out here."

Track temp is a cool 64 degrees.

Euro champ Andy Carter goes deep on Brandon, then starts shedding right-side body panels as he and "B-Squared" pedal through tire shake. Carter's Lucas machine is ahead but crosses the centerline. Bernstein didn't know that Carter was DQ'd until he got out of the car. The entire cockpit of Carter's car is visible from the right side as he brings 'er to a halt in the shutdown area. I'm no driver, but I don't think that went according to plan.

Low qualifier Antron gets a win in the right lane over Faria, who got his Top Fuel license just last week. A.B. had to pedal through tire shake, and it looks as if he dropped some stuff at the big end, but he got 'er done.

The left lane has always been the lane of choice here, but the cars with lane choice are taking the right lane, and they're all losing in it, 0-4 so far. Weird.

Quick cleanup by the Safety Safari, and Joe Hartley and Morgan Lucas (and the gecko) fire 'em up. Lucas gets the nod and will face Chrisman in round two.

Jackets are definitely the order of the day. It's Winternationals-chilly here.

Fans from half-track on are thanking Doug Kalitta right now for a little warmth on this chilly day as he lights up the yellow 50th anniversary Kalitta car big time. Despite the inferno, Kalitta keeps the hammer down and gets the win over Erbacher.

Steve Chrisman adds to the upset list when Baca gets waaaaaaaaaaay loose and crossed up. Not sure if that's Chrisman's first Top Fuel round-win, but I'm sure he has less than a half-dozen. Chrisman tells Alan Reinhart that the conditions are playing into his hands as he can run 4-teens all day on any surface.

An upset begins the day as Strasburg and tire shake bite "the Snake's" new shoe. Prudhomme's former driver, Larry Dixon, is doing color commentary with Bob Frey after misfiring on yesterday's one-shot qualifying attempt.

11:47 a.m. We have nitro! The first pair has fired in front of what is, despite the so-so weather, an amazing crowd of fans eager to see final eliminations at the season opener.

11:38 a.m. Well, obviously we're not hitting that 11:30 projection. The final touches are being applied to the track, and crew chiefs and drivers still are milling about the starting line. The first pair of cars is just off to stage left, Spencer Massey and Mike Strasburg.

With the unusual schedule, there was an interesting occurrence in the pits as usual routines were thrown out the window. Due to the late start and some misinformation, Brandon Bernstein was in line for his driver introduction as the Budweiser team was ready to test-fire the big red machine in the pits.

Well, good thing for them they have another guy in their camp who'has sat in a Top Fuel cockpit before. Some guy named Kenny. The Bud King saddled up in the red dragster for the first time since the close of the 2004 season and fired 'er up for crew chief Rob Flynn. It was good to see him back in the saddle, even if it was only in the pits.

We're getting close to lighting 'em off.


11 a.m. Pre-race is complete, and the crew-chief walk of the starting line is under way. Track drying continues downtrack. We are now projecting an 11:30 a.m. start time.

10:30 a.m. The pre-race ceremony is under way with Pro Stock driver intros.

Auto Imagery photo

9:40 a.m. As track drying continues outside, the pressroom is abuzz as Harlem Globetrotters legend "Curly" Neal makes an appearance. Bob Frey claims to have seen "Curly" in action in Camden, N.J., in 1959, but "Curly" insists that must have been his older brother.

The two posed for a photo op with "Curly" spinning the ball and placing it onto Frey's finger, and the two spontaneously break into a stationary version of the famous Globetrotters weave, with Frey humming "Sweet Georgia Brown" and throwing some fancy behind-the-back and under-the-legs passes only to receive a hard one right back into the gut. Oooof. Still, Frey shows ball-handling skills that belie his self-proclaimed geeky bald-guy persona. Even "Curly" seems impressed. Autographs and keepsake photos ops abound.

During his career with the Globetrotters, Neal played in more than 6,000 games in 97 countries. He is now part of the prestigious Globetrotters Legends ring, alongside Wilt Chamberlain, Marques Haynes, Meadowlark Lemon, and "Goose" Tatum. Neal's number 22 jersey is one of the few retired Globetrotters jerseys.

 

8:55 a.m. Southern Californians woke up to rain this morning but also the forecast that it would relent soon, which already seems to be the case. The radar map shows a clear sky behind the current cell, and the NHRA Safety Safari already is on the track beginning the drying process.

I'm not sure that we'll be able to start at 11 a.m. on the dot, but looking at the proposed run schedule, it's going to be nonstop action when we do to ensure that we beat any rain that might be headed this way in late afternoon. The first round of the Pros will be followed by the conclusion of the first round of Top Alcohol Funny Car and the entire first round of Top Alcohol Dragster, then right back into the Pros for round two.

Then it's Comp, round two of the alky classes, and right back into the Pro semifinals, followed by some Sportsman action and then right to the Pro finals before finishing off with the remainder of Sportsman action.

It's going to be a busy day, folks.
 

SATURDAY

4:05 p.m. Rain began falling about halfway through the first round of Top Alcohol Funny Car, forcing officials to call it a day. The Pro fields are set based on the lone qualifying run earlier today, meaning Antron Brown, Robert Hight, and Greg Anderson will lead their respective fields into eliminations, which begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

3:35 p.m. The Top Fuel session is complete, and Antron Brown grabs the No. 1 spot with a 3.708. Top Alcohol Funny Cars are now on the track, running the first round of eliminations.

2:57 p.m. Robert Hight takes the top spot in Funny Car, and we're right into Top Fuel with newcomers Steve Faria and Del Cox Jr. Clouds are looming kinda ominously, but we're still dry. Melanie Troxel is doing color commentary on the PA.

2:12 p.m. Greg Anderson breaks his own track record and becomes the first Pro Stock driver to run in the 6.50s in Pomona with a 6.58 to close the opening session. On deck: Funny Car. Phil Burkart Jr. will be doing color commentary with Bob Frey.

1:57 p.m. And we're live again ... Johnny Gray and Rickie Jones rev it up.

1:45 p.m. The Pro Stockers have returned and are poised to fire their engines to resume Pro qualifying.

1:30 p.m. Track drying is nearly complete, and final touches are being applied to the starting line. The sky to the west is a refreshing blue, and the radar shows only scattered rain activity.

One good thing about the rain the last two days: It has created a wondrous backdrop for the event. This is Mount Baldy, as seen from Glendora. If the clouds behind the racetrack clear, it will be a treat for fans.

12:30 p.m. Track drying has begun. The radar map shows widely scattered rain off to the west and nothing major looming.

Noon: After running four pairs of Pro Stockers, the rain has returned, putting the action on hold for now.

11:30 a.m. Pro Stock on the line, first pair: Jerry Haas and David Beckley, the latter subbing for Vinnie Deceglie in the Mountain View Tire Dodge.

11 a.m. Right into Top Alcohol Dragster ...

9:35 a.m. The first pair of Stockers -- driven by Kevin Kleineweber and Greg Reiner -- are in the water box.

9:05 a.m. Stockers are filling the lanes. It seems that we're only minutes from starting.

8:45 a.m. The tractors are dragging the track, and the jet dryer is putting some heat into the surface, which right now reads just 57 degrees. Rosin also has been applied to the starting line.

8 a.m. The sun is shining on Auto Club Raceway at Pomona!
 

FRIDAY

Rain continued to fall in Southern California Friday, forcing NHRA officials to cancel the second round of Professional qualifying at the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Rain started in the early morning hours and continued to be heavy at times throughout the afternoon. No racing was completed before officials pulled the plug for the day around 1:15 p.m.
 
Two rounds of qualifying are scheduled for Saturday, at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday's final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
The race, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, is the first of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in 2009.

Quotebook: "Man, this is real frustrating not being able to get on the track," said NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher. "All the guys are pumped up and ready to go, but I guess Mother Nature has other ideas."

Schumacher has used his rain-induced idle time wisely by continuing to bond with his new crew chief, Mike Green, as well as his new group of crew guys.

"It's important we're all working from the same page as soon as possible," added Schumacher. "We clearly have one common goal in mind, and that's to contend for another world title."

Antron Brown, last year's surprise low qualifier in Top Fuel, joked, "Man, what a day; I thought it never rained in Southern California. It's rained harder here than I've ever seen in the Midwest and [New] Jersey. We had a great time this morning with my girl Gayle [Anderson] of KTLA channel 5 doing the morning show, but other than that, we did a lot of standing around. We hope this weather front breaks tomorrow and we get some good old NHRA Drag Racing in here at Pomona."

"So far, all we've done is a whole lot of nothing, and there's not much that's worse for a racer than that," Funny Car racer Tim Wilkerson added. "The forecast for Saturday isn't all that good either, so hopefully the experts will be wrong and we can get on the track to do some racing. But, you know, as bad as this is for us, I know it's worse for the fans because a lot of them are here on vacation and have made big plans and spent a lot of money to be here. I've met people from New Zealand, Great Britain, Germany, and all over the U.S. here in the pit area, and all they've been able to see is rain and a bunch of other wet people. Let's just hope it moves out of here and we can go racing on Saturday and Sunday."

LIVE UPDATES
1 p.m. The word just came down that we are done for the day. The plan is to run tomorrow using the original schedule; Pro qualifying will be at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

12:30 p.m. Just when it looked as if we were getting close, it has begun to rain again, and the wind has picked up. The sky, which had begun to clear somewhat, has now darkened.

11:35 a.m. A brief rain shower 10 minutes ago seems to have only been a minor setback. Track drying continues, and there are even a few nitro crew chiefs checking out the starting line.

11 a.m. Track drying continues. I'd estimate that the track is probably 20 to 30 percent dry. The jet dryers are running, and hand crews are assisting. No time has been set yet for the start of the day's action.

10:05 a.m. The sun has actually made an appearance, and the call has gone out to begin drying the track again.

9:30 a.m. Rain has resumed but has lightened considerably in the last few minutes.

9:15 a.m. Friday dawned cold and rainy, but rain began to relent at 9, and the world-famous NHRA Safety Safari hit the track with brooms and hand blowers to begin moving water off the racetrack.
 

THURSDAY

2:20 p.m. The first day of the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals ended early when rain at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona forced officials to halt racing at the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season opener. Some Sportsman time trials and a round of Top Alcohol Funny Car qualifying were completed before action was halted.

One Professional qualifying session was scheduled for today. There also is one qualifying session scheduled for Friday and two for Saturday before Sunday's final eliminations.

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