NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Sunday has dawned bright and blue, unlike Saturday’s marathon rainday, but there’s still a reported mild threat of weather late in the day, hence the adjusted 10 a.m. start time. 

TOP FUEL ROUND ONE

Wow … raceday starts with an amazing race as Clay Millican edges Antron Brown by just .005-second. AB, looking for career win No. 75,  got out on Mr. "Stomp on that Loud Pedal," but the Parts Plus dragster eked past at the stripe, 3.730 to 3.743, though Millican’s win is punctuated by a top-end blower backfire. Millican will take on low qualifier Brittany Force in round two following her first-round bye run.

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Gatornationals champ Shawn Langdon extends his win skein to five rounds with low e.t. of the meet, 3,680, to handle local favorite Krista Baldwin and he will be joined in the second round by teammate Doug Kalitta after Jasmine Salinas' throttle linkage broke on the burnout. spoiling her Pro debut. Kalitta would have been tough though with a 3.69. There's even more burnout woes in the next pair as Shawn Reed rolled through the water and then ... nothing. To no one's surprise, Reed melts the tires when the light turns green, and two-time defending event champ Justin Ashley extends his Winternationals win streak to nine straight rounds with a less-than-stellar 3.83.

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Gatornationals runner-up Billy Torrence drove around Josh Hart's five-hundredths holeshot to move into round two after Hart's R+L Carriers rail dropped a cylinder but the CAPCO patriarch will cede lane choice in round two to Kalitta, which looks like a big deal for the nitro cars, as those with choice after all taken the right lane so far. Tony Schumacher also turns on the win light, the 877th of his Pro career, after Terry Totten loses traction, but Schumacher will have an issue getting No. 878 without lane choice against Langdon, Steve-o Torrence will join his father in round two as Tony Stewart smokes the hoops and exits in round one for the second time in his two-race Top Fuel career.

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Second-round pairings (lane choice first):  Brittany Force vs. Clay Millican; Steve Torrence vs. Justin Ashley; Shawn Langdon vs. Tony Schumacher; Doug Kalitta vs. Billy Torrence

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FUNNY CAR ROUND ONE

Bobby Bode, who picked up just one round-win last year (Bristol) in 10 starts, gets his first of this year in his first season start as Dave Richards, hoping to recover from his Gatornationals DNQ, has more troubles. Bode gets the win with a 3.96 but it looks like he had some engine damage in the lights, Paul Lee also advances to round two on a huge upset as Bob Tasca III's new "darkhorse"-themed Mustang struggles at midtrack.

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Gatornationals champ J.R. Todd, who reached the Gainesville final without running in the threes, must have liked that route as his DHL Toyota gets to round two here with a coasting 4.27 as he and Cruz Pedregon both have issues just past halftrack. Todd will surrender second-round lane choice to Lee. Todd's Toyota teammate, three-time world champ Ron Capps, blasts to low e.t. of the day so far with a 3.89 in defeating Gainesville runner-up Austin Prock. Capps was one of the few with lane choice who took the left lane, and crew chief Dean Antonelli acknowledges it was a last-minute look at the track that flipped his decision,

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Low qualifier and defending event champ Matt Hagan marches on with a 3.909 after Buddy Hull's Mooneyes machine loses cylinder early. Although it wasn't evident on the replay, the hood-mounted burst panels on Hagan's Dodge are open as he slows on the parachutes, indicating a possible backfire during shutdown. John Force also advances to round two with a 3.95 against hard-luck Jim Campbell, and Force with get riund-two choice over Bode.

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Terry Haddock, who made his first two career three-second runs in Gainesville added a third in qualifying here and, in a rare moment for him, he has lane choice against Chad Green, who won the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals last time we were in Pomona to close the season, and Haddock gets the win light, not in the threes (4.45) but not a problem after Green struggles for traction. It's Haddock's 17th career round win in 171 raceday starts. The upsets continue as Daniel Wilkerson blows the tires off at the hit and Jeff "the Surfer" Diehl rides a 4.04 in round two against Hagan.

It was a big round for points leader J.R. Todd as the three drivers behind him in points — Prock, Tasca, and Green — all lost. Ron Capps jumped past Tasca and Green into third place.

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Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs. Jeff Diehl; Paul Lee vs. J.R. Todd; Ron Capps vs. Terry Haddock; John Force vs. Bobby Bode

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PRO STOCK ROUND ONE

As he did in Gainesville, David Cuadra advances to round two, this time with a big win against perennial race threat Aaron Stanfield. Class rookie Brandon Foster, who surprised everyone with a round win in Gainesville, seemed doomed here as he rattled the tires at the hit, but Chris McGaha has worse issues downtrack, and Foster recovers to drive around him for another W.

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Six-time Winternationals champ Greg Anderson is off to a good start looking for No. 7 as he resets low e.t. with a 6.532 after Troy Coughlin Jr. turns it red by .027-second. Anderson's low e.t. doesn't last long as Eric Latino blasts to a 6.529, but wastes it on a late night and loses on a holeshot to Matt Hartford's 6.561. Mason McGaha becomes the round's second holeshot winner, getting the drop on one of the class' best, Jeg Coughlin Jr., with a .013 light and escaping with a 6.55 to 6.54 win.

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Camrie Caruso, who was a disappointing DNQ at the Gatornationals, tested before the event and it's paid off as she advances to round two over class veteran Kenny Delco. She'll join Aqua Prop teammate Brandon Foster in round two. Six-time class champ Erica Enders makes it two women in round two with an off-pace 6.67 that easily handles Fernando Cuadra Jr.'s troubled effort. Rookie Seinna Wildgust's bid to add a third female to round two ends against low qualifier and defending event champ Dallas Glenn, who shows no mercy with a .018 light and low e.t. of the meet at 6.523.

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Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. David Cuadra; Mason McGaha vs. Matt Hartford; Erica Enders vs. Brandon Foster; Greg Anderson vs. Camrie Caruso.

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TOP FUEL ROUND TWO

Brittany Force, who had a bye run in round one for the 15-car field, gets another in round two as Clay Millican's dragster is pushed off as the team discovers something amiss before fire-up. Millican crew chief Jim Oberhofer shares that the team had an oiling issue after its first-round victory and didn't want to risk oiling the track, Force advances with a steady 3.72 after a first-round 3.71.

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Right behind Force's strong run in the right lane, Doug Kalitta's team misses it hard with instant tire smoke, and Billy Torrence moves into his second straight semifinal round. In response to Kalitta's tire-smoker, Steve Torrence's team decides it would rather have the left lane too, and sends Justin Ashley to the right. Both teams make quick tire-pressure adjustments. Steve-o's strategy backfires as it's his CAPCO car that blazes the tires at the hit and Ashley, in pursuit of a third straight Winternationals crown, advances to the semifinals with a fine 3.70.

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Shawn Langdon's season-opening win streak ends at five with a dropped cylinder against Tony Schumacher, who makes it to his first semifinal since last year's St. Louis event. Langdon still holds the points lead but will lose it if Billy Torrence  wins in the semifinals.

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Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Justin Ashley vs. Brittany Force; Billy Torrence vs. Tony Schumacher

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FUNNY CAR ROUND TWO

Seven-time Winternationals champ John Force begins to seriously eye title No. 8 after taking out Bobby Bode with a 4.01 which might not cut it in round two against Ron Capps. Against Capps, Terry Haddock has problems on the burnout, then has problems staging the car, eventually turning the stage lights on with his headers, and then smokes the tires at the hit. Capps unfazed by all the drama, races into the semifinals with a 3.92 and takes over second place in points.

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Gatornationals champ J.R. Todd makes it six straight wins to start the season as he defeats Paul Lee on a holeshot, 3.92 to 3.91 after gaining an .060 to .079 edge at the Tree that translated into a narrow .009-second margin of victory at the other end of the track. Todd will not have semifinal lane choice as Matt Hagan races his red JHG Dodge to a 3.89 against tire-smoking Jeff Diehl.

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Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs. J.R. Todd  Ron Capps vs. John Force

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PRO STOCK ROUND TWO

Erica Enders adds her sixth straight win to start the season, rebounding from her lackluster 6.67 in round one with a 6.58 to defeat rookie Brandon Foster. Matt Hartford and Mason McGaha, who both won on holeshots in round one, go at it in the next pair and McGaha does it again, gating Hartford and winning, 6.57 to 6.55, by just .003-second.

Greg Anderson beats Camrie Caruso by .008 in their heat to set up another semifinal encounter with Enders, who beat him in the semi's in Gainesville. Anderson's KB Titan teammate Dallas Glenn is .012 on the Tree and resets low e.t. of the meet at 6.516 to destroy David Cuadra. Glenn, who won this race last year, will have semifinal lane choices against McGaha.

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Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Mason McGaha; Greg Anderson vs. Erica Enders

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We’re also down to the semifinals in the Top Alcohol, Legends Nitro Funny Car, and Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown classes.

Top Alcohol Dragster: Joey Severance, Chris Demke, Garrett Bateman, and Ron Anderson. Anderson had a free pass after five-time Winternationsls champ Shawn Cowie, who made the field as an alternate, broke something in the front end on the burnout, collapsing the right-front wheel.

Top Alcohol Funny Car: Annie Whiteley, Brian Hough, Hunter Jones, and Mike Doushgounian. Jones, the No. 1 qualifier, eked out a second-round win over rookie Maddi Gordon by just .003-second.

Legends FC: Bobby Cottrell, Ryan Horan, Nathan Sitko, and Jeff Arend

Factory Stock (three cars):: David Davies, Stephen Bell, and Gatornationals winner Mark Pawuk. Bell will have the bye run into the final

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TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS

Tony Schumacher races his way into his 158th career Top Fuel final, taking down Gatornationals runner-up Billy Torrence, 3.74 to 3.78. Schumacher, runner-up last year in Epping/Bristol, is going for his first win since the 2022 Seattle race. Schumacher will have final-round lane choice after Justin Ashley emerges the winner in a pedalfest with Brittany Force. Ashley lost traction first but recovered and chased her down to reach his third straight Winternaitonals final. Schumacher is downplaying the fact that Ashley has his sponsor from last year, but we all know Schumacher.

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FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

John Force and Ron Capps squared off for the 124th time in their careers and Force upped his winning mark to 69-55 with a 3.92 after Capps breaks traction early. In his 267th career final, Force will face off against Matt Hagan, who races to a 3.93 after Todd loses traction at halftrack. Force is shooting for his eighth Winternationals win and his 16th victory in Pomona. Hagan will race in his 88th career final round, looking for milestone win No. 50.

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Erica Enders and Greg Anderson also renew their longstanding rivalry, meeting for the 56th time In Gainesville, Enders got the win en route to the eliminator title and she does it to him again, driving around his .009 light and 6.540 with a 6.523 win by just .004-second and up her record to 30-26 against him. If Enders wins the final, the 80th of her Pro Stock career and 82nd overall, it also will be her 50th career win, but she'll have to get past low qualifier Dallas Glenn, the defending Winternationals champ, to do it.

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The word is we're not just racing cars but also the weather. Because of this, it's been announced that the three Pro class final rounds will be run in whatever order they show up in the staging lanes, as opposed to the traditional sequence of Pro Stock-Funny Car-Top Fuel.

... and the first to the finish line is rain, We're down for some sprinkles right now. I'm no meteorologist but this doesn't look promising in the short term.

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3:15 p.m.: Sprinkles have turned to a light rain that has doused the dragstrip. It's probably 90 minutes to two hours to dry at this point once the rain stops.

3:35 p.m.: No more jokes about "Why do we still call this the Winternationals?" ... straight-out major hailstorm just hit the track.

3:55 p.m.: And, to no one's surprise, we're calling it a day. The Pros will complete in two weeks in Phoenix; waiting on word still about Sportsman racing,