The 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals are providing the opportunity for West Coast racers to go back-to-back with national events after last weekend’s duel in the desert at the Arizona Nationals, though under vastly different conditions. Last weekend in Phoenix, it was hot as hades as the sun burned into the racing surface; this weekend, it’s jacket weather in not-so-sunny SoCal. The energy of anticipation, though, is just the same. Trophies are up for grabs, and every soul on the property is here to chase one.
This place holds history, and trophies earned here put a racer in the company of Don Garlits (a six-time Pomona winner from 1963 to 1987); Don “the Snake” Prudhomme (1965 Top Fuel, 1975-78 Funny Car); Connie Kalitta (1967); Shirley Muldowney (1980 and 1983); Ed “the Ace” McCulloch (1972 and 1990); and, of course, Bob Glidden (12 wins from 1975 to 1990!) and Warren Johnson, the Professor of Pro Stock, with nine wins claimed from 1987 to 2003. The most winning pro driver in Pomona is Greg Anderson, whose first Pomona win came in 2003 and his most recent was last fall at the NHRA Finals.
In the beginning
The facility that sits in the shadow of the San Gabriel mountains was originally opened in 1950 as a way to entice racers from the streets to compete in a safe environment. The Pomona Valley Timing Association, Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, and Pomona Police Chief Ralph Parker worked together to open the doors as a place to race. It started as a simple strip of asphalt in the middle of a dirt parking lot, and it grew to be a mecca housing the still-beating heart of quarter-mile drag racing.
The first winners at the Pomona dragstrip included Jack Chrisman (Top Eliminator), Mickey Thompson (Middle Eliminator), Dick Manz (Little Eliminator), Johnny Loper (Street), and Don Nicholson (Stock). Nicholson would go on to win again the next season in Stock, and in 1973, he earned a third Pomona trophy, this time in the just-blossoming class of Pro Stock.
Last season’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals winners were Joey Severance in Top Alcohol Dragster; Brian Hough in Top Alcohol Funny Car; Ryan Priddy in Comp; Jimmy DeFrank in Super Stock; C.W. Hoefer in Stock; Chad Webber in Super Comp; Evan Kowalski in Super Gas; James Glenn in Top Dragster; Richard Okerman in Top Sportsman; and Stephen Bell in Factory Stock Showdown.
Stars of Pomona
Over the years, many names began to stand out on the hallowed grounds of Pomona. Dave Meziere notched three Super Gas wins in the 1980s, while Don claimed three from 2014 to 2022 in Super Comp and Top Sportsman, with Zach etching one in the books in Super Comp in 2016 at the NHRA Finals.
The Anderson/Payne family also has enjoyed great success in Pomona, with patriarch Brad Anderson winning an assortment and seeing son Randy and daughter Shelly both celebrate victory there as well. Jay Payne, Shelly’s husband, has a strong record in Pomona with a win in Top Dragster and multiple wins in Top Alcohol Funny Car. The Payne kids, Madison (Top Alcohol Dragster and Super Comp) and Toby (Super Comp), are both on the roster and seeking Pomona glory of their own.
Jeff Taylor’s eight wins in Pomona cross three categories; Comp, Super Stock, and Stock. Comp isn’t on the set list this weekend in Pomona, so last week’s Comp winner will instead get to gun for the money from the engine compartment; Jeff Taylor Performance engines power Jeff Adkinson in both Stock and Super Stock. Adkinson has two previous Pomona wins, both in Super Stock at the NHRA Finals (2013 and 2015).
Reigning world champion Sean Bellemeur’s three Top Alcohol Funny Car wins at the track are complemented by team owner Tony Bartone’s four in the alcohol Funny Car and one in Top Alcohol Dragster.
Defending Super Stock winner DeFrank’s astounding collection of 12 Pomona trophies have mostly come in that category, but he has a Stock win sandwiched in there, too, which he earned in 2013 as one half of his first double-up (he doubled again at the spring race in Las Vegas in 2015). Two other driver have doubled at this strip: Ed Olpin did it in 2017 (Super Gas and Top Sportsman), and Anthony Bertozzi got it done in Super Stock and Top Dragster in 2023.
Dan Fletcher is the most winning at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip with 14 wins across Stock, Super Stock, and Comp. Doug Lambeck has an impressive seven wins over Comp and Super Stock competition, as does Jody Lang with five in Stock and two in Super Stock. Steve Williams is a six-time Pomona winner across Super Comp and Super Gas, and both he and daughter Shelby are running here this weekend.
And of course, who could forget the Super Gas championship run-off that took place here last year at the NHRA Finals? Val Torres Sr., a four-time Pomona winner, is back to battle with the No. 1 on his Corvette roadster.
Hoping for momentum
In addition to Taylor, drivers planning to make the most of the momentum after wins last week in Phoenix include Super Stock’s Ryan McClanahan (three previous Pomona wins, including a bookended season in 2019 with wins in Super Comp and Super Stock); three-time Pomona winner Justin Lamb (two in Super Stock, one in Super Gas); Cody Webber, whose brother is defending event Super Comp winner Chad Webber (he also won here at the NHRA Finals in 2018); and Roger Kato, last weekend’s Comp victor who is running his car in Super Gas this weekend. West Coast phenom Shane Westerfield has six victories here in an alcohol flopper, and Canada’s Shawn Cowie, the reigning world champ, has seven in an alky digger.
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 8:45 a.m. on Friday, March 28, at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. As always, subscribers can watch on NHRA.tv, and you can catch round-by-round results at DragRaceCentral.com.
If you find an error in this story or have anything to add, please contact WinLight News editor Kelly Wade: kelly@winlightnews.com. Thanks for reading!
