In the interest of safety, the National Hot Rod Association in 2008 shortened the distance for races involving nitro-powered dragsters from a quarter mile, or 1,320 feet, to 1,000 feet.
Now, in the interest of travel time and fuel economy, the NHRA has shortened the distance that NHRA crews and personnel must travel during a season.
Thus, Pomona’s 63rd Winternationals, traditionally held in mid-February as the NHRA season opener, is now being held at the end of March as the third race of the season. Nitro-qualifying at the newly named In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip begins Friday with one round at 3 p.m., followed by two rounds of qualifying Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. Final elimination rounds are Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m.
In recent years, with 2021 being an exception, there would be preseason testing at Las Vegas, followed by the Winternationals at what was formerly known as the Auto Club Raceway. Next was a stop at Phoenix before a cross-country trip to Gainesville, Fla., followed by another cross-country trip back for racing at Las Vegas.
In 2021, because of the pandemic, the Winternationals were held in mid-summer.
The new schedule is particularly pleasing to Ron Capps, who besides having won the past two Funny Car national titles is in his second season as a team owner.
“I now have to look at things more from a business aspect,” he said in an interview. “I need to be more concerned with expenses, and with gas prices as high as they are, we don’t want to be zigzagging across the country.”
Something else that pleases Capps is the new Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, sponsored by tortilla and chips maker Mission Foods. This is a competition involving the four drivers in each nitro class who reached the semifinals in the previous NHRA event.
On Saturdays during 12 regular-season NHRA stops, there will be two challenge races in each class after the first round of that day’s qualifying sessions, with the winners advancing to challenge finals held after each second round of qualifying.
This Saturday, Capps, who placed second to Robert Hight in Funny Car eliminations at Phoenix, will take on Alexis DeJoria while Hight faces Chad Green in the first round of the challenge, with the winners of those races squaring off later.
Challenge winners in Top Fuel and Funny Car earn $10,000, plus three championship points. Second place is worth two points, and the semifinalist with the quickest losing run gets one point. The challenge’s total purse money amounts to close to $500,000.
“The Mission #2Fast2Tasty is a great addition,” Capps said. “It adds excitement to the Saturday qualifying and although the points are not much, every little bit helps. I won last year by three points.”
After two of this year’s 21 scheduled stops on the NHRA circuit, Capps, with 157 points, is third behind Hight (169 points) and Matt Hagan (165).
Capps, who previously raced for the Don Schumacher team for 19 years, says going out on his own was the right decision, despite daily challenges. “My wife (Shelley) and Guido (crew chief Dean Antonelli) help me with a lot of business decisions,” he said. “The key thing is I now control my own destiny.”
If that destiny involves a third straight national title, a team member has already suggested they could call it a “Capp Trick.”
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In Top Fuel, a driver to keep an eye on is Justin Ashley, a winner at last year’s Winternatinals and a winner at Phoenix last weekend.
One thing for sure, Ashley won’t have a repeat of what happened to him at the summertime Winternationals in 2021 on a hot August day. He made it all the way to the elimination final on Sunday and was at the starting line to face off with Leah Pruett when he waved to his crew he couldn’t go. His dragster was pushed back off the starting line in an odd scene.
Ashley was suffering from heat stroke and realized it was unsafe for him to make a 1,000-foot run in an 11,000-horsepower machine. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment that got him cooled down.
But ever since that day, Ashley has been on a hot streak, and it figures to continue this weekend.
WINTERNATIONALS
Friday: Nitro qualifying round, 3 p.m.
Saturday: Nitro qualifying rounds, noon and 3 p.m.
Sunday: Elimination finals, 11 a.m.
TV: Qualifying, Saturday, 4 p.m., and Sunday, 9:30 a.m..; Finals, Sunday, 4 p.m., all tape-delayed on FS1