The NHRA is back at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip for the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, and fans are excited to witness some exciting racing. This event marks the 63rd time the NHRA has visited the track, which also hosts the season finale in November. On Friday, Cruz Pedregon leads the class with the provisional first place in his 11,000+ horsepower Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car, with a run of 3.865 @ 302.28 mph.
Pedregon has a history of success at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, having won the last time he competed there. He looks to continue his winning streak and secure his second straight win at the legendary facility with his recent performance.
Despite facing a few setbacks on Saturday, Pedregón held on to the No. 1 position in the Funny Car standings, with his Friday night race leading the way. He had a problem with his parachute in his first qualifying run on Saturday and had to abort his final pass because John Force had an incident that caused a 30-minute delay. Pedregon noticed that the small parachute button on his steering wheel did not have the locking mechanism attached, which caused the parachute problem.
Pedregon didn’t think his .86 would last, especially after shutting down the engine due to a cylinder problem. However, he was proven wrong as the weather warmed up enough to prevent other drivers from beating his time.
The Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota driven by Alexis DeJoria placed second with a time of 3.883. Arizona Nationals champion Robert Hight and Bob Tasca followed closely behind in third and fourth, respectively, with times of 3.892 and 3.899.
JR Todd also faced some challenges as John Force’s parachutes wrapped around his car after Force lost control of his Camaro and veered into Todd’s lane, damaging both cars. The DHL team had to use a spare car to continue qualifying, but were unable to get down the track in Q3 and finished fifth with their Friday time of 3.935.
In all, thirteen teams qualified in the three-second zone, with Force sitting on the bump with a time of 4.162 and set to run Pedregón in the first round.
Source: NHRA
