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Richard Parks |
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Gone Racin� |
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Gone Racin��43rd K&N Winternationals |
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Clear skies, a warm sun, with a cooling breeze coming off the mountain tops, made the 43rd Annual NHRA Winternationals, sponsored by K&N Filters, a perfect place and time to watch some great drag racing. This storied event was held February 6-9, 2003, at the Pomona Raceway, in Pomona, California. Qualifying began on Thursday and continued on through Saturday. Various activities were being held throughout the race. The pits attracted thousands of fans who stood just a few feet from the busy mechanics, and talked to the drivers and crew. The manufacturer�s bazaar was full of people who talked to the salesmen and walked away with decals, promotional literature and catalogs. On Saturday, the Budweiser Shoot-out was run, having been rained out at the last World�s Finals in November. Larry Dixon triumphed in his Miller Lite car, winning $100,000 and starting a trend that would continue all weekend. On Wednesday, fans and family gathered at the NHRA Motorsports Museum to honor NHRA�s founder, Wally Parks, on his 90th birthday. You name it, and it was there at the races. Rocker Tommy Lee Jones was spotted in the crowd among the notables on Saturday. The Budweiser�s Clydesdale horses were a fan favorite, as well as the diesel powered drag truck, which was timed in 12.44 seconds for the � mile, and spewed smoke and burnt rubber over adoring fans. The Motorsports Museum held their open house on Friday night, just after the races had concluded around 5pm. This fan favorite is free to the public and attracts the famous and well loved cars, men and women who made the sport what it is today. Over 1200 people showed up to get autographs from Wally and Barbara Parks, and many other drag racing legends. |
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Sunday saw the continued fine weather prevail, and some marvelous racing. Larry Dixon continued his forceful march through the ranks of Top Fuel by consistently running 4.50�s e.t.�s, and beating Cory McClenathan in the finals. Along with his winnings on Saturday, Dixon earned another $90,000, to bring his earnings to $190,000. Not bad for a weekend of drag racing, and a time when racers only won trophies or $25 war bonds. Tony Pedregon waded through a tough field in Funny Car and beat Johnny Gray with a very strong 4.76 e.t. to Gray�s 4.91 e.t. Warren Johnson served notice to the Pro Stock drivers that he is back, and is going to be hard to beat this year. The �Professor� ran solid 6.70�s to tear up the division and leave his competition in the rear view mirror. WJ beat Allen Johnson (no relation), going 6.78 to Allen�s 6.80 e.t. Tony Bartone ran 5.26 to beat Morgan Lucas at 5.29 in Top Alcohol Dragster. Doug Gordon went 5.62 to triumph over Cy Chesterman�s fading 6.68 in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Randy Jones raced to a 9.28 win over Brandon Huhtala, who fouled, in Competition Eliminator. Super Stock saw Jeff Lane run a strong 9.06 to take the win over Fred Moreno in 10.28. Stock Eliminator went easily to Mike Loge who ran an 11.90, while Curtis Coulter fouled in the next lane. Jack Beckman won in Super Comp, going 8.91 to Geoff Hughes faster time of 8.89, which proves that the racer that gets to the finish line first is not always the fastest, but he is the quickest. In Super Gas, Brad Pierce raced to a win at 9.87, beating Ed Olpin�s faster time of 9.86. |
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I interviewed Dallas Gardner during the weekend. Dallas is the second president of NHRA, taking over from Wally Parks, its founder, and guiding the organization through its explosive growth spurt in the 1970�s and up into the 1990�s. Dallas is now the Chairman of the Board and oversees the work done by the new President of NHRA, Tom Compton. Gardner went on to add that the racing organization is in good hands with Compton, who is a strong and tenacious negotiator, and very careful of the financial bottom line. Dallas went on to state that Compton is responsible for bringing in Powerade and its parent company, Coca-Cola, to replace past sponsor, Winston (RJR Tobacco). Government regulations forced Winston out of drag racing and a number of other sports, and deprived NHRA of a long time sponsor and close friends within the industry. Winston had been with NHRA for a quarter of a century, and bringing in a major new sponsor in Coca-Cola was a masterful maneuver on Compton�s part. Gardner went on to state that Compton negotiated a strong TV/Cable contract with ESPN to televise drag racing throughout the country, and to provide a stable viewing time. This had been a vexing situation for drag racing, and for a time, TV coverage had ended, and left the sport without an outlet. Gardner states that the current viewership is strong and gaining market share, and this will be a major emphasis on the organization in the coming years. Dallas said that he is enjoying being Chairman of the Board and leaving the day to day operations to young men like Compton, whom he has the utmost trust and faith to lead the NHRA into the next generation. |
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Contact Richard parks Gone Racin� at [email protected] or visit the Gone Racin� website at www.oilstick.com |
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