There were plenty of big numbers to talk about following the completion of NHRA’s 65th annual Lucas Oil Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. With three of four Mission Foods Drag Racing Series classes performing at the historic racetrack east of Los Angeles, with the Gainesville rain-interrupted Right Trailers Top Fuel Callout taking place, the second Mission #Fast2Tasty Challenge on the docket, as well as the third of 20 races to contest, action was heavy from the start on a cool Friday midday to a cool late Sunday afternoon.
Once the hot on-track action had been completed, Rick Ware Racing’s Clay Millican earned his first Top Fuel Winternationals winner’s Wally trophy and eighth overall, Jack Beckman took his second straight at this track and 36th overall career victory in his 72nd final round for John Force Racing (JFR) in Funny Car, while six-time reigning Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson continued his mastery over KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn at this track, taking out the perennial contender in a crazy final round. It wasn’t the same as last year’s season finale, where Anderson used the left lane to earn his sixth title, but they lined up in exactly the same formation and ended up with exactly the same results.
If you think this was a cut-and-dried, ho-hum racing weekend, think again. On a track that, according to Jimmy Prock, was “so good, we’re not sure we can master it,” some of the NHRA’s stellar runners were sidelined by the start of the second round of eliminations. And the third round. Happily there were no airplanes flying into the motorhome parking area this time around – that anomaly occurred during last year’s season finale – and the competition hold-ups were minimal and not too costly among the pro competitors. It was a pretty darn clean race weekend.
Even the weather cooperated, with those cool, partly-cloudy skies that help make the Pomona surface one of the finest of NHRA’s national event series locations. While there was some rain Sunday morning, it took place so early in the day that NHRA’s vaunted Safety Safari had the track in prime condition well before the 11AM start of competition.
Who went out in the first round? How about four-time and reigning dragster champion Antron Brown, the No. 7 qualifier who fell to Tony Stewart in the early going. Stewart would continue through eliminations to the final round – his third since joining NHRA Top Fuel competition last year. Justin Ashley, who earned victory at this track on three straight occasions, continued his tough start to this 2025 campaign and parked it after Round 1, losing to Josh Hart (who needed that round win in a big way, as did Ashley). Four-time champ Steve Torrence, who isn’t doing the full series this year – “It felt like a second job,” he told his mom and team owner Kay Torrence – was gone after losing to Jasmine Salinas in that same first round.
No. 1 Funny Car qualifier and reigning champion Austin Prock from John Force Racing couldn’t make it down the track with his Chevrolet Camaro SS in the first round (against Blake Alexander’s Dodge Charger) after turning 338+ in the final round of qualifying Saturday night. Last week’s winner, Paul Lee parked his Dodge after falling to finalist Daniel Wilkerson’s Ford Mustang in the second round. Ron Capps’ Toyota GR Supra was out in the first round against Jim Head’s Mustang driven by Pro Mod racer Spencer Hyde. Erica Enders, the six-time Pro Stock titleholder fell to Dallas Glenn in the first round.
As Greg Anderson aptly put it, “Our KB Titan Racing team brought eight cars and all eight made the field.” Taking the Pomona track’s elapsed time record at 6.477 seconds in the first round of racing at probably the warmest pass of the day, over Mason McGaha, Anderson broke Enders’ 11-year-old record (6.480). The eight KB racers couldn’t all win, of course; that fell to the boss man himself, Anderson, who seems to have control over this class in 2025. Some years it’s KB Titan; other years it’s Elite Motorsport that rules the door-slammer class. While only three races have run thus far, Elite does have some catching up to do.
There were two father-son entries in Pro Stock (Chris McGaha didn’t make the field but son Mason did). Greg and Aaron Stanfield made the field, but only Aaron advanced past the first round to the quarterfinals; in the first round of play, Matt Latino beat his father Eric in his Pro Stock racing debut. In that first Pro Stock round, two cars were eliminated before staging: KB Titan’s Cody Coughlin and McGaha both broke after the burnout. It was an unconventional, strange day for Pro Stock.
With only 14 cars in Top Fuel, it looked like No 1 qualifier Brittany Force could bring home the trophy for John Force Racing, after beating Steve Chrisman and running solo in the second round. Not so fast, said Millican, who benched her in the semifinal round. Millican’s final round opponent, Tony Stewart – still looking for his first nitro victory – dispensed with Brown, beat 2023 champ Doug Kalitta of Kallita Motorsports in the second go-round and then took out Kalitta’s teammate Shawn Langdon to go up against Millican, each time without lane choice and using the right lane. Both drivers had mechanical issues in the finals, but Millican’s weren’t as early as Stewart’s – Clay’s engine exploded near the finish – and the man with NHRA’s biggest smile got to plaster his happy face all over the post-race celebrations!
It wasn’t a total bust for Kalitta Motorsports, as Doug Kalitta earned the Callout win on Friday over Brittany Force, who was the provisional and definitive No. 1 after four rounds of qualifying. On Saturday, Shawn Langdon won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, along with doubling-up Beckman and Matt Hartford, who races his Chevy Camaro with KB Titan Pro Stock power, won the bonus race that awards money and points. Yet it was John Force Racing – with John Force at the track – who dominated Saturday’s proceedings. Brittany Force and Austin Prock secured No. 1 seeds while Beckman won the specialty race.
When Jack Beckman earned his Sunday victory, it marked No. 300 for John Force Racing. The patriarch is responsible for 157 of those wins, but Beckman was the ace who brought home No. 300, or the 143rd win for someone on the team that isn’t John Force!
With a week off before the first of three four-wide contests on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the points picture has been adjusted. Shawn Langdon increased his lead over Doug Kalitta, with Antron Brown, Brittany Force, Tony Stewart, Clay Millican, Jasmine Salinas, Josh Hart, Justin Ashley and Steve Torrence making up the top 10 in dragster competition.
Funny Car sees Jack Beckman (Chevy Camaro SS) atop the standings, followed by Paul Lee and Matt Hagan in Dodge Charger SRT Hellcats, Chad Green’s Ford Mustang, Austin Prock’s Chevy Camaro SS, Ron Capps’ Toyota GR Supra, Daniel Wilkerson and Bob Tasca III in Ford Mustangs, with Cruz Pedrregon and Alexis DeJoria, both driving Dodge Chargers, completing the top 10.
KB Titan Racing owns the first four slots in Pro Stock, with Greg Anderson atop the standings, followed by Dallas Glenn, Cory Reed, Matt Hartford, Elite Motorsports’ Jeg Coughlin Jr., KB Titan’s Deric Kramer and Eric Latino, Elite’s Aaron Stanfield, Mason McGaha and Troy Couglin Jr.
Hard to believe that the April 11-13 action in Las Vegas will be the 25th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. It should be another great show as NHRA, for the first time in its history, will have three four-wide contests in 2025. Charlotte, NC’s zMAX Dragway will host the second and third such contests, one directly following the Las Vegas race and a second during fall’s Countdown to the Championship.
Leave a Reply