| | Results
POMONA, Calif. -- Gary Scelzi won the Top Fuel title in the NHRA's season-opening AutoZone Winternationals on Sunday, beating defending series champion Tony Schumacher in the final.
Scelzi, a 15-time Top Fuel winner, had a quarter-mile run of 4.613 seconds at 317.79 mph in his Team Winston dragster. Schumacher finished in 4.712 at 309.56.
Jerry Toliver won the Funny Car competition, beating Tony Pedregon with a run of 4.970 seconds at 309.06 mph in the WWF Racing Chevy Camaro.
Jeg Coughlin topped the Pro Stock division, his third straight Pomona Raceway victory in five consecutive finals and his 11th overall victory. He beat defending series champion Warren Johnson with a run of 6.894 seconds at 199.17 mph.
"We've always stressed preparation," said Coughlin, who defeated John Fairleigh, Greg Anderson and Tom Martino for the final round opportunity. "Today we were ready and showed a lot of consistency. The
entire team made this win happen. It's great."
The thrilling Top Fuel side-by-side final capped an efficient day of racing that was free of delays
for oil cleanup. During the off-season NHRA introduced rules limiting the amount of
nitromethane to 90-percent for Top Fuel and Funny Car teams. In addition,
the time for teams to service their race cars was reduced to 75 minutes.
Penalties and fines for oiling the racing surface also were established.
"I am proud to be associated with NHRA Winston Drag Racing right now," said
Scelzi, who put together a string of consistent 4.60 second runs in round
wins over Tim Gibson, Cory McClenathan and Larry Dixon to advance to the
final. "It was awesome out there today. I didn't have time to get nervous. We changed four motors and had the
car started within 40 minutes each time. During testing we worked with the
90-percent (nitro) rule and the 75-minute rule. Today, that preparation paid
off."
With the victory, Scelzi moved into eighth place on the all-time Top Fuel win list, edging ahead of Don Prudhomme, Gary Ormsby and Scott Kalitta.
"I never thought I would win one of these races, much less 15," Scelzi said, who anticipates more final round meetings with his
young rival. "I like rivalries and I think the sport needs them. Tony is a champion -- he proved that last year. To beat Tony today is extra special. He's the defending champion, but that was last year. For now, we're back to
number one."
Toliver used a holeshot start to claim his second career Funny Car victory, and second straight at Pomona
Raceway. Toliver used a quick .456 reaction time to pave his way to the win.
"Every opponent I had today made me nervous, but I had to dig down deep and make it happen," said Toliver, who defeated Bob Gilbertson, Whit Bazemore and Gary Densham to advance to the final round. "I'm here, I'm happy and we're going for the Winston championship. That's what it's all about. This is a great way to get started."
Bob Panella claimed his fifth career Pro Stock Truck victory and first at Pomona Raceway, edging Greg Stanfield for the win in a
battle of Chevy S-10s. The defending series champion covered the quarter-mile in 7.544 at 178.52, overcoming a holeshot start by Stanfield, who crossed the finish line with a 7.568 at 179.09.
"What a day," Panella said. "We worked hard over the winter to be in this position and it worked out for us."
The next stop on the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series is the 16th annual
Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals, Feb. 24-27, at Firebird International
Raceway near Phoenix.
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