DRAG RACING BOOMS : More Than 50,000 Fans Are Expected Today for Finals of 28th Winternationals at Pomona

Spread over 240 acres of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds parking lot this week have been more than 500 drag racing machines, ranging from the $1-million operation of funny car champion Kenny Bernstein to the backyard garage stock eliminator of Linda Myers, a deputy coroner from Victorville.

They are there for the 28th running of the Chief Auto Parts Winternationals, traditionally the most successful of the National Hot Rod Assn.’s 16-race, $15-million world championship drag racing season.

Last year’s final eliminations attracted 54,000 spectators to the Pomona Fairplex, the highest single-day attendance in drag racing history. An even larger crowd is anticipated today.

Drag racing is undergoing a golden era boom unparalleled in racing.

Last year, more than one million spectators attended 14 NHRA national events, a combined audience of more than 200 million viewers watched drag racing on television, more than 120 companies participated in a sponsorship program that offered $14 million in contingency prizes and the roster of the NHRA reached more than 56,000, including 160 member tracks and 20,000 registered competitors.

Why?

“There are many reasons, but foremost I believe, are television exposure, the continued financial support of Winston as our series sponsor, an increased involvement in Detroit for high-performance cars and the fact that spectators can get right alongside the cars in the pits,” said Dallas Gardner, president of the Glendora-based drag racing organization.

“Television stimulated more awareness of drag racing, and we are sure that when viewers saw the professionalism of our competitors, it gave them a different perception of what our sport is all about.”

Indeed, the row upon row of high profile 18-wheelers--rolling machine shops as well as traveling billboards--that fill the Pomona parking lot with their sophisticated, space-age race cars, must shock old-timers who remember not too many years ago when most arrived towing cars from home with spray can paint jobs.

The big deal when Wally Parks took hot-rodding off the streets and dry lakes of Southern California to found the NHRA in 1951 was arguing over the merits of the Ford flat-head against the Chevy 6.

Today’s cars are one-of-a-kind creatures that are put through wind tunnel tests before they ever show up on a racing strip, and when they do run, every twitch of the throttle, clutch, tires and driver is measured by computers.

But one thing remains from the old days, and that may be the true measure of drag racing’s popularity.

For the price of a pit pass, spectators--even children--can gather around a car, from Dick LaHaie’s world champion top fuel dragster to Tony Foti’s ’67 Camaro super gas eliminator, to watch crews at work. Foti is a police officer from Simi Valley whose LAPD Racing Team entry looks like a patrol car, complete with the blinking red light.

“Sometimes people crowd in so close that we can barely get around to work on the car, but just when I’m about to get angry with them, I remember that they are really the backbone of our sport,” said (Big Daddy) Don Garlits, the premier driver and innovator in drag racing.

“We’re the only sport where the fans can get close enough to touch the cars and watch the mechanics working on the engine. They actually can get closer to us than they can to their own cars at their hometown garage.”

It is not unusual to see thousands of fans still milling around the garages at the same time that cars are running eliminations.

“I’ve been coming out here for 20 years at least to see the Winternationals because it’s the one chance I have to see what guys like Garlits and (Don) Prudhomme have for their new setups,” said Greg Smith, a Pasadena pool contractor. “I know it’s been 20 years because I’ve been bringing my son Tim every year and he’s 20 now.”

The cars and crews aren’t the only attraction in the pits. A manufacturers midway, featuring products of the major sponsors, is like a gallery of high-performance equipment. Products are not for sale, but many offer decals, brochures, souvenirs, T-shirts and photographs.

“It’s like going to Disneyland,” Gardner said. “Some of the larger sponsors even hand out shopping bags, and after walking up and down the pits, a youngster can get it chock full of things to take home.

“A father and his son can get to the races at 8 or 9 in the morning and stay until 5:30 in the afternoon and spend the day breathing nitro and burning rubber and see a motor sports exposition at the same time. They’ll go home exhausted, but happy and loaded with souvenirs.”

The beginning of drag racing’s increased popularity occurred with the arrival of two organizations in 1975 and 1976. In 1975, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. joined forces with the NHRA to sponsor the Winston World Championships. And the next year, NHRA contracted with Diamond P Sports of Woodland Hills to produce and package all its television shows.

Winston’s first point fund totaled $60,000. This year, they will contribute close to $1 million. Last year, LaHaie and Bernstein each collected $100,000 for winning top fuel and funny car championships, while pro stock champion Bob Glidden received $50,000. In 1975, Garlits earned $10,000 and Glidden $6,000 for the first of his eight pro stock championships.

“Drag racing has shown an impressive amount of growth over the last decade,” said Gerald H. Long, president and chief executive officer of R.J. Reynolds. “We’re pleased to have been a part of NHRA racing and its subsequent success, and we look forward to many more banner seasons together.”

Winston’s role goes beyond purse funds to drivers. It also pumps millions of dollars into facilities, VIP towers, improved press quarters and advertising.

“Winston is like a caretaker sponsor,” Gardner said. “It brought us credibility, and with it came the many other sponsors. It’s been like a snowball. When companies enter the sport as sponsors of cars or events, they use drag racing as a sales promotion. That, in turn, sells drag racing itself.

“It was only recently that companies like Castrol, Motorcraft and Budweiser starting using drag racing cars and personalities in their TV commercials. This brought drag racing into focus for millions of people who might not have tuned in a drag race on TV. It aroused their interest and brought us new fans.”

Diamond P will package 21 shows for TV this year, 3 for NBC’s SportsWorld, 9 for ESPN, 5 for Nashville Network and 4 for syndication. Today’s Winternationals are scheduled to be shown Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m. on Channel 4.

“Our TV package is the strongest in our history,” said Brian Tracy, NHRA vice president of marketing. “And that comes on top of last year when a survey by Sponsors Report showed that we had an increase of 96.2% in home viewers over the year before.”

The Sponsors Report, a sports marketing and research firm, revealed that drag racing had 48,866,180 more home viewers than its 1986 audience.

“By far, the NHRA has shown the greatest percent of increase of all nationally broadcast motor sports events,” said Phil Rosette, vice president of Sponsors Report.

Surprisingly, just when drag racing is booming throughout the country, Southern California--where it all started--has less than ever.

Except for the two NHRA events at Pomona, the Winternationals and the Winston World Finals in November, there is no major league racing in the area. The only strips in operation are the Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale, Carlsbad Raceway and Riverside International Raceway, and the latter two are expected to close at any time.

“The environment in Southern California, the number of people, the land values and the ecology is against development of any new racing facility,” Gardner said. “It takes about 100 acres for a neighborhood strip and close to 300 acres for a facility to hold professional events, and you can’t find that much land available between Santa Barbara and San Diego.”

Elsewhere in the country, drag racing is a community investment. In Gainesville, Fla., the chamber of commerce estimated that the NHRA Gatornationals had an impact of between $16 million and $20 million on the north central Florida area. In Indianapolis, site of the U.S. Nationals, city officials estimated that the week-long event over Labor Day contributed $20 million to the city.

“A new facility about to be built near Houston will be a state-of-the-art racing strip,” Gardner said. “If there is one area that has not kept pace with our sport it is the physical facilities. Most are outdated and need upgrading.

“Atlanta is an example of what is being done. When new owners purchased the track they planned to do some renovating, but once they looked into it they rebuilt it from scratch. It’s become a $4-million project.”

The NHRA will hold Winston All-Stars competition, drag racing’s equivalent of baseball’s All-Star game, at Atlanta on June 11-12.

Also scheduled for major renovation is the Pomona Fairgrounds track. The NHRA is near signing a 15-year lease for the property, which will enable it to invest $3.5 million for permanent seating, bathrooms, and a 9,000-foot VIP and operations building.

“We are spending $600,000 a year to rent portable seats, toilets and operations trailers, and that will go a long way toward financing permanent facilities,” Gardner said. “Part of that money, more than $100,000, will go toward a master plan to mute engine noises. We want to be good neighbors with the citizens of LaVerne, which is one reason we will never hold weekly racing here. Pomona will be restricted to our two annual events.”

One of the most popular grass-roots programs in drag racing is high school competition, where meets are held at drag strips in much the same manner as a track and field meet. Unfortunately, with no strips available, there are no high school programs in Southern California.

“The high schools are the lifeblood for new competitors in our sportsman classes,” said Steve Gibbs, NHRA director of competition. “Young people come out, run their own car in a bracket race and when they get hooked on the excitement, they come back with better equipment. Pretty soon they’re lined up in a national event.”

Two 17-year-olds, Richard Pauley of Newhall and Mark Maxwell of Salinas, are entered in the Winternationals stock eliminator class.

Although most of the competitors in the professional classes are full-time race drivers, the sportsman entries offer a kaleidoscope of occupations. Most are automotive oriented, such as mechanics, speed shop owners, truck drivers, welders, mechanical engineers and machinists, but many are far removed from racing.

Randy Miller, an alcohol funny car driver from Walnut, owns New York Seltzer. Kris LaPoint, a super gas driver from Fair Oaks, Calif., is president of Master Craft Skis.

Vincent Terrano is a casino dealer from Las Vegas, Dave Rutherford a professor from Thousand Oaks, Gary Williams a forest ranger from Mariposa, Pete Lupfer a cowboy from Colorado, Bill O’Connor a chemist from Huntington Beach, Chuck Beal a nuclear engineer from San Diego, Dave Hansen a veterinarian from Belmont, James Gaughenbaugh a restaurant manager from Riverside, Bobby DeArmond an optician from New Mexico.

Then there is Renate Rosen, a 27-year-old nurse from Skelleftea, Sweden, whose ’74 Plymouth Duster stock eliminator was flown here by SAS Cargo at a cost of $12,000 for the Winternationals. Renate and the car will return to Sweden after the competition.

Racing will start at 11 a.m. today with eliminations in three professional and six sportsman classes.