Winternationals : Records Fall in Hot Qualifying Rounds

Cool conditions brought out quick times in Thursday’s opening qualifying rounds of the Chief Auto Parts Winternationals drag races at Pomona, but not for the three defending Winston Series world champions.

Four-time funny car champion Kenny Bernstein of Newport Beach failed to post a time when something popped in the experimental engine in his Buick during a warm-up burnout.

Nine-time pro stock champion Bob Glidden of Whiteland, Ind., failed to make the top 16 qualifiers after backing off the throttle of his Ford Probe when Harry Scribner’s car appeared to be drifting toward Glidden’s lane.

Two-time top-fuel champion Joe Amato of Old Forge, Pa., qualified eighth but was overshadowed by a group of old-timers who reached record speeds.

Connie Kalitta, a 49-year-old veteran from Ypsilanti, Mich., who won the Winternationals in 1967, blasted through the speed traps at 286.25 m.p.h., bettering the track record of 284.90 by Amato last October in the World Finals and the event record of 284.81 by Eddie Hill last year.

Despite the high speed, Kalitta was only third on the first-day grid as Dennis Forcelle of Minneapolis, last year’s top fuel rookie of the year at age 47, produced a record elapsed time of 5.068 seconds.

Close behind was Gary Ormsby with a 5.084. Kalitta’s elapsed time was 5.105.

Bruce Larson, a pioneer of funny cars from Dauphin, Pa., who has been driving for three decades, found new life in his ’89 Olds Cutlass as he posted a Winternationals record of 5.387 seconds. This bettered Ed McCulloch’s year-old mark of 5.395.

The biggest surprise was a 7.361-second record time by Larry Morgan, a third-year professional pro stock driver from Newark, Ohio. Morgan gave warning earlier in the week when he ran a 7.27 on the lightning-fast track in Houston.

“That wasn’t even the good motor,” Morgan said after breaking Glidden’s 1988 Winternationals mark of 7.391. “That was lightning, and we’re putting thunder in for tomorrow.”

Qualifying for Sunday’s final eliminations in the $893,400 event--the opening round of 18-race national championship--will continue with one session today at 2 p.m. and two Saturday, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.