MOTOR RACING : Pulde, Eckman Add to Pomona Records

Dale Pulde and Jerry Eckman had the quickest performances of their careers during Friday’s second round of qualifying for the 32nd annual Winternationals at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona.

Pulde is the funny car leader and Eckman is the No. 1 qualifier in pro stock. Tom McEwen remained the leader in top fuel. The qualifying times for the three are track and event records.

Pulde, of Sylmar, drove the JP-1 Oldsmobile Cutlass to a quarter-mile time of 5.214 seconds at 273.05 m.p.h.

“The engine only ran on seven cylinders Thursday, so we felt we could run a low 5.20,” Pulde said. “I think we can better that.”

Eckman, the 1990 Winternationals champion formerly from Ventura and now from Newark, Ohio, drove the Pennzoil Pontiac Trans Am to a 7.198 at 192.26 m.p.h. The 7.198-second effort is the sixth fastest in NHRA pro stock history.

“It feels good to be back in a contending position,” Eckman said. “The car made a perfect run, and if the temperature cools off (today), we could see a national record (the record is 7.180).

“We’ll make a few adjustments and hope that it will be our car that sets the record.”

McEwen, of Fountain Valley, remained No. 1 in top fuel based on Thursday’s 4.901-second effort at 289.76. The top run of the day in top fuel was made by Cory McClenathan of Anaheim, who turned a career best of 4.959 at 288.27. Qualifying continues today with sessions at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Final eliminations for the opening event in the 18-race Winston Drag Racing Series will begin Sunday at 11 a.m.

Porsche has only three 962Cs entered, but the German prototypes are favored to continue their domination in the 24-hour endurance race beginning today at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Porsches have been dominating on the 3.56-mile circuit, which includes an infield road course and three-quarters of the track’s high-banked oval.

Porsche has won 18 of 24 of these races, including last year’s surprising victory by Hurley Haywood, Germans Frank Jelinski and John Winter, Frenchman Bob Wollek and Italian Henri Pescarolo.

“The key to all those wins is reliability,” said Haywood, the only five-time winner of the Daytona event. “When Porsche used to enter six, seven, eight cars here, you just knew two or three would finish. If you finish, you can win.

“There are fewer Porsches entered here now, but I still expect one or two to finish, so that means we have a chance to win. History has proven that the Porsche is a very reliable car.”