DRAG RACING WINTERNATIONALS : They’re Burning Up the Track at Fairplex

Nine top fuel dragsters bettered five seconds for the quarter-mile from a standing start Saturday before an estimated 40,000 spectators at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona, creating the fastest field in drag racing history.

Never before had more than seven top fuelers been in the four-second bracket at the same National Hot Rod Assn. event.

Final qualifying for the 32nd Winternationals also produced the puzzling situation of having defending Winston champion Joe Amato set a national record of 4.893 seconds elapsed time, even though Pat Austin set a track record earlier in the day at the exact same speed.

The reasoning goes this way: Austin gets the track record and the No. 1 qualifying position because his speed of 291.54 m.p.h. was faster than Amato’s 283.73 during their record runs. Amato got the national record because he backed up his time with another identical 4.893-second run, and Austin did only 5.03 in his second run.

NHRA rules state that, to establish a record, a driver must come within 1% of his fastest time during the course of the event.

“He can have the track record. I’ll take the national record because it pays 200 points toward the Winston championship,” four-time champion Amato said.

However, Austin could take the record--and the 200 points--away from Amato by running 4.931 or better in today’s eliminations.

“We’ll definitely go for the record tomorrow, but we’re not going to forget what we’re here for, and that’s to win races,” Austin said. “We tried some experimental cylinder heads in the second run today because we feel the best place to test new equipment is in competition.”

Austin won top fuel last October during the Winston Finals in a dragster tuned by Lee Beard, formerly with the late Gary Ormsby. This season the tuning is being done by Austin’s father, Walt.

“I would like to think this showed that the Austin family can handle things themselves,” added Austin, at 27 the baby of top fuel racing.

Even with the quick times--it took 5.089 to make the 16-car field--the most unforgettable moment came when veteran Jimmy Nix did a high-flying act in his year-old top fuel dragster during morning qualifying.

Nix, 53, was approaching the speed trap, about 1,100 feet off the starting pad, when the front wings buckled. The sudden change in aerodynamics lifted the 2,000-pound dragster up like an airplane at takeoff. Almost immediately, it flipped backward and came crashing down on its side.

The impact ignited a fire in the engine and as the battered car slid down the strip backward, the fire was in front of Nix, sending the flames back in his face.

He was airlifted by helicopter to the UC Irvine Medical Center’s trauma unit, where he was treated for burns on both hands and his feet. Nix said he expected to be released today and plans to resume racing.

“His first question to me was, ‘What was my time? It felt like a good one,’ ” said NHRA official Denny Darnell, who spoke to Nix from the hospital.

“My hands hurt, the way they would if you picked up a hot skillet,” Nix told Darnell. “Otherwise, I’m fine.”

Doug Herbert was in the lane next to Nix.

“The first thing I saw, I looked over and he was up in the air at about a 30-degree angle,” Herbert said. “The body came off and when he came down he was sliding backward on fire. I pulled to the side and drove down to the sand pit, jumped out and unbuckled Jimmy and pulled him out. He was on fire and I tried slapping at the flames to put them out, but the safety crew was there almost immediately.”

Two of drag racing’s most renowned drivers, Don (Snake) Prudhomme, four-time Winston funny car champion, and Eddie Hill, the first driver to break five seconds, joined Nix on the sidelines.

Drivers were unanimous in crediting the new surface at the Fairplex for the spectacular surge in speed.

“New technology has made a slight difference, but the main thing is the track,” Amato said.

“It’s as fast as anywhere in the country, even Texas Motorplex with its all-concrete strip,” Austin said.

Top fuel records were not the only ones to fall.

Dale Pulde set a funny car record of 5.190 seconds in his Pisano Oldsmobile Cutlass. It was the quickest time of Pulde’s career, which includes two Winternationals championships in 1980 and 1988.

In pro stock, Mark Pawuk set a track record of 7.196 seconds and Warren Johnson a top speed mark of 192.76 m.p.h.