DRAG RACING : Bernstein Is Fastest in Qualifying

Driver-car owner Kenny Bernstein of Mission Viejo, who also has his hand in Indy cars and Winston Cup stock cars, came out of a drag racing slump Friday at Pomona Raceway to qualify his top fuel dragster in the top spot--provisionally--for Sunday’s Winston Finals.

Bernstein’s run of 4.818 seconds (297.52 m.p.h.) in the second round of qualifying was his quickest since last May at Englishtown, N.J., when he ran 4.815 and went on to win his only national event of the season.

If Bernstein survives two rounds of qualifying today and wins the top spot, it will be his first No. 1 position in more than a year. His last one was Oct. 17, 1992 at Texas Motorplex, which was the 41st of his 23-year career in funny cars and top fuelers.

“We’ve had mechanical problems for more than six months, and the crew worked most of the night Thursday making changes,” Bernstein said. “Apparently we helped ourselves, but we won’t know until we get down the track tomorrow in the Budweiser Classic.”

The Classic is a special eight-car event for top fuel dragsters that pays $50,000 to the winner. Bernstein, who won it in 1991, will meet Randy McDaniel in the first round, which will start at 11 a.m.

Scott Kalitta, second-fastest qualifier Friday with a 4.855, is top-seeded in the Classic. Scott, whose father, Connie, won the top fuel crown in the 1967 Winternationals at Pomona, recorded the fastest run in drag racing history--308.64 m.p.h.--while winning the Sears Craftsman Nationals earlier this month at Topeka, Kan.

“We might have a quicker run in the car, but Saturday we’ll back off a little to try and win the Budweiser race,” Bernstein said.

Runs in the Classic will also count as qualifying runs for Sunday’s race.

Funny car driver Dean Skuza of Brecksville, Ohio, driving an unsponsored ’91 Probe prepared by former racer Glenn Mikres of Riverside, set a track record at 294.69 m.p.h. It was also a personal record for Skuza.

Cruz Pedregon, the 1992 funny car champion from Moorpark, remained the fastest qualifier with his 5.079 posted Thursday.

“It was on a quicker pass than yesterday’s, but the motor pulled down at about half-track,” Pedregon said. “I figured it would be better to come back and look over the motor, so I shut off.”

In pro stock, champion Warren Johnson of Duluth, Ga., again lowered his own track record with his ’93 Olds Cutlass. His speed of 194.51 bettered the 194.30 he ran a day earlier.

“Yesterday the tires spun, but today they locked up solid,” Johnson said. “They (NHRA officials) sprayed and scraped the starting line just before I made my run, and that made a big difference.”