McClenathan, Capps Ready to Challenge for Improved Roles

Gary Scelzi and John Force stand atop the drag racing world going into the opening event of the National Hot Rod Assn. season, the 39th annual AutoZone Winternationals today through Sunday at Pomona Raceway.

Scelzi, who lives in Fresno, is the two-time defending Winston series champion in top fuel.

Force, from Yorba Linda, has won eight funny-car championships, the last six in a row.

They will be challenged this week and through the season by several familiar faces--among them, five-time Winston champion Joe Amato and 1996 champion Kenny Bernstein in top fuel, and brothers Cruz and Tony Pedregon in funny car--along with a couple of noteworthy newcomers:

* Scotty Cannon, 36, of Lyman, S.C., a Mohawk-wearing six-time International Hot Rod Assn. champion in pro modifieds who is making the jump to funny cars.

* Rookie Gina Marie Ferraro, 19, of Yorba Linda, whose entry in a top-fuel dragster will make her the only woman competing in the nitro classes at Pomona.

But it seems that nobody will be more motivated to knock Scelzi and Force from on high than Cory McClenathan and Ron Capps.

Both came close last year, but McClenathan faltered after winning four of the season’s first six races, winding up second in top fuel for the fourth time, and Capps was runner-up in funny cars despite a season-high five victories.

“I wish we could get that championship--that would be very nice,” McClenathan said. “It would definitely fulfill what I’ve been trying to do with my career. Winning the championship is the ultimate goal, and considering I’ve fallen [one spot] shy of that four different times, it would be nice to cap off this whole thing with a championship one of these years.”

Is this the year?

“We’ll see if we can hold onto it this year,” he said. “But Gary Scelzi is going to be awfully tough to knock off. I think it’s our challenge to step up and be as tough as we can be. We feel we’ve definitely given everybody a run for their money the last couple of years, including Gary Scelzi. . . .

“We just need to rise to the occasion, and hopefully we’re prepared to do that this season.”

Capps has been preparing himself for a run at Force since the 1998 season ended in November.

“I’ve just built a deep-down fire for him over the winter and I really want to take that ring from him,” said Capps, who has been racing funny cars for two seasons. “Last year was fun, it was a battle, and second [place] was OK for me. It was cool just to keep up and race with all these guys, but I know now that I’m not going to settle.”

What can he do?

“Flatten Force’s tires,” he joked.

Or maybe he wasn’t kidding.

In testing at Phoenix two weeks ago, Force blistered the course in 4.798 seconds, better than the national record of 4.807, in the new Ford Mustang that he will officially debut at Pomona.

Actually, though, Capps’ undoing last year was his inconsistency.

“We had more first-round losses than Force did, and that’s what we’ve got to eliminate,” said Capps, who drives a Chevrolet Camaro. “The guy who’s going to win the championship is not the guy who does the best when everything’s going good but [rather] the guy who can do the best when his team is struggling. . . .

“When it’s a bad day, you’ve got to try to find a way to go a couple rounds. Consistency is the key.”

Capps and Larry Dixon, both of whom drive cars owned by drag racing legend Don “Snake” Prudhomme, are the defending Winternationals champions.

Qualifying for pro classes will begin at 2 p.m. today.

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Winternationals at a Glance

The opening event of the National Hot Rod Assn. starts today:

* What: The 39th annual AutoZone Winternationals.

* When: Today through Sunday.

* Where: Pomona Raceway.

* Defending champions: Larry Dixon, top fuel; Ron Capps, funny car; Jim Yates, pro stock.