Scelzi in a Good Position

Gary Scelzi will take another step today toward what he hopes will become a $400,000 end-of-season drag racing windfall in the Big Bud Shootout, a sideshow to Sunday’s Auto Club Final at Pomona Raceway.

The Fresno driver already has clinched $200,000 for winning the National Hot Rod Assn.’s top-fuel championship in Alan Johnson’s Winston dragster. If he wins today’s eight-car shootout, he will pick up another $100,000. The last $100,000 is available Sunday. A win is worth $50,000 and the NHRA will match that amount for any driver winning today and Sunday.

“Hey, anything’s possible, we’ve got the car that can do it,” he said after Friday’s second round of qualifying, even though he had slid from first position to fifth. “Alan will make the right changes, I’m sure of that. I like our chances.”

Scelzi will race Doug Herbert in the first round.

Mike Dunn, driving Darrell Gwynn’s new New York Yankee dragster, scorched a cold track with a 4.522 second run, climaxed by a career-best speed of 325.69 mph. This is only the third event for Gwynn’s team, which sat out most of the season because it lacked sponsorship.

“We knew we could make a lot of horsepower,” said Dunn, defending champion in the Auto Club event. “Right now, we’re working on consistency.”

Dunn, because he did not drive until two events ago, is not eligible for the Big Bud Shootout.

Also moving up the top-fuel qualifying ladder was 1999 champion Tony Schumacher, whose pass of 4.571 seconds was his first full quarter-mile run since he suffered a broken leg and mangled hand in an accident at Memphis three races ago.

“What a feeling, to make it all the way to the finish line without a problem,” Schumacher said. He will be paired with Cory McClenathan, who squeezed into the 16-car provisional field in the No. 15 spot after running 4.884. McClenathan will make the final appearance in former Super Bowl coach Joe Gibbs’ car. Gibbs announced in midseason that he was dropping out of drag racing to concentrate on his NASCAR team.

Other Big Bud pairings: Kenny Bernstein-Larry Dixon and Joe Amato-Doug Kalitta. The first round is scheduled for noon.

Most of the funny cars, among them the one driven by top qualifier and series champion John Force, failed to make the most of cool conditions.

Bruce Sarver, Scelzi’s funny car teammate from Bakersfield, made the biggest move, from 20th to third in Johnson’s Firebird. He had the day’s quickest funny car time of 5.008 as Force retained the top spot with Thursday’s 4.908.

Two cars that had moved up, the Firebirds of Scotty Cannon and Frank Pedregon, were destroyed in an accident that occurred after the pair had crossed the finish line. Cannon had run 5.011, fourth fastest, and Pedregon 5.034. But Pedregon lost his steering when his car’s 17-inch rear tire appeared to blow. Pedregon’s car crossed the center line and rammed the rear of Cannon’s Firebird.

“It was like slow motion,” said Pedregon, after both drivers had climbed from their cars to a cheering crowd. “I had my hands all the way around on the wheel, trying to bring it back and it just kept going. I saw Scotty out there and couldn’t do anything about it. I just ran right into him.

“Then the [fiberglass] body flew off and we crashed into the wall and I kept thinking this thing would never stop.

“I feel badly for Scotty. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and couldn’t stay out of it. We’re OK, we’ve got another chassis and a new body there ready to go.”

Said a shocked Cannon, “It felt like [the car] blew a tire. Next thing I knew, I slammed into the wall. I’m just glad I was OK. I didn’t realize he hit me. It killed the chassis, the headers and all four wheels. We’re going with a new chassis and body for tomorrow.”

Still unqualified, with two rounds today, are three drivers in the top 10 in season standings, Ron Capps, third; Whit Bazemore, seventh, and Del Worsham, eighth.

Drag bike fans got what was perhaps a preview of Sunday’s final when Matt Hines ran a 7.245 to edge series champion Angelle Seeling’s 7.248 in the day’s final pro stock bike heat.

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Automobile Club Finals

* When: Today, eliminations, 12:15 p.m; Sunday, final eliminations, 11 a.m.

* Where: Pomona Raceway, Pomona.

* Last year: Jerry Toliver earned his first career Funny Car victory. Mike Dunn, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Antron Brown and Steve Johns also won their categories.

* On the net: https://www.nhra.com