Winternational Winners Pull Fast One on Favorites

The Auto Zone Winternationals--the first event of the National Hot Rod Assn.’s 50th anniversary season--produced a stunning series of upsets on a sun-filled Sunday at Pomona Raceway.

Darrell Russell, making the first start of his top-fuel career in Joe Amato’s Valvoline/Keystone dragster, became the second driver to win his first NHRA event by defeating Mike Dunn in the final round. Russell, who had never as much as sat in a top-fuel car until three weeks ago, won in 4.665 seconds at 309.77 mph as Dunn’s New York Yankee-sponsored car owned by Darrell Gwynn smoked its tires off the starting line.

“I’m still a little intimidated by the speed,” said Russell, who did not race at all last year and whose top speed before stepping into Amato’s car was around 250 mph. “Like I said earlier this week, my mind is still a little behind the car. When we’re at the finish line, my mind is still not quite there yet, but it’s getting closer.

“Gary Scelzi told me it took him about 40 runs before his mind caught up to the speeds.”

Scelzi is the only other driver to win his first NHRA start, in the 1997 Winternationals. He also came from the alcohol top-fuel class.

It was Scelzi, who raced against Russell in alcohol races, who recommended him to Amato last November.

“Darrell is way ahead of me,” said Amato, a five-time Winston top-fuel champion who retired after the 2000 season because of eye problems. “It took me 13 events before I won for the first time.” It was at Sanair racetrack, near Montreal, in 1983. Amato won 51 more after that.

Bruce Sarver, who a few years ago was winning stock car races at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, won the funny-car crown by eliminating Tony Pedregon, funny-car champion John Force’s teammate. Sarver did the quarter-mile in 4.887 seconds, hitting 308.35 mph in his Pontiac Firebird to run down Pedregon, who had a quicker reaction time.

Upsets started early in the day when 10-time funny-car champion Force lost in the first round, and top-fuel champion Scelzi and both No. 1 qualifiers, Doug Kalitta in top fuel and Tommy Johnson Jr. in funny car, were gone in the second round. Former funny-car and top-fuel champion Kenny Bernstein lost to Tim Gibson when he red-lighted the start.

Force got off the line ahead of Whit Bazemore, but a little past halfway Force’s Castrol Mustang funny car began to wobble from one side of the strip to the other and smoke billowed from the tires as Bazemore cruised to the lead.

Kalitta, after disposing of the 62 mph-qualifier Rob Passey, fell victim to the smoking-tire syndrome against Russell. Passey improved mightily from 62 to 211 mph, but was no match for Kalitta. The former American Hot Rod Assn. driver from Salt Lake City received $9,000 as a first-round loser, and thanks from the NHRA for filling the 16-car field.

The biggest shocker, however, was Scelzi’s loss to Bobby Baldwin, a journeyman driver from Upland, campaigning a 4-year-old dragster.

Scelzi, coming off a $100,000 win Saturday in the Budweiser Shootout, lost before the cars reached 500 feet with smoking tires.

This upset continued the Winternationals tradition of not having a repeat top-fuel winner in 41 years.

Scelzi’s loss was more unsettling because the Fresno driver was still smarting from an NHRA ruling that deprived him of a $50,000 bonus when he won Saturday’s Shootout.

Originally, the bonus went to the Shootout winner if he also won the Auto Club Finals. Scelzi won the Finals and felt when he won the rain-delayed Shootout he should win the money.

NHRA officials ruled that to win the bonus, both wins had to occur during the same racing weekend.

Sarver’s win helped salve Scelzi’s feelings, considering Sarver races out of the same Alan Johnson team in Santa Maria.

“We had a good off-season and came here with a new car and it felt so good I couldn’t believe it,” Sarver said. “I won last year in Reading [Pa.], but this was special because I had so many friends and family here from Bakersfield.”

In a remarkable display of consistency, Kurt Johnson won the pro-stock title with successive runs of 200.65, 200.56, 200.83 and 200.44 in his Chevrolet Cavalier. In defeating Darrell Alderman’s Dodge by 0.024 of a second in the final, Johnson won his second consecutive Pomona race.

No. 1 qualifier Randy Daniels defeated Greg Stanfield in a battle of Chevrolet pickups to win the pro-stock truck finals.

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THE FINISH

The finals of the Winternationals at Pomona Raceway:

TOP FUEL

DARRELL RUSSELL d.

MIKE DUNN

4.665 seconds, 309.77 mph

FUNNY CAR

BRUCE SARVER d.

TONY PEDREGON

4.887 seconds, 308.35 mph

PRO STOCK

KURT JOHNSON d.

DARRELL ALDERMAN

6.912 seconds, 200.44 mph