Records Fall in Pomona

Rain put a damper on Thursday’s first round of qualifying for the Auto Club NHRA Finals, but only after Warren Johnson and Greg Anderson had set Pomona Raceway track records in pro stock.

Johnson, 61, needed only 6.797 seconds’ elapsed time to run the quarter-mile in his Pontiac Grand Am. Jim Yates held the old record of 6.803, set last February.

“Conditions were as good as I anticipated, given the fact that we had overcast skies,” said the Sugar Hill, Ga., veteran. “After Kurt [Johnson] ran his 6.80, I felt that we could be at least in that ballpark. I didn’t anticipate a 6.79 but I was pretty confident we could run as quick as Kurt.”

Kurt, Warren’s son, is second at 6.806, just ahead of Anderson, whose top-end speed of 203.58 mph in a Chevy Cavalier broke his own mark of 203.12, also set last February.

“We’ve picked up our performance ever since Indy [the U.S. Nationals in early September], so we really have the potential to run a lot better when we return here in February for the Winternationals,” the senior Johnson said. “Of course, everybody in pro stock has the same intention.”

Jeg Coughlin Jr., who clinched his second pro stock championship two weeks ago at Las Vegas, managed only a 6.864 in his Cavalier, good for 13th position.

John Force took a strong move toward winning his 10th consecutive funny car championship by taking the provisional No. 1 position with a run of 4.762 seconds at 324.05 mph in his Castrol Mustang.

Tony Pedregon, his teammate and the only driver within reach of Force, had a disappointing 7.328 run and is in 14th.

“I was a little surprised at our time,” Force said. “We were ready to run when it started raining and we made a few little changes before we came back. The car has a lot of runs in it, but it’s a good hot rod.”

As for Pedregon, Force said, “I don’t want him qualifying 16th if I’m No. 1. I don’t want to see him next to me [on the starting line] for the first couple of rounds.”

In a sport measured by thousandths of a second, Shawn Greer, of Stoneville, N.C., and two-time champion Angelle Savoie of Mathews, La., recorded the exact time, 7.183 seconds, and the same speed, 185.87 mph, in pro stock bike qualifying. Because Greer did his first, he is the provisional No. 1 qualifier. Both rode Suzukis.

“We’d like for that to stand as the top run for the weekend and the weather could be a factor in that,” Greer said. “We’ve been steadily improving throughout the season and I think we can give the rest of the class a run for their money this weekend.”

Another motorcycle racer, Karen Stoffer, of Minden, Nev., was hospitalized after she lost control of her bike and crashed in the sand trap at the end of the shutdown area. She was released later in the day.

The pro stock and pro stock bike classes completed their qualifying runs before intermittent rain twice stopped proceedings. Qualifying will continue with one run today and two Saturday. Final eliminations will start at 11 a.m. Sunday.