Schumacher Has Quickest Run; Time Runs Out on Kalitta

Tony Schumacher blazed down Pomona Raceway’s famed quarter-mile track Thursday afternoon in 4.487 seconds, reaching a speed of 321.04 mph.

And afterward his team could only theorize how quick his U.S. Army dragster might have been had it not blown a cylinder 800 feet into the run.

Doug Kalitta was left to wonder what might have been had the clock not malfunctioned as he ran side by side against his rival in qualifying for the Winternationals, the opening race of the 2005 National Hot Rod Assn. Powerade season.

The two were the last of 21 potential top-fuel qualifiers and Schumacher, who finished just ahead of Kalitta, was credited for the day’s quickest run, or pass, giving him the provisional pole. Qualifying is scheduled to continue today and Saturday, barring rain.

Kalitta did not receive credit for his run because the timer on his side of the track went blank midway through a sprint that probably would have put him among the top six drivers.

With rain threatening to wash out today’s qualifying, Kalitta might have only two opportunities Saturday to make the top 16 and qualify for Sunday’s eliminations. Qualifying runs disrupted or canceled because of track equipment failures are not made up.

“It’s a real shame to have a great run like ours wasted because of a glitch in the timers,” grumbled Rahn Tobler, Kalitta’s crew chief, adding that he clocked 4.52 seconds, which would have put the driver in fourth.

Schumacher and Kalitta finished 1-2 in the point standings last season.

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Defending funny car champion John Force won the provisional pole with a track-record pass of 4.697 at 329.26 mph.

Qualifying in the division, which followed top-fuel and pro stock, was delayed by about an hour as track personnel tried unsuccessfully to fix the timer, forcing drivers to run in only one lane and in the drizzly darkness.

Robert Hight, making his racing debut for John Force Racing, was the lone driver to run before the switch to only one lane. He too was victimized when the clock failed, forcing the delay. Hight’s crew gave him an unofficial time of 4.763, which would have placed him third.

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Mike Edwards was the top qualifier out of 22 cars in the pro stock division, with an elapsed time of 6.732 at 205.13 mph in his Pontiac Grand Am. Six-time division champion Warren Johnson was second at 6.733 and 192.91. Rookie Erica Enders, the only woman in the division, had a run of 6.852 at 193.93 mph and holds the 16th spot.

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Bob Gilbertson, in the seventh spot in the funny car division, was fined $15,000 this week and put on two years’ probation by the NHRA for his involvement in an “unsafe” driving incident that reportedly involved the burning of a rental car in the pit area during a testing session last weekend in Las Vegas.

Gilbertson would not discuss particulars, saying he would appeal the fine and probation, but did say that he had full insurance coverage for the rental car.

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NHRA Facts

* What: 45th NHRA Winternationals.

* Where: Pomona Raceway.

* When: Through Sunday. Sportsman qualifying 8:15 a.m. today, with eliminations beginning at 8:15 a.m. Saturday; professional qualifying (top-fuel, funny car and pro stock) 2:30 p.m. today, 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, with eliminations Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.

* Admission: Beginning at $27 today, $47 Saturday and $50 Sunday. Children 6-12, $10-$12. No charge for children 5 and under. Details: (800) 884-6472 or www.nhra.com.