Thu, Feb 4, 07:20 PM POMONA - Rain Ends Thursday Activity

POMONA, Calif. - Rain once again interrupted qualifying action at the 39th annual NHRA AutoZone Winternationals, this time just as the final pair of Federal-Mogul Funny Cars prepared to make their runs. Unlike earlier brief interruptions, however, this time the rain kept falling and kept getting heavier.

As we write this the racing surface is wet and shiny, the stands are deserted, and we'll see no more racing today. All the Sportsman competitors except Competition Eliminator and one pair of Federal-Mogul Funny Cars got one shot at the track. None of the Professional categories made runs today.

Tomorrow's activities will run as originally scheduled, the lost runs today gone forever. Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Stock, Super Stock, Super Gas, and Super Stock will each lose one session, Competition Eliminator and Pro Stock Truck will lose two.

The center of attention throughout the day has been the Pro Stock pit area, where three drivers who expected to make inaugural runs in their new Rick Jones cars found themselves wielding torches and sledgehammers instead, beating and bending their pristine, new bodywork to make it conform to NHRA's newly-devised templates. Warren Johnson, Tom Martino, and Mike Edwards turned their talents to chores more often seen in backyard bodyshops and Saturday night bullrings than in professional drag racing pit areas. Though the work was heavy, it was fueled by surges of adrenaline, their rear fenders serving as surrogates for the real objects of their fury.

If nothing else, the 1999 racing season is opening with controversy. Perhaps tomorrow we'll see some performance to match the intensity of today's confrontations.



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