Wed, 17 Nov 2004, 03:33 PM AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS POST RACE NOTES

Courtesy of NHRA Communications

POMONA, Calif. -- Post race notes from the 40th annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

TOP FUEL

· Tony Schumacher, who claimed his second NHRA POWERade world championship title last month in Reading, Pa., set the single-season record for victories in the 6,000-horsepower category by scoring his 10th win of the year. He drove his U.S. Army dragster past the Lucas Oil dragster piloted by rookie Morgan Lucas in the final round.

· The victory was the 21st of Schumacher’s career, first at the Finals and second at Pomona Raceway.

· It was Lucas’ second consecutive runner-up finish.

· Doug Kalitta raced to a category-leading seventh No. 1 qualifying award of the season and the 23rd of his career, clocking a performance of 4.472 seconds at 332.02 mph in the Mac Tools dragster.

FUNNY CAR

· Perennial Funny Car champion John Force, who clinched an unprecedented 13th NHRA POWERade world championship two weeks earlier in Las Vegas, earned a record 114th career victory by defeating Del Worsham in the final round. Force drove his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang to the victory over Worsham’s Checker Schuck’s Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo.

· Force was joined in the winner’s circle by his 21-year-old daughter Ashley, who powered her Mattel Toy Store dragster to the win in Top Alcohol Dragster, the top sportsman category in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series. It was the first time in NHRA history that a father and daughter earned wins at the same event.

· It was the fifth victory of the season for Force and the 11th win for the Yorba Linda, Calif. resident at his home track.

· It was the first runner-up effort for Worsham during the season in six final round appearances.

· By advancing to the final round, Worsham clinched second place in the POWERade points standings edging out Gary Scelzi. Worsham earned $100,000 for the No. 2 position, while Scelzi, who lost in the semifinals to Force, earned a $50,000 bonus for finishing third in the top 10.

· Force clocked a track record time of 4.698 seconds to take a category-leading seventh No. 1 qualifying position of the season and the 124th of his career. Pomona Raceway joins Route 66 Raceway near Chicago as the only two tracks on the NHRA POWERade circuit to feature 4.6-second Funny Car runs.

· Gary Densham drove his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a track record speed of 329.75 mph.

· No. 16 qualifier Tony Bartone, driver of the K&N Filters Chevy Camaro, anchored the quickest Funny Car field in NHRA history with his qualifying effort of 4.854 seconds. Bartone anchored the previous quickest Funny Car field as well with a time of 4.862 seconds set earlier in the year in Chicago.

· Notable DNQ: 2004 Winternationals winner Jerry Toliver.

PRO STOCK

· Greg Anderson, who secured his second consecutive NHRA POWERade world championship title quicker than any driver in history earlier in the season in Dallas, capped the greatest single-season performance by a pro driver in NHRA history by claiming his 15th victory. He defeated protégé Jason Line in the final round in a battle between Pontiac Grand Ams.

· By winning, Anderson also set or extended several other major NHRA single-season records, including: most final round appearances (19); most elimination round wins (76); most No. 1 qualifying positions (16); and largest margin of victory for a POWERade championship (742 points).

· It was the 31st career victory for Anderson and his third at Pomona Raceway.

· Anderson drove his Summit Racing Grand Am to a record 16th No. 1 qualifying award with a performance of 6.705 seconds at 205.94 mph. It was the 33rd top qualifying effort for Anderson in his career.

· Anderson lowered the track record for time with a 6.704 second effort during eliminations. Larry Morgan drove his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T to a speed of 206.16 mph to set the track speed record.

· Ron Krisher defeated Fernando Cuadra by .0072-of-a-second margin of victory in the first round of Pro Stock eliminations to win the $1,000 Motel 6 ‘Who Got the Light?’ Award.

· Notable DNQs: Warren Johnson and Allen Johnson.

PRO STOCK BIKE

· Angelle Savoie raced to her fourth victory of the season on her U.S. Army Suzuki, defeating teammate Antron Brown, who also rode a U.S. Army Suzuki in the final. It was the 35th victory of her career, the most for a female competitor in the history of the sport.

· Andrew Hines, 21, became the youngest NHRA POWERade Series world champion in history when he qualified 12th for the 16-bike eliminations field on his Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. It was the first NHRA Pro Stock Bike world championship title for Harley-Davidson.

· With the victory, Savoie finished in second place in the championship chase, 38 points shy of winning her fourth world championship title.

· Chip Ellis powered his G-Squared/S&S Buell to a track record time of 7.024 at 188.38 mph to claim his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season. Ellis also was No. 1 at the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis during his pro debut.

· GT Tonglet clocked a track record speed of 194.66 mph aboard his Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

· Shawn Gann was disqualified from the event by NHRA Tech officials due to a fuel violation.

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