KALITTA SURFS THE SAND
Scott Kalitta’s Solara body just needs a little bodywork at the local Toyota Dealership after heading into the top end Pomona sand trap. Kalitta leads qualifiers with a 4.818 charge. Kalitta says the car was unhurt but may get a new front clip. For a look at the Thursday qualifying action, see our >> Race Coverage. (Darr Hawthorne photo) [2/8/2008]
HERBERT STARTS SEASON
Doug Herbert’s "For My Boys" Tour got off to a solid start with the first qualifying session of the Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. In his first full pass of the season, Herbert, in the SnaponFranchise.com Top Fuel dragster, posted a solid 4.54-second run at 327.98 mph.
"This was a great first run," said Herbert. "We didn’t get to make a full pass down the track during testing, yet today we came out of the gate with a strong run all the way down the track on all eight cylinders.
"It’s only going to get better from here. My entire world has changed over the past two weeks but I know Jon and James are up there cheering for us, and we are going to make them proud." (Ron Lewis photo) [2/8/2008]
IMPROVED ETOWN TRACK READIES FOR OPENER
Major facility improvements are under way at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, and will be finished by opening day, March 1.
The most noticeable improvement is the addition of several hundred feet of concrete to our racing surface, and a new, longer burnout box. The concrete portion will now make up more than the first 700 feet of racetrack. The scale booth has been completely redone with a sliding glass door and new exterior. The parking lot near the lake has also been extended with an expansive parking addition to relieve congestion during larger events. [2/8/2008]
SEVENTEEN TOP FUELERS AT POMOMA
Just 17 Top Fuel cars have made qualifying laps at Pomona. It has been a decade or more since the Top Fuel ranks at Pomona have been this thin. Not since the NHRA got Utah Top Fuel racer Garth Widdeson to come to Pomona when they anticipated a short field has the numbers been so small. No need to panic yet but if the field at Phoenix is short start looking for IHRA Top Fuel teams to begin showing up in numbers at NHRA races for the qualifying money. [2/8/2008]
PRE-SEASON TUNE-UP FOR DRO
DRO and our sister publications will be undergoing some regularly scheduled maintenance over the weekend, so if you’re surfing the web and can’t find us for about 15 minutes in the wee, small hours, rest assured that we will be back soon. [2/8/2008]