Rain falls gently, which abruptly cancels NHRA Winternationals

By: CLIFF KIRKPATRICK - Staff Writer | Saturday, February 21, 2004 10:56 PM PST ∞

POMONA ---- Rain not only postponed qualifying for the second day at the NHRA Winternationals, it pushed back the rest of the season-opening event an entire week.

No cars made a pass down the track at Pomona Raceway on Saturday because of light, but steady, sprinkles. With a major storm expected to come through the area in the next few days, NHRA senior vice president of racing operations Graham Light decided to continue the Winternationals next weekend.

He tried to wait out the rain, while track workers kept drying the track in the morning. After more than a two-hour delay, Light made the decision.

"Normally I would have held off as long as I can, but when the forecast by many weather services say 100 percent chance of rain all weekend I figure it's pretty accurate," Light said. "This is really disappointing. It's very expensive for the teams, NHRA and the fans. When you start a season you want to get off to a good start."

The last time rain postponed an NHRA event in Pomona was the 1999 Winternationals. Eliminations were pushed back to Monday. It was in 1990 when the race was postponed a week.

At one point Saturday, the rain let up enough for the jet dryers to finish their work. The first two sportsman drivers started their engines, and rain began to fall moments afterward.

The schedule will be the same for the three days next week. There will be one professional qualifying session Friday, with two sessions Feb. 28. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. the next day.

Only one round of qualifying was completed by the pro classes Thursday. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Eric Medlen (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) were the fastest in their divisions.

"If this was a later time in the season, I would have set the field from points or off one round and tried to get the event in the next two days," Light said.

"But since it's the first race of the season, we want everyone to have the chance to qualify. We want it to be fair for everyone."

Tickets already purchased will be honored next weekend at face value. Fans can use a Friday or Saturday ticket for the more expensive Sunday event, and pay the difference at the gate.

"I'm glad they called it because I'd like to have at least a couple of more shots at (the track)," Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi said. "It would be nice to hopefully have another dry weekend to get some racing in."