Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, also known as Pomona Raceway, is a racing facility located in Pomona, California that features a quarter-mile dragstrip. Since its opening in 1961, the dragstrip has hosted the NHRA's Winternationals event – the traditional season opener – and since 1984, the season's last race, the NHRA Finals. These two events have contributed to its becoming perhaps one of the most famous dragstrips in North America. The facility has a seating capacity of 40,000 spectators, and it is one of the few dragstrips in the USA that is operated directly by the NHRA. This dragstrip has also gone by the nickname of The Fairplex, in reference to its location at the Fairplex, formerly called the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.
| "Pomona Raceway" | |
|---|---|
 Auto Club Raceway, 2008 | |
| Location | 2780 Fairplex Drive, Pomona, California |
| Time zone | UMT -0800 |
| Coordinates | 34°05′42.32″N 117°46′11.15″W |
| Capacity | 40,000 |
| Owner | NHRA |
| Operator | NHRA |
| Opened | 1951 [1] |
| Former names |
|
| Major events |
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| Drag Strip | |
| Surface | Concrete |
| Length | 0.25 mi (0.402 km) |
| Website | www |
History
Drag Racing
In 1952 a car club known as the "Choppers of Pomona" aided by a young police officer, Sergeant Bud Coons, advocated that a safe place should be provided for local area drag racers. Coons, along with fellow hot rod enthusiast, Pomona Police Chief Ralph Parker, and the city government of Pomona asked to lease the parking lot of the LA County Fairgrounds. Coons and Parker were instrumental in convincing the county to allow the use of the fairgrounds for the race by citing statistics that indicated deaths among kids declined sharply when given a place to race that was supervised. The county finally agreed, as long as the hot rodders would provide their own insurance, which they were able to do with gate receipts.[2]
At the time the county made the agreement, the parking lot was nothing but a gravel lot. The coalition of hot rodders, police and community leaders raised funds through donations and paved the lot. This was the birth of the dragstrip in Pomona.
Though it was not considered a national event by today's standards, the very first NHRA event, the Southern California Championships, was held at this drag strip on an April weekend in 1953. On Saturday attendance was at two or three thousand and attendance was reported to be at 15,000 on Sunday. Compared to the 4.5 second numbers the pros are putting on the board presently, the best ET of that day was a respectable 10.93.[3]
In 1961, NHRA held its first ever Winternationals at the Pomona Raceway. It became NHRA's second national event. The first NHRA national event was the U.S. Nationals, which was nicknamed the "Big-Go". Thus, the Winternationals got nicknamed the "Big-Go West". It has remained at this location ever since. For many years, this event was sponsored by Chief Auto Parts and later its successor AutoZone, but later was sponsored by CSK Automotive, and now its current successor, O'Reilly Auto Parts.
The season closer, the NHRA Finals, was brought to the facility in 1984 from the now defunct Orange County International Raceway. When the event was first brought to Pomona, the event was sponsored by Winston (after NHRA's main title sponsor at the time, RJ Reynolds' "Winston" cigarette brand). As of 2010, the event is sponsored by the Automobile Club of Southern California, which is affiliated with AAA.
Other Racing
From 1934 to 1937 a 1/2 mile dirt oval was located at the facility.[4] The dirt oval was once again opened in the 1950s but closed in 1959. Pomona was also home to a 1.7 mile Paved road course which operated in 1998 and 1999. From 1956 to 1961 2 mile temporary road course was located in the parking lot.[5]
Winners
NHRA Winternationals
| Year | Top Fuel | Funny Car | Pro Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Jack Chrisman | ||
| 1962 | Jim Nelson | ||
| 1963 | Don Garlits | ||
| 1964 | Jack Williams | ||
| 1965 | Don Prudhomme | ||
| 1966 | Mike Snively | ||
| 1967 | Connie Kalitta | ||
| 1968 | James Warren | ||
| 1969 | John Mulligan | ||
| 1970 | Larry Dixon | Larry Reyes | |
| 1971 | Don Garlits | Butch Maas | |
| 1972 | Carl Olson | Ed McCulloch | |
| 1973 | Don Garlits | Don Schumacher | |
| 1974 | Gary Beck | Dale Emery | |
| 1975 | Don Garlits | Don Prudhomme | |
| 1976 | Frank Bradley | Don Prudhomme | |
| 1977 | Jerry Ruth | Don Prudhomme | |
| 1978 | Kelly Brown | Don Prudhomme | |
| 1979 | Bob Noice | Tom Hoover | |
| 1980 | Shirley Muldowney | Dale Pulde | |
| 1981 | Jeb Allen | Al Segrini | |
| 1982 | Dick LaHaie | Al Segrini | Frank Iaconio |
| 1983 | Shirley Muldowney | Frank Hawley | Frank Iaconio |
| 1984 | Gary Ormsby | Al Segrini | Lee Shepherd |
| 1985 | Joe Amato | Al Segrini | Bob Glidden |
| 1986 | Darrell Gwynn | Tim Grose | Frank Iaconio |
| 1987 | Don Garlits | Kenny Bernstein | Warren Johnson |
| 1988 | Dick LaHaie | Dale Pulde | Butch Leal |
| 1989 | Gary Ormsby | Bruce Larson | Bob Glidden |
| 1990 | Lori Johns | K.C. Spurlock | Jerry Eckman |
| 1991 | Frank Bradley | John Force | Darrell Alderman |
| 1992 | Kenny Bernstein | Jim Epler | Jerry Eckman |
| 1993 | Joe Amato | John Force | Warren Johnson |
| 1994 | Shelly Anderson | K.C. Spurlock | Warren Johnson |
| 1995 | Eddie Hill | Cruz Pedregon | Darrell Alderman |
| 1996 | Blaine Johnson | Al Hofmann | Jim Yates |
| 1997 | Gary Scelzi | John Force | Warren Johnson |
| 1998 | Larry Dixon | Ronn Capps | Jim Yates |
| 1999 | Mike Dunn | Tony Pedregon | Jeg Coughlin |
| 2000 | Gary Scelzi | Jerry Toliver | Jeg Coughlin Jr. |
| 2001 | Darrell Russell | Bruce Sarver | Kurt Johnson |
| 2002 | Larry Dixon | John Force | George Marnell |
| 2003 | Larry Dixon | Tony Pedregon | Warren Johnson |
| 2004 | Tony Schumacher | Jerry Toliver | Greg Anderson |
| 2005 | Scott Kalitta | Tommy Johnson Jr. | Dave Connolly |
| 2006 | Melanie Troxel | Robert Hight | Greg Anderson |
| 2007 | J.R. Todd | Gary Scelzi | Greg Anderson |
| 2008 | Tony Schumacher | Robert Hight | Greg Anderson |
| 2009 | Doug Kalitta | Ron Capps | Jason Line |
| 2010 | Larry Dixon | John Force | Mike Edwards |
| 2011 | Morgan Lucas | Robert Hight | Jason Line |
| 2012 | Spencer Massey | John Force | Greg Anderson |
| 2013 | Shawn Langdon | Courtney Force | Vincent Nobile |
| 2014 | Khalid alBalooshi | John Force | Jason Line |
| 2015 | Shawn Langdon | Matt Hagan | Jason Line |
| 2016 | Steve Torrence | Ron Capps | Greg Anderson |
| 2017 | Leah Pritchett | Matt Hagan | Jason Line |
| 2018 | Doug Kalitta | Matt Hagan | Bo Butner |
| 2019 | Doug Kalitta | Robert Hight | Bo Butner |
| 2020 | Doug Kalitta | Jack Beckman | Jeg Coughlin Jr. |
NHRA Finals
| Year | Top Fuel | Funny Car | Pro Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Maynard Rupp | ||
| 1966 | Pete Robinson | ||
| 1967 | Connie Kalitta | Don Nicholson | |
| 1968 | Don Prudhomme | Ed Schartman | |
| 1969 | L. Goldstein | Dick Harrell | |
| 1970 | Ron Martin | Gene Snow | |
| 1971 | Gerry Glenn | P. Castronovo | |
| 1972 | Jim Walther | L. Fullerton | |
| 1973 | Jerry Ruth | Frank Hall | |
| 1974 | Don Garlits | Dave Condit | |
| 1975 | Don Garlits | Don Prudhomme | |
| 1976 | Shirley Muldowney | Don Prudhomme | |
| 1977 | Dennis Baca | Gordie Bonin | |
| 1978 | Rob Bruins | Raymond Beadle | |
| 1979 | Don Garlits | Gordie Bonin | |
| 1980 | Shirley Muldowney | Ron Colson | |
| 1981 | Gary Beck | Jim Dunn | |
| 1982 | Jim Barnard | Trip Shumake | |
| 1983 | Shirley Muldowney | John Lombardo | |
| 1984 | Don Garlits | Sherm Gunn | Bob Glidden |
| 1985 | Gary Beck | Kenny Bernstein | Joe Lepone |
| 1986 | Darrell Gwynn | Kenny Bernstein | Bob Glidden |
| 1987 | Darrell Gwynn | Billy Meyer | Bob Glidden |
| 1988 | Darrell Gwynn | John Force | Warren Johnson |
| 1989 | Gary Ormsby | Bruce Larson | Bob Glidden |
| 1990 | Joe Amato | Ed McCulloch | Bob Glidden |
| 1991 | Pat Austin | Al Hofmann | Darrell Alderman |
| 1992 | Cory McClenathan | Chuck Etchells | Warren Johnson |
| 1993 | Rance McDaniel | Jim Epler | Warren Johnson |
| 1994 | Kenny Bernstein | John Force | Darrell Alderman |
| 1995 | Blaine Johnson | Al Hofmann | Warren Johnson |
| 1996 | Joe Amato | John Force | Mike Edwards |
| 1997 | Joe Amato | Tony Pedregon | Kurt Johnson |
| 1998 | Kenny Bernstein | Chuck Etchells | Richie Stevens |
| 1999 | Mike Dunn | Jerry Toliver | Jeg Coughlin Jr |
| 2000 | Gary Scelzi | John Force | Kurt Johnson |
| 2001 | Kenny Bernstein | Del Worsham | Bruce Allen |
| 2002 | Cory McClenathan | John Force | Kurt Johnson |
| 2003 | Kenny Bernstein | Del Worsham | Greg Anderson |
| 2004 | Tony Schumacher | John Force | Greg Anderson |
| 2005 | Tony Schumacher | Tony Pedregon | Jeg Coughlin Jr |
| 2006 | Tony Schumacher | John Force | Greg Anderson |
| 2007 | Tony Schumacher | Robert Hight | Jeg Coughlin Jr |
| 2008 | Larry Dixon | Cruz Pedregon | Greg Anderson |
| 2009 | Antron Brown | Mike Neff | Greg Anderson |
| 2010 | Antron Brown | John Force | Shane Gray |
| 2011 | Del Worsham | Matt Hagan | Greg Stanfield |
| 2012 | Brandon Bernstein | Cruz Pedregon | Allen Johnson |
| 2013 | Shawn Langdon | Matt Hagan | Rickie Jones |
| 2014 | Morgan Lucas | Matt Hagan | Erica Enders-Stevens |
| 2015 | Shawn Langdon | Del Worsham | Allen Johnson |
| 2016 | Doug Kalitta | Tommy Johnson Jr. | Greg Anderson |
| 2017 | Brittany Force | Tommy Johnson Jr. | Bo Butner |
| 2018 | Steve Torrence | J.R. Todd | Tanner Gray |
| 2019 | Doug Kalitta | Jack Beckman | Jeg Coughlin Jr. |
References
- "Na-Motorsports Track Entry". NA Motorsports. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- "Need for a safe place to speed: Pomona's hot rod history began with police". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
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- Post, Robert C. (1996). High Performance: The Culture and Technology of Drag Racing 1950-1990. Baltimore Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4654-4.
- "Na-Motorsports Track Entry". NA Motorsports. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- "Na-Motorsports Track Entry". NA Motorsports. Retrieved 5 May 2010.