Robert Hight has won a lot of races in a lot of different ways.

He has finished first in pedal fests and celebrated fiery finishes. He has won big and he has won by the narrowest of margins. But until Sunday, never had he won a race with so much taking place before ever taking the tree.

Never count out Erica Enders.

And especially don’t doubt her publicly.

It was love at first clutch. Well, not exactly the first clutch for Bo Butner, as he made his triumphant return to Pro Stock, this time as a driver in the Elite corral of cars. 

"Felt good," Butner said." I've always hopped in and out of them, but to have our own new car built around me, for me, Rick Jones knocked it out of the park. Very good car, but this is our first time also being on a prepped track."

The 400-pound gorilla in the room, leaving KB Racing for Elite was the baseball equivalent of leaving the Yankees for the Red Sox or vice versa. 

Here are some curious little facts folks might not know:

Tony Schumacher’s primary sponsors this season are the Maynard Family and Scag Power Equipment/Lawn Mowers. But at the Arizona Nationals, his Top Fuel dragster will sport the name of a new marketing partner, Kaizen Collision. The collision repair/auto glass/paint shop centers, which stretch from California to Arizona (where it’s based at Scottsdale) on to Nebraska and Iowa, met Schumacher through his vested interest in credit-card merchant processing firm RAC Financial. (So even when Schumacher raced with Global Electronic Technology livery, he was a partner in RAC Financial. “We have our own processing company. We've been doing it for years,” he said.

There's a handful of next-generation drag racers in Pro Stock, and the thought is often conveyed, "How would they have fared in their dad's Pro Stock. 

Kyle Koretsky, whose father Kenny Koretsky raced Pro Stock for almost decades, believes he could have held his own back in those days if time travel was possible. 

"I feel like I was kind of fit to be here," Koretsky said without hesitation. "I kind of got in the car, somewhat a little bit natural. I'd been racing in other classes. I think if you put me 10, 15 years ago when my dad was racing Pro Stock, I'd be right there with him. 

Father and son never spoke to one another about it.

The exodus last fall from Don Schumacher Racing, part of it no surprise at all and part of it late-season and post-season disclosures, shrank the team that had fielded seven cars down to zero. Tony Schumacher already was planning to return with a Top Fuel dragster at the start of 2022, but the whole wave of change hit him here at Pomona last November. 

Without any conversation between him and his son – the one who drew him back into the sport in 1998 – and precious little to the media, either, Don Schumacher went about his business. He’s a man who lives in reality, so he kept his emotions to himself, hid any bruises to his ego, and shrugged it off with “Things transpired that– it is what it is. 

 Final round-by-round results from the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the first of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

Point standings (top 10) following the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the first of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series - 

Cruz Pedregon, owner-driver of the Snap-on "Makers and Fixers" Dodge SRT  Hellcat Funny Car, established one rule back in December. 

“We’re not going to call this Tommy’s team anymore,” he said, referring to the fact he hired Tommy Johnson Jr.’s entire crew from Don Schumacher Racing when that Make-A-Wish Dodge team dissolved along with its funding at the close of the 2020 season. 

Crew chief John Collins, his assistant Rip Reynolds, and their band of mechanics brought the two-time class champion close to his third title last season and blended in seamlessly with Pedregon maybe more than any group ever has. As Pedregon starts his 30th year in the NHRA’s elite ranks (and 25th  with Snap-on as his primary marketing partner), he’ll be seeking his 12th top-five finish.