If misery loves company, then Larry Dixon’s failure to qualify has company in Tim Wilkerson.

Dixon, in his national event debut for Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing,
missed the sixteen-car field at the NHRA Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals when he shook the tires, leading to a
broken ignition. This marked the former world champions first DNQ since 2006.

“To say we’re disappointed might be the biggest understatement ever,”
Dixon said. “Sheik Khalid was here and we really wanted to put on a
good show for him. We came to Pomona with the same high expectations as
everyone else, but sometimes parts break; there’s nothing we could have
done differently. It’s unfortunate, but NHRA awards the same number of
points at Phoenix, and we’ll be ready to go.”

Greg Anderson admitted that starting the lone Pro Stock session during
the NHRA Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals only to have rain suspend it,
was more than he was prepared to endure.

“You sit around all winter and we were anxious to get a shot at that
track, if only to see how we stacked up against everyone else,”
Anderson said.

Anderson drove his way to the No. 1 spot with a 6.588 elapsed time at 209.59 MPH.

Early in the only nitro Funny Car qualifying session during the NHRA
Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals in Pomona, Ca, the left lane began
showing bogus speeds on the scoreboard before going out completely. 

The NHRA made a decision to race ahead instead of halting action, which would have likely forced postponement due to rain.

In checking the incremental elapsed times of low qualifier Antron Brown
and Joe Hartley, the NHRA decided their runs, although obviously quick,
could not be counted as legit runs.

BROWN, HIGHT AND ANDERSON EARN TOP QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT KRAGEN O’REILLY NHRA WINTERNATIONALS

Antron Brown raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel Saturday at the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals.

After waiting out two days of rain delays, race teams were able to
complete a round of qualifying at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Rain showers late in the day kept the final qualifying order to a
single session.

Robert Hight and Greg Anderson also will lead their respective
categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the first of 24 events
in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson
(Pro Stock) were the early leaders in qualifying for the NHRA Kragen
O’Reilly Winternationals in Pomona, Ca.

The unbelievable became the believable shortly before Noon. Pro Stock
was called to the lanes after the NHRA successfully completed a round
of eliminations for Stock eliminator and one round of Top Alcohol
Dragster.

Four pairs of Pro Stockers ran before a rain shower halted the session.

With new crew chief Rob Flynn making the tune-up calls on the Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster for the 2009
season, the team is motivated and fighting for a seventh family
championship, the first for second-generation driver Brandon.

Team owner Kenny Bernstein dominated Funny Car competition in the
1980s, racking up four consecutive NHRA championships (1985-1988)
during a decade in which his team’s technological advances changed the
face of competition.  He scored two more championships in Top Fuel
(1996, 2001), becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win
championships in both nitro categories.  But above his championships,
Kenny calls his greatest and most memorable achievement becoming the
first in history to surpass the 300 mile-per-hour barrier (1992).

NHRA Funny Car champion to be part of 3-day festival of speed, Mar. 6-8

Cruz Pedregon has come full circle. The  two-time NHRA world champion Funny Car driver earned his NHRA racing license at
historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. The same place
his father Frank raced in the 1960s and his brother Tony – also a
two-time NHRA Funny Car champ – got his racing license. Now Pedregon is
returning to Auto Club Famoso Raceway as Grand Marshal of the 51st
March Meet, the track’s most famous and prestigious race, Mar. 6-8.

ROCKY announced today that it has signed on as associate sponsor of the
NHRA Top Fuel dragster driven by 30-time NHRA national event winner
Doug Kalitta, as well as footwear sponsorship of the entire Kalitta
Motorsports team.

Additionally, ROCKY will serve as primary sponsor of the Doug
Kalitta-driven Top Fuel dragster at the Norwalk, Ohio race held June
25th to 28th at Summit Motorsports Park.  This sponsorship will mean a
new paint scheme for the race car, which prominently features the ROCKY
logo, as well as earning it the name “ROCKY Boots Top Fuel Dragster”
for the entire event and activities around it.

Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels has partnered with the
NFCA as the title sponsor of the 2009 Mickey Thompson Nitro Funny Car
Championship Series. The legendary Mickey Thompson brand will now
support the remarkable racers of this series trackside, and will work
with past and present NFCA drivers to assist the racers by providing
support, tires, and technical assistance.
 
“For those of us that have been part of drag racing for more than 30
years, this is an exciting time,” said Carl Robinson, Motorsports
Manager, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. “This is where
we started when Mickey Thompson and his drivers were racing. They were
racing along side of some of these legendary names in drag racing, and
it’s great to see the Floppers from the past brought back to life with
that same look, that same sound, that same great racing experience as
the old days.”

Mickey Thompson is proud to announce their 2009 sponsorship of the Pacific Street Car Association events and racers. 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of Mickey Thompson’s involvement with this sanctioning body, the sixth consecutive year as a Wild Street Class racing sponsor, and the fifth consecutive year as a sponsor of the Street Car Super Nationals.