An article on a website circulated earlier this week suggested NHRA was finished racing at the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, Ca. 

NHRA addressed the article during the first day of professional qualifying at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals as “totally false.” Moreover, a representative of NHRA confirmed they were never contacted for comment in the article. 

“Pomona [Fairplex] is not going away,” Jeffrey Young, NHRA’s VP of Communications, said. “We have a multi-year contract with the Fairplex.”

The NHRA and the Pomona Fairplex’s current contract runs through 2028. 

“The LA market is very important to us,” Young said. “It’s been a staple of the sport through the Winternationals. We go there twice a year and plan to continue to do that.”

NHRA moved around its schedule for 2023, relocating the traditional NHRA Winternationals to the third stop on tour. 

In an interview with CompetitionPlus.com last month, NHRA President Glen Cromwell spelled out the importance of Pomona to the series. 

“Pomona hosts two very important events,” Cromwell said. “We have a long-term commitment with the Fairplex. We believe in the Los Angeles market. It’s number two DMA. It’s one that was probably hit more severely with the pandemic than maybe different areas of the country. But we are very confident that both events will rebound, and we believe that the finals, AAA Southern California NHRA Finals, will be a very strong event and will continue that momentum into 2023.

A well-attended community meeting on the Fairplex Specific PLnhel at the Pomona Unified School District auditorium  Wednesday, August 31, created a dialogue on the approval process and mitigation studies needed as Fairplex plans for the future of its 487 acres.

At that meeting, Fairplex’s President and CEO Walter Marquez, informed the community members in attendance that the NHRA dragstrip, which he described as a meaningful part of the facility, will remain part of Fairplex’s future, as will the annual event at the LA County Fair. There are no plans to remove Auto Club Raceway; the dragstrip will be incorporated in whatever future designs Fairplex considers.

“Developing a Specific Plan with the City of Pomona offers Fairplex the opportunity to know exactly what we can plan for in the future to keep our mission going,” he said. “As socioeconomics continue to evolve, we have the option to react and remain flexible to building a sustainable future and meeting the needs of the region.”

The bottom line, NHRA said, is that articles that do not truthfully portray the situation don’t help drag racing.

“It does no good for our sport,” Young said. “We’ve talked to the Fairplex and we are committed to our two events yearly. We have an extended multi-year contract with the Fairplex and are pleased with that location, and so are they. We wouldn’t be able to sign a multi-year contract if that were not true.”