NHRA Winternationals
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The NHRA Winternationals (commonly called the Winternats) are an annual
drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
event held by the
National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...
(NHRA) at Auto Club Raceway in
Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...
. In 1962, under pressure from
Peggy Hart Peggy may refer to: People * Peggy (given name), people with the given name or nickname Arts and entertainment * ''Peggy'' (musical), a 1911 musical comedy by Stuart and Bovill * ''Peggy'' (album), a 1977 Peggy Lee album * ''Peggy'' (191 ...
(wife of track owner "Pappy" Hart) and
Mickey Thompson Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s.
, as well as fellow racers
Shirley Shahan Shirley Shahan (nicknamed the "Drag-On Lady") is a pioneering American woman drag racer. Shahan in 1965 became the first woman to win an NHRA pro event.Taylor, p.16. Her husband, H. L., prepared the cars she drove. She became a member of the Int ...
and Roberta Leighton, Carol Cox was the first woman allowed to race at an NHRA national event. Cox drove a 1961
Pontiac Ventura The Pontiac Ventura was an automobile model that was produced by Pontiac. As was common practice at the time, its name was derived from Ventura, California, joining other similarly derived models such as the fellow Pontiac Catalina, the Chevrolet ...
with a V8, which was driven (not trailered) to Pomona. Cox won the title in S/SA, making her the first woman ever to take a win at an NHRA national event; the 9 March 1962 issue of ''
National Dragster The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsp ...
'' recorded her as a "crowd favorite", with a winning pass of 13.06 seconds at , but says nothing about it being a first for a woman, dismissively calling her a "'powder puff' handler". Some racers believe a class win is more difficult to achieve than a handicap (eliminator) win. At the 1966 event, Shahan was the first woman to claim a national event eliminator crown, by taking Stock Eliminator. The win put her on the cover of ''National Dragster''. NHRA debuted the new Top Fuel Funny Car (TF/FC) class at the Winternationals in 1969; Funny Car Eliminator (FCE) would be won by Clare Sanders, teammate of "Jungle Jim" Liberman. In 1970, Top Fuel Eliminator (quickset
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
car of the meet, digger or flopper) went to Larry Dixon, The AA/FC winner was the 1970
Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. The Charger has ...
, ''Hawaiian'', of Larry Reyes (driving for
Roland Leong Roland Leong (born Honolulu, 1945) is an American drag racer, whose "Hawaiian" brand cars achieved many victories. He later went on to act as crew chief in Funny Cars races. "Hawaiian" cars Top Fuel Dragsters Leong's "Hawaiian" Top Fuel dragster ...
). Barrie Poole became the first Canadian to win an NHRA national event, taking the 1970 Super Stock title. The Funny Car Eliminator title at the 1971 Winternats would go to Leong's ''Hawaiian''. with Butch Maas at the wheel.
Don Garlits Donald Glenn Garlits (born January 14, 1932, Tampa, Florida) is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field o ...
' novel rear-engined dragster appeared at the Winternats that year, qualifying with 6.8; his best time of the meet was a 6.70, over Jim Dunn's 7.58, in the semi-final: Garlits would win, when Kenny Safford broke in the final. The last Top Gas Eliminator crown, before NHRA abolished the class, went to
Walt Stevens Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt ...
, at the wheel of Ken Theiss' twin-engined ''Odd Couple'' TG/D. The year's award for Best Engineered Car went to
Jim Busby James Franklin Busby (January 8, 1927 – July 8, 1996) was an American center fielder and coach in Major League Baseball who played with the Chicago White Sox (1950–52, 1955), Washington Senators (1952–55), Cleveland Indians (1956–57), Ba ...
, with a dragster powered by a pair of injected
DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
Ford Indy V8 engines. (
Hank Westmoreland Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...
failed to qualify the car, and it never ran again.) Canadian Barrie Poole repeated his 1970 Winternats win in Super Stock, in a Sandy Elliot
Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
.
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(in
Gene Adams In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
' A/FD) won Competition Eliminator, turning in a pass of 7.34 at , quicker and faster than Steve Woods'
hemi Hemi may refer to: People Surname * Jack Hemi (1914–1996), New Zealand freezing worker, rugby union and league player, shearer * Ronald Hemi (1933–2000), New Zealand rugby union player Given name * Hemi Bawa, Indian painter and sculptor * H ...
-engined BB/Gas
Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...
; the field also included twin-engine straight-six-cylinder-powered D/Ds, and AA/FAs. The 1971 meet was marred by the death of "Sneaky Pete" Robinson, who wrecked his TF/D in qualifying, with a 6.77 pass. Altereds were so popular in the 1960s and 1970s, at the 1977 Winternationals, more than 75 drivers contested for the Comp Eliminator title. Among them was Ed Prout, who brought his A/Altered from
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. NHRA introduced a significant change to the
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
,
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s instead of
incandescent bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxida ...
s, at Pomona in 2003.Burgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "A Christmas (Tree) Story", a
NHRA.com
(retrieved 22 September 2018)
At Pomona in 2014,
Alexis DeJoria Alexis DeJoria (born September 24, 1977) is an American drag racer who competes in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car category. She previously drove a Toyota Camry for Kalitta Motorsports (owned by Connie Kalitta), sponsored by ...
became the first woman ever to make a sub-four second pass, with a 3.997-second e.t. In 2018,
Top Fuel Dragster Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 second ...
went to
Doug Kalitta Doug Kalitta (born August 20, 1964) is an American auto racing driver from Ypsilanti, Michigan and owner of airline Kalitta Charters. He started racing in open wheel cars on an oval. Kalitta won the 1994 USAC Midget rookie of the year title and t ...
, Top fuel Funny Car to Matt Hagan, and Pro Stock to Bo Butner. In 2021, the Winternationals was moved to July because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and restrictions imposed by California. The NHRA will move the
Gatornationals The Gatornationals is an annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national drag racing event held each March at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida. The event was held for the first time in 1970. The traditional East Coast opener and ...
to the season opening slot. In an unusual fashion, the Top Fuel final was determined by default when one finalist was pulled out by NHRA officials over driver safety when he had heat exhaustion.


Past class winners


Notes

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