| Racing legend Tony Stewart delivered the first Top Fuel win for Elite Motorsports, going a weekend-best 3.683 at 332.51 in his 12,000-horsepower R&L Carriers dragster to knock off Justin Ashley in the championship round.
It’s the first career win at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip for Stewart and his third career victory in his NHRA career, and this one will certainly be meaningful. He picked up wins as both a driver and team owner on Sunday, as he drove to victories in eliminations against Will Smith, Gainesville winner Josh Hart and Shawn Langdon. It set up a marquee matchup against Ashley, who posted three straight reaction times of .025 leading to the final.
Stewart was .047 in the championship round and quickly tracked down Ashley on his standout run, getting the win a year after finishing as the Winternationals runner-up, this time during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.
“I’ve been [in NHRA] for five years now and following Leah around and being a part of it, but it doesn’t take long to realize how special Pomona is in drag racing, and how much it means to everybody,” Stewart said. “To be able to come here, and especially on an anniversary or for NHRA, you couldn’t ask for a better scenario for me. The only thing that would have made it better is if we met Leah in the finals. But for Matt to win is the 1,000th Funny Car win here, and to be here on NHRA 75th anniversary, and win here at the Winternationals, that is huge.
“I literally told [team owner] Richard Freeman and Royce Freeman on Friday, and individually, ‘Listen. I know I’m relatively new to drag racing, but I’ve been racing for 47 years. I’ve been a part of a lot of different programs and worked with a lot of different people and I promise you that all the ingredients are here. You can see it. I’ve been a part of enough programs to know when it’s right and I don’t know when it’s going to click and come together, but I’m telling you all the stuff that you need to be successful is right here right now.’ I had no idea in 48 hours that it was going to come together.”
Ashley advanced to the final round for the first time this season and the 33rd in his career thanks to round wins against Maddi Gordon, No. 1 qualifier Leah Pruett and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta, who leaves Pomona as the points leader.
In Pro Stock, six-time world champion Greg Anderson continued to rule the class at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, as he won for a record-tying 17th time at the historic facility, holding off KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn in the final round with a run of 6.505 at 209.88 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
It is the 113th career win for Anderson, who qualified No. 1 and ran the quickest in every round of eliminations. He dipped into the 6.40s in the first three rounds en route to wins against Kenny Delco, Matt Latino and Greg Stanfield. That set up a third straight final round against Glenn at Pomona dating back to the 2024 In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals and Anderson stayed perfect in that regard, chasing down Glenn at the finish line.
Glenn was .003 on the starting line, but Anderson was a solid .018 and tied John Force for the most wins in NHRA history at the legendary track. He’s also now won the Winternationals eight times, which ties him with Bob Glidden for the most in Pro Stock history, as the veteran continues to perform at an extremely high level.
“I came to the racetrack today with a lot of confidence. I felt good. I knew I was going to have a great hot rod. It’s been great all weekend,” Anderson said. “It just absolutely loves this racetrack. It’s a blast to drive this car. We had a great weekend as a team; from top to bottom, the KB Titan team was very, very impressive, but that meant it was going to be really hard for me to find a way to win on Sunday, but we did it.
“When you race Dallas, you’ve got to be perfect and I really didn’t make any big errors today, and the car was flawless. It really doesn’t matter how much you win by as long as that win light comes on, especially against Dallas because he’s riding the wave right now. He’s got confidence. I’m so damn happy he’s on my race team and I don’t have to hate the kid, I love the kid, and it’s a blast to race him, and it’s an honor.”
Glenn stayed in the points lead in advancing to his second straight final round and 23rd in his career after defeating Gainesville winner Matt Hartford, Eric Latino and teammate Dave Connolly.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action April 24-26 with the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.
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POMONA, Calif. — Final finish order (1-16) at the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip. The race is the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL:
1. Tony Stewart; 2. Justin Ashley; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Shawn Langdon; 5. Leah Pruett; 6. Billy Torrence; 7. Josh Hart; 8. Clay Millican; 9. Maddi Gordon; 10. Will Smith; 11. Shawn Reed; 12. Tony Schumacher; 13. Antron Brown; 14. Cameron Ferre; 15. Ron August.
FUNNY CAR:
1. Matt Hagan; 2. Ron Capps; 3. Jordan Vandergriff; 4. J.R. Todd; 5. Chad Green; 6. Jack Beckman; 7. Alexis DeJoria; 8. Jason Rupert; 9. Blake Alexander; 10. Daniel Wilkerson; 11. Austin Prock; 12. Jim Campbell; 13. Dylan Winefsky; 14. Dave Richards; 15. Paul Lee; 16. Spencer Hyde.
PRO STOCK:
1. Greg Anderson; 2. Dallas Glenn; 3. Greg Stanfield; 4. Dave Connolly; 5. Eric Latino; 6. Matt Latino; 7. Jeg Coughlin; 8. Erica Enders; 9. Aaron Stanfield; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 11. Cody Anderson; 12. Deric Kramer; 13. Chris Vang; 14. Kenny Delco; 15. Stephen Bell; 16. Matt Hartford.
POMONA, Calif. — Sunday’s final results from the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip. The race is the third of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel — Tony Stewart, 3.683 seconds, 332.51 mph def. Justin Ashley, 3.714 seconds, 328.54 mph.
Funny Car — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.876, 330.39 def. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.893, 334.32.
Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.505, 209.88 def. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.526, 208.94.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Garrett Bateman, 5.285, 270.97 def. Jon Bradford, 11.204, 70.66.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Doug Gordon, Chevy Camaro, 5.460, 265.43 def. Annie Whiteley, Camaro, 5.458, 267.00.
Competition Eliminator — Ryan Warter, Pontiac Sunfire, 19.532, 44.04 def. Josh Lee, Bantam, Foul – Red Light.
Super Stock — Kyle Rizzoli, chevy Cavalier, 8.873, 144.43 def. Jim Grossi Jr., Chevy Corvette, 8.705, 152.57.
Stock Eliminator — Justin Lamb, Chevy Camaro, 9.311, 138.23 def. Jared Jordan, Dodge, 10.181, 127.11.
Super Comp — Justin Morris, Dragster, 8.938, 169.78 def. Allison McKoane, Dragster, 8.926, 169.57.
Super Gas — Mike Wiblishouser, Chevy Corvette, 9.900, 169.57 def. Val Torres, Corvette, 9.892, 158.20.
Super Street — Kenny Snow, Chevelle, 10.893, 154.58 def. Jacob Beckwith, Chevy Malibu, Foul – Red Light.
Top Sportsman — Jeff Gillette, Pontiac GTO, 6.810, 201.67 def. Bill Mizia, Pontiac Trans Am, 7.807, 170.08.
Top Dragster — Grant Durie, Dragster, 6.289, 223.62 def. Steve Hamilton, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.
Legacy Nitro Funny Car — Geoff Monise, Pontiac Firebird, 4.644, 243.02 def. Nathan Sitko, Firebird, 4.698, 236.80.
Junior Dragster Shootout — Jake Hodges, Motivational, 8.193, 67.63 def. Carlie Ball, Motivational, Foul – Red Light.
POMONA, Calif. — Final round-by-round results from the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Justin Ashley, 3.714, 332.43 def. Maddi Gordon, 3.744, 334.15; Tony Stewart, 3.726, 327.11 def. Will Smith, 4.209, 224.14; Clay Millican, 3.758, 318.47 def. Shawn Reed, 4.327, 193.10; Josh Hart, 3.698, 336.91 def. Cameron Ferre, Broke; Leah Pruett, 6.721, 99.54 was unopposed; Shawn Langdon, 4.003, 252.99 def. Tony Schumacher, 4.454, 169.59; Doug Kalitta, 3.719, 339.79 def. Ron August, Broke – No Show; Billy Torrence, 3.746, 336.91 def. Antron Brown, 6.064, 112.45;
QUARTERFINALS — Langdon, 3.689, 336.74 def. Torrence, 3.713, 335.15; Kalitta, 3.694, 339.36 def. Millican, 8.570, 78.34; Stewart, 3.715, 337.92 def. Hart, 3.968, 236.46; Ashley, 3.720, 336.07 def. Pruett, 3.703, 334.73;
SEMIFINALS — Ashley, 3.705, 326.24 def. Kalitta, 3.705, 340.56; Stewart, 3.701, 334.98 def. Langdon, 3.718, 339.53;
FINAL — Stewart, 3.683, 332.51 def. Ashley, 3.714, 328.54.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE — Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.963, 326.87 def. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 8.897, 72.63; Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.890, 332.75 def. Jim Campbell, Mustang, 5.735, 123.70; Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 4.977, 177.16 def. Dylan Winefsky, Charger, 6.817, 114.15; J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.889, 337.16 def. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.049, 317.87; Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.894, 334.57 def. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.841, 185.61; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.892, 332.92 def. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 9.122, 94.49; Jason Rupert, Mustang, 4.286, 245.90 def. Austin Prock, Mustang, 4.945, 157.23; Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.906, 330.07 def. Dave Richards, Mustang, 6.818, 105.00;
QUARTERFINALS — Capps, 3.884, 332.34 def. DeJoria, 6.941, 95.41; Vandergriff, 3.914, 330.63 def. Green, 3.970, 325.22; Hagan, 3.906, 329.34 def. Rupert, 9.479, 78.47; Todd, 3.914, 334.65 def. Beckman, 4.760, 193.05;
SEMIFINALS — Hagan, 3.886, 330.39 def. Todd, 7.861, 82.85; Capps, 3.863, 330.31 def. Vandergriff, 3.889, 334.15;
FINAL — Hagan, 3.876, 330.39 def. Capps, 3.893, 334.32.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE — Matt Latino, Chevy Camaro, 6.551, 209.39 def. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.542, 210.01; Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.542, 209.14 def. Chris Vang, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.547, 209.33 def. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.546, 209.59; Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.561, 208.33 def. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.864, 163.06; Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.523, 210.54 def. Stephen Bell, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.508, 209.43 def. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 27.687, 51.68; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.496, 210.41 def. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 13.358, 69.13; Dave Connolly, Camaro, 6.502, 210.21 def. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.542, 208.36;
QUARTERFINALS — G. Stanfield, 6.527, 209.92 def. Coughlin, Foul – Red Light; Glenn, 6.520, 209.20 def. E. Latino, 6.525, 208.62; Connolly, 6.496, 210.14 def. Enders, 23.861, 42.18; G. Anderson, 6.487, 209.82 def. M. Latino, 6.537, 209.75;
SEMIFINALS — Glenn, 6.515, 209.07 def. Connolly, 6.525, 209.75; G. Anderson, 6.495, 209.79 def. G. Stanfield, 6.517, 210.31;
FINAL — G. Anderson, 6.505, 209.88 def. Glenn, 6.526, 208.94.
POMONA, Calif. — Point standings (top 10) following the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series –
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta, 256; 2. Shawn Langdon, 252; 3. Josh Hart, 235; 4. Tony Stewart, 224; 5. Leah Pruett, 220; 6. Maddi Gordon, 186; 7. Justin Ashley, 157; 8. Antron Brown, 139; 9. Billy Torrence, 133; 10. Clay Millican, 114.
Funny Car
1. (tie) Ron Capps, 251; Matt Hagan, 251; 3. J.R. Todd, 224; 4. Chad Green, 223; 5. Jordan Vandergriff, 205; 6. Spencer Hyde, 189; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 181; 8. (tie) Paul Lee, 133; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 138; 10. Jack Beckman, 119.
Pro Stock
1. Dallas Glenn, 300; 2. Greg Anderson, 269; 3. Greg Stanfield, 196; 4. Matt Hartford, 191; 5. Erica Enders, 180; 6. Matt Latino, 161; 7. Jeg Coughlin, 159; 8. Cody Coughlin, 158; 9. Aaron Stanfield, 139; 10. Eric Latino, 120. |