As the NHRA circus rode into Pomona, California, this past Thursday, some were happy to start the season, others wished they could have done more over the winter. In the highly contested class of Funny Car, all drivers came to the starting line for their qualifying pass wanting to place an exclamation mark behind their names. I guess Tony Pedregon did so too, but for all the wrong reasons.
The second generation driver experienced another fiery engine explosion but was unhurt. Tony is one of the more exciting drivers and be sure to look for him at the races. For an even greater sequence of pictures on this engine explosion, please click here.
Also in Pomona, rookie Top Fuel and second generation driver Brittany Force experienced an brake problem as she set out for her first ever professional qualifying pass. I only mention this for the same problem happened to me in an elimination round last December. At least she had more common sense and aborted the run!She is one of four other T/F drivers using a canopy this year.
Boy, do I miss attending the Winternationals. Nothing like being at a track surrounded by palm trees with snow capped mountain in the distance. California!!
Although the ADRL racing season hasn't started yet, I'd like to mention two great developments. First, after the tragic loss of Extreme Pro Stock driver Bert Jackson last year, longtime ADRL sponsor Sonny's Racing Engines and BigStuff3 will be sponsoring the inaugural Bert Jackson Memorial Shootout for that class. Secondly, the support of Sonny and BigStuff3 brought enough financial weight to the Extreme Pro Stock class to reverse an earlier decision to eliminate EFI in the class. A win-win for everybody, that is what sports should be about! Two thumbs up!
In an ever changing world, tourism is becoming increasingly important, as the developed nations' work less hours but earn more (generally speaking). This has given rise to "Event Tourism" and nowhere is this more evident than in motorsports. Countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, India and China, all have spent a great deal to built Formula One tracks in an effort to showcase their countries and bring in tourism dollars.
Qatar's Sheikh Khalid al-Thani also recognized this opportunity and created the Qatar Racing Club, a state of the art racing facility near the capital city of Doha. At an incredible effort and expense of importing the world's best eight-mile talent to the track he created, the Sheikh was rewarded with a clean sweep of the series point championship. I hear that the american contingency of top rated drivers had a great time in Qatar and can't wait to go back again, and this while the are still there!How did he do it? Well, he simply timed his championship to take place in the U.S.'s drag racing off season (during winter). Here in Curacao, we got a taste of this last December, when Ingemar Meyer organized a drag race, called the Xtreme Christmas Shootout, featuring some of the world's best cars in a lower class called "Extreme Import". Nevertheless, this is an important step in making good use of our own state-of-the-art drag racing facilities at Ronde Klip. Now, if only our leaders could get all their noses pointed in the right direction!
To my readers, sorry this piece was so drag racing focussed but it is the only thing on my mind today!
Thanks for reading.
Sources: CompetitionPlus.com.
Photo credit: CompetitionPlus.com, LA.com, Mark J. Rebilas,
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