2026 Pomona "Winternationals"
- Thread starter J. S.
- Start date
Chili
Nitro Member
I missed that announcement. That is at least more positive than nothing at all. Prayers for James.
- Thread starter
- #46
I was there, and saw the crash. Yes, it was bad, but not any worse than so many we have seen over the years where the driver has walked away. There was no engine explosion or anything like that. It appeared he got slightly squirrelly and then abruptly made a hard right turn into the wall, then rolled over it. It was as if some fluid got under the slicks. They wouldn't replay the crash over the video screen at the track, since the driver's fate was unknown.
They never said a word one way or the other over the PA, other than after about a half hour that racing was done for the night. From as close as we could see of the wreck site from the spectator side of the track, there sure didn't seem to be any sense of urgency. It took them probably 15-20 minutes to get him out of the car. And once it appeared he was loaded into the small ambulance, they pulled away way too slow, and without any sirens. And where was the Medivac helicopter? We never saw one.
Once I got to my car in the parking lot, I saw the ambulance a ways in the distance, still in the parking lot, but only then turning on the sirens and driving out of the parking lot. So who knows what that all meant, but I sure hope Paul's info (above) is correct. The overall feel was that it sure didn't look good for the driver. If he had been communicating to the Safety crew, I sure think they would have let the remaining crowd have that information over the PA.
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drag racer
Nitro Member
Rick Ware Racing uses Chrisman rear ends - Millican and Schumacher
- Thread starter
- #48
Evidently this is because the Chrisman is machined from a forged billet, and the Strange is cast. Does that sound correct? And yes, word in the pits at Pomona today was that this is the first major failure of a Chrisman rear end.
Robert: Nice job driving in the Cacklefest today. The Burkholder Bros AA/FA, was it?
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stitcherbob
Nitro Member
- Thread starter
- #51
That sounds like very good news. It sure would have been nice if they would have said that info over the PA before the fans left the track with a heavy heart.
Robert Reehl
Nitro Member
That’s a different Robert. His last name is spelled different. His is Reel. 2 different people. He’s a friend of mine, I keep telling him he spells his last name wrong!
- Thread starter
- #53
John Force was not there on Sat. This to me has to be bad news, as he would never miss the Winternationals. Let's hope he is OK.
Brittany and Courtney were there. Courtney in town with the husband since he is racing in the Long Beach GP Indy Car race next weekend.
Brittany and Courtney were there. Courtney in town with the husband since he is racing in the Long Beach GP Indy Car race next weekend.
glofria
Nitro Member
Ran into Robert about a month ago at the Preito's Taco Party. A real good guy. Works with Scrappers Racing as the Director of Marketing.
The original Burkholder Bros. AA/FA is owned by Bill Windam.
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65 Goatboy
Nitro Member
Live feed on Nhra.tv at 9:30 am pacific time doesn't look good.
forecast.weather.gov
National Weather Service
forecast.weather.gov
- Thread starter
- #58
I live about 30 miles from the track, and the clouds here seem to be lifting and I see some sun after rain most of the morning. Hopefully that is a good sign for the rest of the day.Live feed on Nhra.tv at 9:30 am pacific time doesn't look good.
National Weather Service
- Thread starter
- #59
I believe it is 8pm. But not sure if that applies to Sunday though, or all race days.
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- Thread starter
- #60
More stories from yesterday at Pomona:
In Q3 TA/FC, the Gordon family Funny Car broke a crankshaft - not a common thing in the Alcohol classes. It was all hands on deck in their pit to change the engine in time for Rd 1 of Eliminations. Sure enough, after her duties with the Capp's Top Fuel dragster were finished for the day, Maddie Gordon rushed over to help with the engine change. Maddie and sister Macie could easily do that on their own (with a little help lifting the engines) if there was no rush, but yesterday late afternoon was different. What a great sight watching everyone in that family (and one male non-family member - probably Maddie's replacement) work feverishly to get the car ready to make the call. All was finished in time, only to have E1 TA/FC cancelled due to the bad James Stevens T/AD wreck.
Sean Bellemour (not sure if I have that spelled right) was helping out on the Melanie Johnson/McPhillips T/AD this weekend. What a nice guy he is. Very friendly to this fan. Since his regular ride in the Bartone TA/FC does not usually travel this far west, he had the weekend off. And since Sean lives locally, he had time to lend a hand to this other team.
The weather turned out to be picture-perfect. A great spring day at Pomona. And no doubt at least partly due to the great weather, the 3pm peak crowd was the best I can remember at Pomona in recent years.
In Q3 TA/FC, the Gordon family Funny Car broke a crankshaft - not a common thing in the Alcohol classes. It was all hands on deck in their pit to change the engine in time for Rd 1 of Eliminations. Sure enough, after her duties with the Capp's Top Fuel dragster were finished for the day, Maddie Gordon rushed over to help with the engine change. Maddie and sister Macie could easily do that on their own (with a little help lifting the engines) if there was no rush, but yesterday late afternoon was different. What a great sight watching everyone in that family (and one male non-family member - probably Maddie's replacement) work feverishly to get the car ready to make the call. All was finished in time, only to have E1 TA/FC cancelled due to the bad James Stevens T/AD wreck.
Sean Bellemour (not sure if I have that spelled right) was helping out on the Melanie Johnson/McPhillips T/AD this weekend. What a nice guy he is. Very friendly to this fan. Since his regular ride in the Bartone TA/FC does not usually travel this far west, he had the weekend off. And since Sean lives locally, he had time to lend a hand to this other team.
The weather turned out to be picture-perfect. A great spring day at Pomona. And no doubt at least partly due to the great weather, the 3pm peak crowd was the best I can remember at Pomona in recent years.
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