Pomona 1 Debrief (1 Viewer)

[you]

Post your observations from the Winternationals.

1. The jab Dean Antonelli took at the countdown was a good one.
2. Leah was still Pritchett half the times she was mentioned.
3. The top end speech from Beckman to Doug Chandler was awesome and spot on!
4. Liked having Bruno in the booth for Pro Stock.
5. The irony of Capps catching on fire after the last two weeks.
6. Couldn't have been happier with the results.

 

[4onthefl4]

Post your observations from the Winternationals.

1. The jab Dean Antonelli took at the countdown was a good one.
2. Leah was still Pritchett half the times she was mentioned.
3. The top end speech from Beckman to Doug Chandler was awesome and spot on!
4. Liked having Bruno in the booth for Pro Stock.
5. The irony of Capps catching on fire after the last two weeks.
6. Couldn't have been happier with the results.

I agree with all the above.

 

[ScojoDak]

I thought the same thing about #5.

 

[Cliff]

Was glad they got the race finished before it rained. Noted a few drops on the camera lens a few times. Was glad Cowie won T/AD (no offense to other teams), and Aryan Rochon in TA/FC (which to me was an upset). Keep an eye on Tibor Kadar, R/U in Comp. He is a local Phoenix driver and I've watched him come up thru the ranks from bracket racing (very good at that) to Comp. He could be a future Pro/S or T/S driver.

 

[Nunz]

I thought it was a great race, lots of new blood and storylines. The only negative, for me, was I don't think I've ever seen that weak of a crowd at Pomona. When they show old clips of past Winters, and Finals for that matter, it's just a sea of people. Was the weather that big of a threat? Or has the car culture demographic changed that much in California over the years? I guess the other glaring negative was weak fields in the alky classes and Comp, which used to be so stout out west. But overall, I enjoyed the race.

 

[Notch1320]

I heard that the $25 parking charge caused many to turn around at the gate.

 

[Tybamf]

I noticed a lot more oil downs and on-track issues than at your typical event. It seems like every other run had some sort of issue.

 

[Sean D, shondoo]

I heard that the $25 parking charge caused many to turn around at the gate.

That sh!t's ridiculous.

Sean D

 

[Jer]

Could have done away with pro stock HIGHLIGHTS and just have regular coverage like fuel classes. Ps had the most entries of pro classes

 

[ocdart]

I heard that the $25 parking charge caused many to turn around at the gate.

I may be incorrect, but I believe the parking charges are dictated by the Fairplex, not NHRA. The food/drink concession prices are also set/controlled by the Fairplex.
I go to Friday qualifying and I figure it's a minimum $100 day for me after buying my reserved seat ticket, paying parking and minimal eats.

 

[BOO BOO]

Randal Andres's wild run in the TFH final.

 

[you]

Randal Andres's wild run in the TFH final.

Forgot about that one. Can't believe that front tire didn't blow

 

[sammi]

My list....
1.Randall Andres just was added to my Spiderman McBride badass club. Only two members.
2. re: parking The mafia that runs the Fairplex does that to everyone and every event at the place. Just walk around the lot and it is clear the money is going somewhere else.
3. DSR and AJPE had to be thrilled with the amount of carnage out there this past weekend. Fire up the CNC machines!
4. FOX spent a ridiculous amount of time on "the Slap."
5. Alex Miladinovich and Hot4Teacher just became my favorite funny car. A lot of old school values and joy of racing.
6. Good on you Alexis, Del and Nicky. Terrific start. If Del can give her the car, she should be just fine.

 

[you]

My list....

6. Good on you Alexis, Del and Nicky. Terrific start. If Del can give her the car, she should be just fine.

Agreed. Leaving in 4th place...not too shabby!!

 

[mick]

i liked the alex miladinovich piece too. really cool stuff.
the r. andres bike touch down was really a 'what!?' moment. unreal.
c. ferre with IMO a really great interview addressing everything.
still amazed why nhra wants 3 hours on fox. especially for 3 classes. 2 would be plenty.

 

[Tom Slick]

It seems that the crowd gets smaller with each passing year at Pomona. As has already been said in this thread, the Pomona Fairplex is and has been completely out of control with their prices for parking and concessions. This is one attributing factor to smaller crowds. The others are the fact that the car culture in America is not what it once was, and the NHRA whom is the promoter of the Winternationals and World Finals does a very poor job at marketing the event in Southern California. I was born and raised in Glendora just a couple of miles away from Pomona Raceway and I can tell you that people in the area usually have no idea when an event is going on in their own backyard.

As for this past Sunday's turnout, I can say that unfavorable weather forecast, cool temps and moving up the start time to 10am from the regular 11am start without people really knowing about the time change were all additional contributing factors. I can only assume that when people pulled up to the parking lot gate to hear TF and FC first round already underway and then asked for $25 to park, many turned around.

I thought Alex Miladinovich and his "Hot 4 Teacher" FC were a breath of fresh air. His enthusiasm for the sport and what he is doing is just what the sport needs. Which reminds me of another cool privateer team that has gone missing. Does anyone know what happened to Richard Towsend and the "Nitroholic" FC? The sport really needs guys like Alex Miladinovich, Richard Towsend, Steven Densham, Terry Haddock, Jeff Diehl, etc.

All in all, I'm excited that the 2020 season is off and running.

 

[Chili]

It seems that the crowd gets smaller with each passing year at Pomona. As has already been said in this thread, the Pomona Fairplex is and has been completely out of control with their prices for parking and concessions. This is one attributing factor to smaller crowds. The others are the fact that the car culture in America is not what it once was, and the NHRA whom is the promoter of the Winternationals and World Finals does a very poor job at marketing the event in Southern California. I was born and raised in Glendora just a couple of miles away from Pomona Raceway and I can tell you that people in the area usually have no idea when an event is going on in their own backyard.

As for this past Sunday's turnout, I can say that unfavorable weather forecast, cool temps and moving up the start time to 10am from the regular 11am start without people really knowing about the time change were all additional contributing factors. I can only assume that when people pulled up to the parking lot gate to hear TF and FC first round already underway and then asked for $25 to park, many turned around.

I thought Alex Miladinovich and his "Hot 4 Teacher" FC were a breath of fresh air. His enthusiasm for the sport and what he is doing is just what the sport needs. Which reminds me of another cool privateer team that has gone missing. Does anyone know what happened to Richard Towsend and the "Nitroholic" FC? The sport really needs guys like Alex Miladinovich, Richard Towsend, Steven Densham, Terry Haddock, Jeff Diehl, etc.

All in all, I'm excited that the 2020 season is off and running.

Townsend and Dustin Davis split following the 2018 season. I believe Townsend was going to return to nostalgia racing and Davis is the owner or co owner of the car that Justin Ashley is dIrving.

 

[Rat]

i liked the alex miladinovich piece too. really cool stuff.
the r. andres bike touch down was really a 'what!?' moment. unreal.
c. ferre with IMO a really great interview addressing everything.
still amazed why nhra wants 3 hours on fox. especially for 3 classes. 2 would be plenty.

I still remember when IHRA got it done in 43 minutes (ads excluded obliviously) and they missed nothing.

 

[Nunz]

It seems that the crowd gets smaller with each passing year at Pomona. As has already been said in this thread, the Pomona Fairplex is and has been completely out of control with their prices for parking and concessions. This is one attributing factor to smaller crowds. The others are the fact that the car culture in America is not what it once was, and the NHRA whom is the promoter of the Winternationals and World Finals does a very poor job at marketing the event in Southern California. I was born and raised in Glendora just a couple of miles away from Pomona Raceway and I can tell you that people in the area usually have no idea when an event is going on in their own backyard.

As for this past Sunday's turnout, I can say that unfavorable weather forecast, cool temps and moving up the start time to 10am from the regular 11am start without people really knowing about the time change were all additional contributing factors. I can only assume that when people pulled up to the parking lot gate to hear TF and FC first round already underway and then asked for $25 to park, many turned around.

I thought Alex Miladinovich and his "Hot 4 Teacher" FC were a breath of fresh air. His enthusiasm for the sport and what he is doing is just what the sport needs. Which reminds me of another cool privateer team that has gone missing. Does anyone know what happened to Richard Towsend and the "Nitroholic" FC? The sport really needs guys like Alex Miladinovich, Richard Towsend, Steven Densham, Terry Haddock, Jeff Diehl, etc.

All in all, I'm excited that the 2020 season is off and running.

That's a shame, the 60th running of a premiere event, you would think that everything possible would have been done to pack the house. The parking deal is a different story, $25 to park is enough to piss off a lot of people.

 

[roscoe37]

there was a great crowd on friday,got in for 40.00 dollars ,with the military discount,parking was 15.00. try to go to a ball game for that.