Pomona 1 Debrief (2 Viewers)

[camaro]

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.

$25 is a ridiculous amount for parking but if u drove any kind of distance to get there, i doubt anyone would actually turnaround and go home

 

[NITRO JUNKIE]

My list
1. Doug Kalitta winning Winternats three years in a row.
2. Brittany Force running 3.65 @ 334
3. All three pro winners won the world finals last year.
4. TFH final, couldn’t imagine being on one wheel past the ‘1000.
5. Ron Capps returns after the fire and qualifies top half.
6. I really enjoyed the coverage. I thought Bruno was great in the booth for Pro Stock.

 

[roscoe37]

$25 is a ridiculous amount for parking but if u drove any kind of distance to get there, i doubt anyone would actually turnaround and go home

it was 15 on friday did they change it for the weekend?????

 

[yoda]

Television: Was anyone else bored before TF Rd. 1 was over? Same ol' everything- teams, comments, quips, interviews, cars, winners...

And I see NHRA has played it "safe' with the same camera positions, and the director in the truck calling to their comfort level (poor/weak). And still 30 seconds of the car getting off the track, but the race stats are on-screen for less time than the race itself. The RT/ET/MPH info gives people a chance to digest the race that just happened (with its 800 camera cuts for three tenths of a second each...), which, IMO, would allow even the casual fan a better understanding than even the commentators can offer (fact vs. opinion).

If this is what is to be expected for the rest of the season, I'll just wait for the results on Twitter- no 3 minute commercial breaks there.

 

[Tom Slick]

Television: Was anyone else bored before TF Rd. 1 was over? Same ol' everything- teams, comments, quips, interviews, cars, winners...

And I see NHRA has played it "safe' with the same camera positions, and the director in the truck calling to their comfort level (poor/weak). And still 30 seconds of the car getting off the track, but the race stats are on-screen for less time than the race itself. The RT/ET/MPH info gives people a chance to digest the race that just happened (with its 800 camera cuts for three tenths of a second each...), which, IMO, would allow even the casual fan a better understanding than even the commentators can offer (fact vs. opinion).

If this is what is to be expected for the rest of the season, I'll just wait for the results on Twitter- no 3 minute commercial breaks there.

I couldn't agree more. Other than some interviews and a few other pieces that we don't get on NHRA.TV the Fox program leaves a lot to be desired. I've been saying for years that they need to get Les Mayhew (yes, I know he works for NHRA on FOX) of Nitro America fame to help with camera angles and editing. Jake Simmons also gets incredible shots. These guys really know how to bring drag racing into your living room. Check out this Nitro America flick for examples of how drag racing should be shown:

Another great drag racing show is the Outlaw Funny Cars from Australia that is shown on MAVTV. These guys show tons of replays, a bunch of onboard/in car cameras with really cool angles and great camera position around the race track. And they jam a ton of great action into a one hour program.

NHRA.TV was showing complete incremental times this weekend. It was great being able to see RT, 60' , 330' 660', etc.

 

[J. S.]

"it was 15 on friday did they change it for the weekend?????"

It's been $15.00 to park for several years now. I went just Friday this year but in past years when I went Friday, Sat, or Sun they have not changed the amount they charged on diff days. Same charge Sunday as Friday in the past.

Still too much in my opinion, but you're gonna pay a large amount to park at almost any sporting event out here these days. It'd be nice though, if they would use those parking charges to re-pave the parking lot and the pits once every 40 years or so.

 

[yoda]

How much is parking at the new stadium?

 

[SoCal Racer]

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.

Saturday was a nice day, but the Sunday forecast was scary for Californians...... high temps only in the 50s and we have visions of building igloos Plus the precipitation forecast was around 80%, and I still can't figure how they got that race in..... typically a 10% chance means it is raining at Pomona and dry 10 minutes away. I live less than an hour and a half south and it rained all day here. (No, I didn't stay home because of weather - I'm recovering from an evil bug).

 

[Huge]

How much is parking at the new stadium?

I paid 30.00 or 35.00 dollars for parking at the Supercross race at Anaheim Stadium last month and it was packed. Plus they kick everyone out of the pits at 6.00 pm and they were packed.

 

[Bruno]

No change in the interview talent pool:
-Best in front of a camera - Jack Beckman, John Paul Dijoria
-worst in front of a camera - Doug Kalitta, Jeg Coughlin
-most......out there... - Clay Millican

 

[yoda]

By the way, NHRA: Some of my best friends are drag racers.
That way a pretty #&$@ed up way to promote the new season- "There Are No Friends In Drag Racing". And then toss in the clip that should have been erased as soon as a fine was leveraged.

 

[TopFuel@Lions]

I enjoyed the whole weekend here from the deep south. NHRA.TV worked and sounded good and I liked the Fox broadcast, Brian sure is a quick with the wit. The parking and food costs have always been brutal at Pomona. When I went the Mrs. and I would just budget and pay preferred parking that was way closer to the ticket gate and easier to get out. We would bring in our own food and beer, ya I know about the beer.

I think we are going to have a fun 2020. Way to go Dougie!!!! Now a big fan of Alex in AA/FC, his interview and passion is great. Friday and Saturdays crowd looked good. I have been in the biggest crowds at Pomona ever,like 65, when 60,000plus attended, that was then and here we are in 2020, glad we can still drag race.




TopFuel@Lions

 

[ZWeinstein]

Other than Q4 on Saturday I did not get a chance to watch much this weekend but what I was able to catch was fun. Q4 like most Pomona Q4s had a lot of back and forth and ladder shuffling and it was great to watch one team fire their shot for pole only for someone else to come up and snatch it away. Alex Miladinovich will be fun to root for in funny car as he is a throwback racer doing it all from his garage with the help of family and friends, I hope we get to see more of him and that team in the future. The stock eliminator final was all kinds of cool, heads up, wheels up Chevy vs. Ford matchup probably the race of the weekend. Also another highlight was seeing some of the big numbers creeping back in there Brittany's 336 opening run and Beckman's 3.83 @ 333 in the final were awesome. I hope Kalitta can keep the momentum of the last two wins together all season and finally win a title because that might go down as one of the most popular championships.


Of course all of this just makes me excited for Phoenix in two weeks, I will be there bright and early Friday morning for my favorite weekend of the year

 

[mick]

AA/SA heads up final.

 

[DrRocket]

Randal Andres's wild run in the TFH final.

That was amazing. He held on until the last second. I tell you, his are waaaay bigger than mine. I would have bailed a LOT sooner than he did.

Glad to see Doug win. Now if the team can just stay consistent and beat Steve.

Glad to see Alexis back. Looks like she shook off any rust she may have had pretty well. Did she do any other racing while retired?

 

[Huge]

I enjoyed the whole weekend here from the deep south. NHRA.TV worked and sounded good and I liked the Fox broadcast, Brian sure is a quick with the wit. The parking and food costs have always been brutal at Pomona. When I went the Mrs. and I would just budget and pay preferred parking that was way closer to the ticket gate and easier to get out. We would bring in our own food and beer, ya I know about the beer.

I think we are going to have a fun 2020. Way to go Dougie!!!! Now a big fan of Alex in AA/FC, his interview and passion is great. Friday and Saturdays crowd looked good. I have been in the biggest crowds at Pomona ever,like 65, when 60,000plus attended, that was then and here we are in 2020, glad we can still drag race.




TopFuel@Lions

Mark you are spot on about Alex, Marcy and their Hot4Teacher team. They are an awesome group that does it for the love of drag racing. I live just a few blocks from them and use to help them on their nostalgia funny car when I had the time. Alex and his crew built the chassis and the whole car right in their 1 car garage right behind their house in Orange. It took them about 3 years of working on Thursday nights after work to finish it and they did an amazing job. Alex called me a few weeks ago and said he wanted to try to get his license in Vegas but he needed a crankshaft for his spare engine. I talked to Jim Dunn and he had one that I could take to him and when I delivered it to him that night you would have thought he had just won the lottery. My hats off to crew chief Kevin Poynter for helping him make his dream come true.

 

[Nick Name]

Went Friday. Did pit side parking which was right up at the pit fence for $30.00, then $50.00 to get in. One positive thing I saw was a row of school buses in the parking lot and a lot of young people in the track. Had some asking me questions about the fuel bikes. I suspect this is some kind of program NHRA has. I am sure they didn't pay $50.00 to get in.

 

[troy boy]

I see Isky got one belt loop.......

 

[vegasnitro]

I paid 30.00 or 35.00 dollars for parking at the Supercross race at Anaheim Stadium last month and it was packed. Plus they kick everyone out of the pits at 6.00 pm and they were packed.

I paid $40 to park at a Bengals game and then $20 for access to the "tailgate lot".

 

[Cliff]

Isky is almost 100 years old. Glad to see him still roaming the pits. Noticed he has the Camfather on his shirt.