Pomona comments (fan's perspective) (2 Viewers)

[.]

Wow, what a weekend.

It was so good to get back to racing season. Pomona is magical.

Friday was cold.... by SoCal standards. I know the rest of the country is under snow and I shouldn't be complaining. The cold wind froze us in the grandstands. Most people left. I contend that most people also did not know there was a second qualifying session that day! It was wierd; it felt like a Saturday. The cars performed amazing. Crazy numbers are the norm now. It's already clear who has the best cars and best performance. Capps' explosion was crazy. I am glad he was ok.

The museum needs to schedule the Night Of Champions for 7pm maybe. I missed it because the fuel session was still going at 6pm!

Saturday was nicer. Sun was out and it helped. Still, I sat in reserved section 3 which is at the christmas tree. I had PLENTY of room. Lots of open sections. I heard there was a monster truck show the same day at Anaheim Stadium. Those shows are huge. Easily 30,000 fans. Also, the pro bull riders were in town with their show.
In the pits, Steve Chrisman and maybe one or two others had throttle whacks during warm ups. I was right behind his car when he did them and oh it was so awesomely good. In addition to the quick whacks, there was longer sustained one. Wow that was awesome. Thank you Steve!!! Elsewhere, fans are definitely bummed out about the disappearance of throttle whacks. I overheard those comments time and time again.

Sunday was very nice. There was little to no wind and it was nice! I got to sit with Jack from New Hampshire, Chris from Vegas, Mr. Rice from Dallas, and the Veskovitches from Australia. Great people and I am thankful to them for their camaraderie. Also to Les Mayhew, Joe Sherwood, Joe Fuchita, Eugene Gray, Darrell and Tami Reid. Thank you guys and gals.

Sidnei Frigo's explosion sent shrapnel higher into the sky than anything else I have ever witnessed at a dragstrip including the Red Dragon funny car body explosion at Bakersfield. Crazy stuff and I am glad Sidnei is ok. He drove awesome thru that episode.

Amazing performance numbers. Back-breaking stuff from one particular team in F/C. I'm afraid they are going to be the ones to catch.

Was it just me or did the midway lack displays and companies showing off their wares? Nitro alley was also sparse. DSR's new expanded merchandise trailer was a big improvement tho. I enjoyed shopping there much better than the old tiny trailer. Plus, they had new 2014 stuff! Excellent job DSR!

Concession/food prices were stupid high. Jack was telling me he saw a family looking at the prices and the kids were hungry. The father had to tell them "sorry, can't afford it." I paid $9 bux for a hot dog, and $10 for a hamburger. That's just too much. The Fairplex did lower the parking price to $10 however. I surmise they have figured out that they pushed too hard last year with $15 dollar parking and are trying to gain back consumers. I paid $50 bux reserved for Friday, $60 reserved for Saturday and $45 for Sunday gen adm. Thank you to Mello Yello for the empty can $8 discount! It definitely is welcome!!!

Ticket vendors, takers and other staff throughout the facility were nice. I saw no intrusiveness or unpleasantness.

Congrats to the Maddern Racing team for winning on Hallowed ground. That was very enjoyable to watch. Cheers to my friend Greggo on the crew.

THANK YOU to Scott Palmer (top fuel) for your wonderful hospitality. It really really made my weekend. I wish more people knew what a good guy Scott is; I know they would become instant fans. People, please cheer for Scott and support his sponsors. He is a credit to the sport.

I also personally witnessed Bob Bode being incredibly awesome with a fan and Terry McMillen giving a young fan a blower belt and another a used slick. Great ambassadors of the sport.

Add your comments please!

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Great thread idea Mr. Flores. ( fan perspective ) I hope more chime in with their take. We should do this for every race. Very informative.

 

[yoda]

Thanks, PF- nice write up!

Anyone else remember the days when you could be all "Yogi and BooBoo" and bring a lunch basket to the drags? Not looking to do an ice chest full of Fireball and Jack, but just enough sandwiches and Cokes to feed the family that just shelled out $240 to be at the event... I know that concessions help make the world go around, but your story about the hungry kids hit my heart, because the parents probably came expecting a Pink's priced hot dog and got a Four Season's priced one, and you can bet that they won't be coming back because the hungry little ones had a miserable time...

 

[Steve]

Thanks for the post Paul.

I agree that it was a fabulous weekend in Pomona with incredible racing. Perhaps the tightest field in the nitro classes in years. Like yourself, we also noticed that a number of midway regulars were not present, most notably the usually fabulous ARMY display along with FORD and others. I wonder if it might be because LA County upped the ante to the point that the advertisers simply opted out due to the cost?

Overall, it was a great race!

Wow, what a weekend.

It was so good to get back to racing season. Pomona is magical.

Friday was cold.... by SoCal standards. I know the rest of the country is under snow and I shouldn't be complaining. The cold wind froze us in the grandstands. Most people left. I contend that most people also did not know there was a second qualifying session that day! It was wierd; it felt like a Saturday. The cars performed amazing. Crazy numbers are the norm now. It's already clear who has the best cars and best performance. Capps' explosion was crazy. I am glad he was ok.

The museum needs to schedule the Night Of Champions for 7pm maybe. I missed it because the fuel session was still going at 6pm!

Saturday was nicer. Sun was out and it helped. Still, I sat in reserved section 3 which is at the christmas tree. I had PLENTY of room. Lots of open sections. I heard there was a monster truck show the same day at Anaheim Stadium. Those shows are huge. Easily 30,000 fans. Also, the pro bull riders were in town with their show.
In the pits, Steve Chrisman and maybe one or two others had throttle whacks during warm ups. I was right behind his car when he did them and oh it was so awesomely good. In addition to the quick whacks, there was longer sustained one. Wow that was awesome. Thank you Steve!!! Elsewhere, fans are definitely bummed out about the disappearance of throttle whacks. I overheard those comments time and time again.

Sunday was very nice. There was little to no wind and it was nice! I got to sit with Jack from New Hampshire, Chris from Vegas, Mr. Rice from Dallas, and the Veskovitches from Australia. Great people and I am thankful to them for their camaraderie. Also to Les Mayhew, Joe Sherwood, Joe Fuchita, Eugene Gray, Darrell and Tami Reid. Thank you guys and gals.

Sidnei Frigo's explosion sent shrapnel higher into the sky than anything else I have ever witnessed at a dragstrip including the Red Dragon funny car body explosion at Bakersfield. Crazy stuff and I am glad Sidnei is ok. He drove awesome thru that episode.

Amazing performance numbers. Back-breaking stuff from one particular team in F/C. I'm afraid they are going to be the ones to catch.

Was it just me or did the midway lack displays and companies showing off their wares? Nitro alley was also sparse. DSR's new expanded merchandise trailer was a big improvement tho. I enjoyed shopping there much better than the old tiny trailer. Plus, they had new 2014 stuff! Excellent job DSR!

Concession/food prices were stupid high. Jack was telling me he saw a family looking at the prices and the kids were hungry. The father had to tell them "sorry, can't afford it." I paid $9 bux for a hot dog, and $10 for a hamburger. That's just too much. The Fairplex did lower the parking price to $10 however. I surmise they have figured out that they pushed too hard last year with $15 dollar parking and are trying to gain back consumers. I paid $50 bux reserved for Friday, $60 reserved for Saturday and $45 for Sunday gen adm. Thank you to Mello Yello for the empty can $8 discount! It definitely is welcome!!!

Ticket vendors, takers and other staff throughout the facility were nice. I saw no intrusiveness or unpleasantness.

Congrats to the Maddern Racing team for winning on Hallowed ground. That was very enjoyable to watch. Cheers to my friend Greggo on the crew.

THANK YOU to Scott Palmer (top fuel) for your wonderful hospitality. It really really made my weekend. I wish more people knew what a good guy Scott is; I know they would become instant fans. People, please cheer for Scott and support his sponsors. He is a credit to the sport.

I also personally witnessed Bob Bode being incredibly awesome with a fan and Terry McMillen giving a young fan a blower belt and another a used slick. Great ambassadors of the sport.

Add your comments please!

 

[Race Fan]

Pomona, was FANTASTIC ! Somebody did there homework.
Q1 & Q2 on Friday was a hit, flames, fast racing, and a good time.

All the little changes, made a big difference.

If I could turn back time !
I would half to say Pomona-1 2014
WAS LIKE THE GOOD OL DAY'S

 

[.]

What did you guys think about the Sunday schedule?

I was not able to leave my seat in the grandstands to go buy concessions or look at the few displays or go be exposed to / made aware of sponsor brands in the pits or go spend money in the other areas because eliminations were a non-stop succession. I did not want to miss one elim.

The day ended at what, 4:30 ish? It was early. Recall that folks wanted a shorter day. I felt like Sunday went by fast.

I dunno, if things are going on schedule, what if a short break was installed into the program?

BTW, the recreation of Tommy Ivo's car that Tony Pedregon was just beautiful! I did not get to see it up close. I wonder where it will be. If any knows, please chime in.

 

[Jeff]

Paul, my guess that scheduling a break is out of the question .... you typically get a "boost induced" break or two so I just don't see them introducing a slow down of any sorts.

I did like the presentation of the TV show .... glad the season is going.

 

[Just Paul]

Thanks for the Write up Paul. I have not been to Pomona since 2005 or 2006, man I miss that place.

 

[paoldtimer]

Looking forward to visiting Pomona in the near future. (Kid just took a job in the LA area) Guess I need to bring extra $$ to buy a hot dog! Wow, that was sad.

 

[Toejam]

Paul, good running into you as usual. Your like me while at the track on the go gotta see everything and take everything in! I thought I saw some Great runs all weekend, and while nobody has mentioned it, I still hear from many people the economy in So. Cal hasn't recovered! Then there is the Million dollar question; why do all of us feel the need to see Packed stands? To validate our love for the sport? Does packed Grandstand make the racing any better?

 

[Murrieta Mad Man]

Great write up. Concerning the food prices... You can walk in with a cooler full of sandwiches and cokes. I think it was a 14"x14" cooler that was allowed. No beer or alcohol. The beer prices were pretty steep. Friday did get cold with the wind. Watching the Winged Express make exhibition runs and pulling the wheels up at half track was worth the admission alone.

 

[Greggo]

Great write-up Paul. Good to see you.
It was an awesome weekend for Team Peen! The car was on a rail and to win at that place was so special and quite emotional. Hopefully my voice will come back in a day or 2. Really special that my Dad was there to witness and experience it all. He said he really enjoyed hanging with my buds.

 

[john]

When I was a kid we would pack a cooler with drinks and sandwiches and during a break would make the long walk out to the car and enjoy the food and drinks we had brought, then walk back in when the action was starting back up. That of course was a long time ago (60's) and concessions were too expensive for us back then. I was just thankful that my dad spent the money for the tickets. Of course that was maybe only once or twice a summer that we could afford to do that.

 

[You!]

Interesting this year that we could hear the cars, both fuel and even P/S, at our home 11 miles NE of the track. Had always been sporadic in years past, but the cloud cover must have been just right for the sound to travel like it did.

I called the Pomona PD twice and complained.... ;-)

 

[Gipraw]

Thanks for the write up Paul.

Bode, McMillen and Millican are must visit pits if you have kids. Those guys all three bend over backwards to make time for the kids and it is always quality time.

 

[Race Fan]

Bode, McMillen and Millican are must visit pits if you have kids. Those guys all three bend over backwards to make time for the kids and it is always quality time.[/quote]


Don't forget about Scott Palmer.

 

[Mark]

Great write up. Concerning the food prices... You can walk in with a cooler full of sandwiches and cokes. I think it was a 14"x14" cooler that was allowed. No beer or alcohol. The beer prices were pretty steep. Friday did get cold with the wind. Watching the Winged Express make exhibition runs and pulling the wheels up at half track was worth the admission alone.

When my son and I were there this past November, we decided just to get concessions, since I didn't feel like carting a cooler (even a collapsible one) literally all the way across the country. I budgeted about 50 bucks a day for concessions, and that was about right. We also got the re-usable souvenir cup, and saved a bit using that. I'll probably do the same thing when my youngest son and I make the same trek in a few years.

 

[vegasnitro]

I loved the new HD NHRA Vision at the top end of the track. Much bigger than the old screen, much clearer too.

I froze my butt off Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning.

It was great seeing you too Paul. Thanks for hanging out with us and taking some pics for me on Sunday.

 

[PJ]

I always pack a box of granola bars and a few powerades in my backpack. Haven't had a problem getting in and it saves a ton on food.

 

[legendman]

Nice write up Paul, makes me want to catch a race this year.