Pomona Winternational Suggestions (1 Viewer)

Kurt

Nitro Member
Thinking of heading from the east coast to the west coast for Pomona next February. Looking for suggestions on reasonably priced hotels within 30-45 minutes of the track. And, is the Pomona experience worth the trip? Thanks.
 
If it's worth it really depends on the weather, I went to the finals in 2003 and the weather was perfect and I got to see Bernstein's final victory. I stayed at a Sheraton that was a few minutes from the track and it was reasonably priced (I lucked out because I was there for a meeting for work and they paid the bill). I would also look at Vegas, there's a lot more to do in the evenings :).
 
Yes it is Kurt, it lives in me to this day, went from 1965 thru 2012 even after I moved down South. I would highly suggest you stay in San Dimas a very short 8 to 9 minute drive down Arrow highway to the track. You have a motel 6, Red Roof Inn, or my fav place, the Comfort Suites that has nice room, pool, hot tub, safe parking, free breakfast and a open and free happy hour from 5 to 7. Boy have I bellied up to that bar after a day at the track,

I would strongly advise you fly in Ontario Airport instead of that cluster of LAX. That Comfort Suites is not cheap but to me it is worth it. I never missed 1 day at Pomona from those years listed above. It to me is special and a bucket list for a solid drag racing addict. There are many hotels in Ontario and such as well. Ya gotta got to the NHRA museum. The Pomona Fairplex hotel is another option. If you need any more helpfull hints you can PM me or ask on here, I can tell you the good and local food stops too.



TopFuel@Lions
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I love going to pomona. Coming from NY and being in socal is terrific. I have been to both the February and November race. I would definitely recommend the November race. The weather is so much better. This past Sunday was high 80’s. Beautiful day. Its not always that warm but usually nice. And we take a week or more and stay down in Dana point. Its only an hour to pomona. But a world apart. I like LA but the beach communities down around Dana point are beautiful and not crowded in November. We get an airbnb. But motel prices are not much higher than around the track.
 
Probably ought to do it soon as who knows how many more years the "anti ICE motors" CA laws will allow the Fairgrounds to lease the track to NHRA.
My son and I flew from Orlando to Ontario and it was well worth it to attend another historic track. We stayed in a hotel close to the Ontario Airport and had no problems. Our seats were pit side starting line on Friday, mid track on Saturday and top end seats for Sunday so we could get the full Pomona experience.
During a break in the Sunday action at Pomona, we heard the people sitting in front of us talking about the racing at Orlando Speed World and it turned out they lived in the Orlando area too. We flew all the way across the country to sit next to people who live close to us. Nice people but still a weird coincidence.
 
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There are many economical hotels/motels (In case you suddenly need one) that do not appear on travel websites, near the track. Most are not the big corporate chain ones. For example, along the 10 fwy heading East from the track at almost every exit is something.
Lately I've been staying at one on Vineyard in Ontario, but again, it's kinda unnecessarily far from the track (about 15 minutes). I don't mind. It's near Ontario Mills Mall center where there are food options.
It's hustle bustle because it's near the 10 and the 15.

If you want quiet, San Dimas area. Claremont has a couple too.

And hells yes it's worth it, but I'm biased. Pomona is my favorite!
 
Every trip to Pomona except for this past July I have always stayed at the Econo Lodge off 4th St. in Ontario. Sometime between November 2019 and July this year they changed brands into a Wyndham family of motel but I just checked their price for Winternationals weekend at its $81.75/night Fri-Mon. I've always felt safe in that area and its right off the I-10 and 10 miles from the track and only 2ish from Ontario Airport. As Mark said fly into Ontario instead of LAX. If you do that you might be able to get away with uber/lyft between the hotel and track and save versus an expensive rental car and an added bonus you save the $15/day in parking at the Fairplex.

As far as where to sit I personally just got the general admission tickets and spent the morning in the big grandstands at the finish line and the afternoon/evenings in the west side grandstands which Im not 100% sure but I feel like the west grandstands are the closest of any track I've been to although this year the west side was closed so Im hoping that is not a permanent deal.

Other things to think about, as far as food goes Im not to familiar with all thats around but one suggestion I will make, and I stop by every morning, is get the breakfast burritos at El Mercado which is literally right behind the tower. Them suckers are huge even though Im a big guy it fills me up and keeps me filled until the afternoon.

Ive only been to the finals except for the "Winter"nationals this year but in pre-covid times at least finals weekend they hold a museum night on Friday night where they usually have a q&a with a panel of three or four legends and its a pretty cool little bench racing session, it usually happens an hour after the final qualifying session that day and they have shuttles to take you there. Even if they do not have the q&a night still stop by the museum, its on the southeast end of the Fairplex property. Once again I do not know if they still do this but John Force's Yorba Linda museum was open to the public race weekends and on the Monday following, it is worth a stop and its only about 20 miles from the track.
 
Thinking of heading from the east coast to the west coast for Pomona next February. Looking for suggestions on reasonably priced hotels within 30-45 minutes of the track. And, is the Pomona experience worth the trip? Thanks.
Contrary to what some say. You can fly in and out of LAX. Arriving at LAX at 7:30pm - 9:30pm always worked well for me and then flying the red-eye back as well. I always flew non-stop out of Chicago ORD. Non-stop flights into Ontario were hard to come by and because of weather I think adding stops is risky.
 
Check the weather for the Feb. race. Of the many times I've been about half have been delayed due to rain and one because of snow of all things. Still in all its well worth the trip. Fresh cars etc. Great history and many side things to see including the many automotive museums and other gearhead type points of interest.
 
my advice is to load up your itinerary with plenty of other activities and other destinations, besides the race, since the race is always at the mercy of the weather. A great 'plan B' will come in handy, considering how far your traveling !
 
Thanks, all! Not sure we are going to make it work this February, but great advice for when we can make it happen!
 
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