What do you think were hi-lites of the Finals? (2 Viewers)

[Cliff]

Loved seeing EMPI on Ferre's car. didn't realize the car owned by Paton. Used to watch him run TA/FC years ago. Great the Canadians were able to travel to Pomona. Now we need some VW gassers to make a comeback. Loved that Karmen Ghia.

 

[Scoe]

It was a great day at the track. Great weather and a good crowd. Easily the crowd favorite was Cameron and his EMPI sponsored TF. Great job Paton family. Awesome tow vehicle too!
-Alexis D. did a throttle whack just as we walked up. That never gets old. Thanks Del and Nicky. Three motor police officers strode up thinking they could handle the nitro and throttle whack. That lasted 3 seconds.
-Karen (the good kind of Karen) Stoffer and WAR racing really had that Suzuki screaming. Suzuki had a huge display in an otherwise sad expo area. We are going to see a ton more Suzukis next year.
-That Oklahoma team's attempts to jimmy the qualifying failed. Congrats to Greg and KB Racing.
-The Karmen Ghia and the candy apple red corvette in Super Stock were gorgeous. Big John Mazmanian would have been jealous.
-The wheelstanders were MEH. Bring back Wild Bill and the LA Dart.
-I paid $61 for 4 hotdogs and two drinks. GA seats were $66 and parking was $15
-Most interesting was Camping World signage or lack of it. We sat at around 900' today and I dared my wife to see if she could spot a Camping World sign. She couldn't. CW was mentioned on the PA but not with much frequency or enthusiasm. Also, no jumbo checks for the World Champions. The celebrations seemed muted and produced with less enthusiasm than was observed in the past.

Aside from the inappropriate political messaging, it was a great day in the CA sunshine.

Great breakdown. And lemme guess, the messaging was LGB or FJB?

 

[J. S.]

These are all good, well-thought out comments.

I was in the GA grandstands on Sunday around 3/4 track. By far the biggest applause of the day was A) for the Ferre/Paton EMPI car as they towed back to the pits after each round, and B) towards the end of the day, some guys on a golf cart had a big "Go Brandon" flag and they drove along the return road to the end of the grandstands and turned around to head back towards the starting line. Darn near everyone cheered loudly for that flag. LOTS of anti-Biden fans (no surprise there) at the drags. It was a great moment.

 

[Jack]

And a nice job to Matt Smith on keeping the shiny side (and himself) upright and undamaged in his 3rd round trip into the litter. Then coming back in round 4 to win the race. Takes a cool head for sure.

 

[mick]

Capps was on the Drag Illustrated/Wes Buck show last Wednesday.......... It’s an interesting show.

just watched/listened. very interesting for sure. thanks chris. how can you not like ron capps. have always enjoyed his personality. actually there are soooo many great personalities;
drivers/owners/crew/media. ....... pomona was a great race, and all the comments on this thread about the race are rite on.

 

[Bubba]

Loved seeing EMPI on Ferre's car. didn't realize the car owned by Paton. Used to watch him run TA/FC years ago. Great the Canadians were able to travel to Pomona. Now we need some VW gassers to make a comeback. Loved that Karmen Ghia.

This Canadian was very happy with Ferre and the Paton's performance.

The Alcohol Finals were fantastic.

 

[I was NITRO BREATH]

You are right Mark. The celebrations were muted. The NHRA president has ALWAYS done the presentation of the championship trophy with a short speech but Cromwell just does a handshake below the stage ? What's with that ?

The speeches were never anything to write home about. So really no loss. Better to hear from the champs

 

[Jer]

So i guess marcus lemonis wasnt there again LOL

 

[4onthefl4]

These are all good, well-thought out comments.

I was in the GA grandstands on Sunday around 3/4 track. By far the biggest applause of the day was A) for the Ferre/Paton EMPI car as they towed back to the pits after each round, and B) towards the end of the day, some guys on a golf cart had a big "Go Brandon" flag and they drove along the return road to the end of the grandstands and turned around to head back towards the starting line. Darn near everyone cheered loudly for that flag. LOTS of anti-Biden fans (no surprise there) at the drags. It was a great moment.

Did you catch what Bobby Lagana said after Steve won, "God Bless America".

 

[.]

I went Fri, Sat, and Sun. I had a great time! A little warm but overall a great time. Random notes in no particular order:

yeah, I didn't see Camping World signage much either. I did see it in the winner's circle a bunch tho. I saw more of Corky's Kitchen signage than Camping World. The left lane scoreboard is sponsored by them. I had no idea what Corky's was until a minute ago when I googled it. Apparently a local diner breakfast establishment. I'll check it out next time. I went to El Merendero tho. (El Merendero is a small but great Mexican restaurant behind the tower but off the Fairplex property) How cool is El Merendero that they use a Marshall amp to call out the order numbers LOL

It does not go to eleven for when you need that extra.

And that Corky's left lane scoreboard was malfunctioning a lot! WTF? Someone claimed it was because it was too hot out? Still, the Las Vegas scoreboards are the worst: totally unreadable illegible in any condition.

Got to see/hang out with a few fellow maters, that was wonderful.

Was a little surprised to see the A/fuel cars run as quick as they did given the warm air. We need more cowbell for the blower cars now to help them keep up. Had fun watching the alcohol cars.

During qualifying, Bobby Bode's car wouldn't get into reverse. I was sitting above "the archway" and witnessed Terry Haddock and his guys run hard and fast to get to Bode's car and push it back. They hurdled the wall like olympic decathletes. It was a beautiful awesome moment. Hats off to Terry and his crew great job.

It felt really good to get that "fuzz" sensation thru the body when the fuel cars ran. The nitro and race fuels smelled wonderful! Loved it.

Happy to witness Karen Stoffer get that 200 MPH finally. That was awesome.

Cameron Ferre's team received lots of cheers and applause every time they went up the return road. Crowd loves this team. They did have that old cool VW bus/tow vehicle.

Why does the CAPCO pits play loud gangster rap music all day? LOL Every time I went by.

Got to see actor Danny Trejo in person up-close in the Bandero Tequila pit. LOL

The track soundsystem by MTX (an NHRA sponsor) was ok but a few of the speakers "clip" and go out during loud speaking moments. We missed many things.

Alan Reinhart did a great job announcing over the weekend.

We did not have a big screen Sunocovision at half track this time. That was a bummer; all of us not in the start line bleachers couldn't see the one behind the start line.

I saw lots of smiling faces and happy people and new 1st time attendees. It felt good to be out (it was my first event since the epidemic started). Saw lots of reunions.

The 10 am Sunday start time maybe caught lots of people off-guard in spite of the many times Reinhart advised over the p.a. on Saturday. Where I sat at the 1000' mark, I could see the entrance and there were still a bunch of people out there coming in. Still, we ended in daylight and it was a good call.

I purchased a 2X World Champion Ron Capps T-shirt ($30 + tax) at the DSR merch trailer after the semis. That they had them printed up and ready to go is pushing karma a little bit there no? Man, I don't want to jinx anything! I 'm guessing they have some Matt Hagan ones they printed up too just in case?

One of Capps' crew members' girl is expecting a baby and they had a gender reveal confetti during the championship photo session; it was nice. (a boy btw).

btw the 49ers could use that tall crew guy on the end; he tackled the dad-to-be. Niners need help! Ron also got tackled by a big NAPA guy. Niners could use that guy too! LOL

In N' Out hamburgers brought in 3 gigantic long truck/trailer/mobile kitchens set up behind the Cooner Wire entry arch after the finals. Musta been a big bill on that one!

I had no problems getting in or out of the Fairplex the entire weekend. In fact, Sunday night, I went from the Fairplex to my house in Santa Maria in 3 hours flat; a new personal best. Not a lot of the usual Los Angeles traffic. Gas prices out here at $4.65 gal suck!

No one got hurt, no incidences. I had an enjoyable weekend. Thanx to everyone that went. Am looking forward to the 2022 season!!!

 

[Randy]

Not necessarily highlights, but observations.

Not a lot of incidents last weekend, but the track safety crew did a good job keeping the ball rolling all weekend. I shook hard in Q1 and the finish line gate was swung open before I came to in the car. LOL.

One thing I would like to see is the shut off area repaired. The bumps are pretty bad. And once a car gets bouncing it's hard to stop. Brian LaFlam found out the hard way. While I know it's not under NHRA's control, the asphalt in the pit areas is getting very bad. Bad enough to where you need to be very careful towing your race car, and you need to be observant when parking your rig in the pits. There were several sizable "chuck holes' and loose asphalt chunks especially back in the sportsman pits that are not race car friendly.

The Fairplex hosts an automotive swap meet about every two months. One of the top dragster racers pitted near me collected a coffee can full of bolts, screws, chunks of steel, and so forth in and around his pit area left over from one of the swap meet vendors last month. One of those screws found it's way through his right rear Hoosier slick before qualifying. He was planning on replacing the rear tires anyway, so no harm done, but with all the race cars and rigs it's a little unnerving to know you are vulnerable to leftover debris.

 

[J. S.]

"Cameron Ferre's team received lots of cheers and applause every time they went up the return road. Crowd loves this team. They did have that old cool VW bus/tow vehicle.

Why does the CAPCO pits play loud gangster rap music all day? LOL Every time I went by.

Allan Reinhart did a great job announcing over the weekend.

We did not have a big screen Sunocovision at half track this time. That was a bummer; all of us not in the start line bleachers couldn't see the one behind the start line.

The 10 am Sunday start time maybe caught lots of people off-guard in spite of the many times Reinhart advised over the p.a. on Saturday. Where I sat at the 1000' mark, I could see the entrance and there were still a bunch of people out there coming in. Still, we ended in daylight and it was a good call."



Yes, that loud-ass "music" coming from both Capco pits all day was really irritating. Not only was it not my taste, but they really don't need to turn it up so loud that they can hear it all the way in La Verne.

It was odd that there was no Sunoco vision screen for us people in the cheap seats near the finish line. We could not see any of the replays. Was this a cost-saving measure by NHRA? Or did the other screen have a problem?

I agree that the 10am start threw some people, as the crowd was a bit light for 1st round, but by 2nd round the stands were about normal for a Sunday.

 

[ol21stud]

The irony of the two Items that Paul Flores posted above, with one right after the other, caught my eye:

• The track sound system by MTX (an NHRA sponsor) was ok but a few of the speakers "clip" and go out during loud speaking moments. We missed many things.
• Allan Reinhart did a great job announcing over the weekend.

I watched on FS1 so I didn't get to hear Mr. Reinhart's typically excellent commentary.

 

[Tom Slick]

Sadly I think that NHRA's days at Pomona are numbered. I wouldn't expect much in the way of improvements to the facility and/or race track any time soon. The NHRA clearly puts very little effort into marketing their home event and this years Finals are yet another example. Zero media hype, limited manufactures mid-way, expensive event tickets, expensive parking, expensive concessions, etc. The LA County Fair is to blame for high parking and consessions and there is no end to how expensive this event will continue to be. With the NHRA moving to Indianapolis, LA County being a complete sh!t show, lack of interest and a dying motorsport culture, the Pomona races are fading fast. Sad, because I grew up in Glendora and have attended Pomona races for over 40 years.

 

[Scoe]

"Cameron Ferre's team received lots of cheers and applause every time they went up the return road. Crowd loves this team. They did have that old cool VW bus/tow vehicle.

Why does the CAPCO pits play loud gangster rap music all day? LOL Every time I went by.

Allan Reinhart did a great job announcing over the weekend.

We did not have a big screen Sunocovision at half track this time. That was a bummer; all of us not in the start line bleachers couldn't see the one behind the start line.

The 10 am Sunday start time maybe caught lots of people off-guard in spite of the many times Reinhart advised over the p.a. on Saturday. Where I sat at the 1000' mark, I could see the entrance and there were still a bunch of people out there coming in. Still, we ended in daylight and it was a good call."



Yes, that loud-ass "music" coming from both Capco pits all day was really irritating. Not only was it not my taste, but they really don't need to turn it up so loud that they can hear it all the way in La Verne.

It was odd that there was no Sunoco vision screen for us people in the cheap seats near the finish line. We could not see any of the replays. Was this a cost-saving measure by NHRA? Or did the other screen have a problem?

I agree that the 10am start threw some people, as the crowd was a bit light for 1st round, but by 2nd round the stands were about normal for a Sunday.

If crowds can chant vulgar things or cheer on euphemisms about the president then Capco should be able to get into their zone with some gangsta rap.

 

[Chili]

"Cameron Ferre's team received lots of cheers and applause every time they went up the return road. Crowd loves this team. They did have that old cool VW bus/tow vehicle.

Why does the CAPCO pits play loud gangster rap music all day? LOL Every time I went by.

Allan Reinhart did a great job announcing over the weekend.

We did not have a big screen Sunocovision at half track this time. That was a bummer; all of us not in the start line bleachers couldn't see the one behind the start line.

The 10 am Sunday start time maybe caught lots of people off-guard in spite of the many times Reinhart advised over the p.a. on Saturday. Where I sat at the 1000' mark, I could see the entrance and there were still a bunch of people out there coming in. Still, we ended in daylight and it was a good call."



Yes, that loud-ass "music" coming from both Capco pits all day was really irritating. Not only was it not my taste, but they really don't need to turn it up so loud that they can hear it all the way in La Verne.

It was odd that there was no Sunoco vision screen for us people in the cheap seats near the finish line. We could not see any of the replays. Was this a cost-saving measure by NHRA? Or did the other screen have a problem?

I agree that the 10am start threw some people, as the crowd was a bit light for 1st round, but by 2nd round the stands were about normal for a Sunday.

Most likely the single Sunoco Vision is a cost thing. Same deal in Indy. It was to the left of the tower. Nobody half track down on the pro pit side could see it. Hoping it will return next year.

 

[.]

The irony of the two Items that Paul Flores posted above, with one right after the other, caught my eye:

• The track sound system by MTX (an NHRA sponsor) was ok but a few of the speakers "clip" and go out during loud speaking moments. We missed many things.
• Alan Reinhart did a great job announcing over the weekend.

Phil Trover the speakers had trouble with Joe Costello's dynamic and enthusiastic moments. Alan has the perfect speaking volume for the mics/sound system. Sadly, most guest speakers/drivers/crew chiefs/others speak very quietly on mic and we can't / couldn't hear them.

 

[Randy]

Phil Trover the speakers had trouble with Joe Costello's dynamic and enthusiastic moments. Alan has the perfect speaking volume for the mics/sound system. Sadly, most guest speakers/drivers/crew chiefs/others speak very quietly on mic and we can't / couldn't hear them.

Yes. And Brian Corradi, unfortunately, is very hard to understand on the mic.

 

[Nicolas Hoover]

HI-Lites Capps reaction to 2nd Championship, Matt Smith Championship(albeit putting er in the sandbox)! I'm not a negative person, I just complain ALOT hehe However That darned dragstrip had a badly biased lane(no lane choice racer lane) Gary "The Teacher's PetFC/Team" Densham not qualifying at last race was a major bummer. I kinda expected more outta The Brittany Force Team. Anywho that was that But Congrats to all the NHRA 2021 Winston Champs I mean CAMPINGWORLD 2021 NHRA Champs! LOL . P.S The racers love and live this great sport and we know they $pend some $erius Buck$ maybe add a lil class with a better venue and party all together it makes a nice closing chapter for the hard worked season!

 

[robinjackson]

This is a great thread. I'm really enjoying reading these comments -- very enlightening.