Drag Racing Story of the Day - NHRA 2001 Winternationals, Thursday Qualifying

Racing Season is BACK! Early Qualifying from the 2001 NHRA Winternationals

POMONA, Calif. - Jerry Toliver led Funny Car qualifying Thursday at the 41st annual AutoZone Winternationals at Pomona Raceway, NHRA's 50th Anniversary season-opener.

Doug Kalitta, Bruce Allen and Randy Daniels also were the leaders of their respective categories at the $1.9 million race, the first of 24 events in the $50 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.

Toliver sped down the quarter-mile in 4.878 seconds at 314.09 mph in his 'XFL'-theme WWF Racing Pontiac Firebird to lead the 16-car field.

"To come out of the box and run that well says a lot about our crew and (crew chief) Dale Armstrong," said Toliver. "I'm pumped. We didn't make it past half-track in testing, but Dale kept telling me that we would be fine. As always, he was right. This shaping up to be a great weekend."

Kalitta covered the distance in 4.578 at 315.71 in his Mac Tools dragster to lead all Top Fuel competitors. "The conditions were real nice out there today, almost ideal," said Kalitta. "Still, we were pretty surprised to run that quick on the first lap of the event. There's a long weekend ahead and there are a some great cars here."

Allen's pass of 6.828 at 201.16 in his Reher-Morrison Pontiac Grand Am was enough to set the pace in Pro Stock. Daniels' drove his Bailey Trucking Chevy S-10 to a run of 7.461 at 180.16 to lead the Pro Stock Truck order. Qualifying continues Friday at 2 p.m.

POMONA, Calif. - Thursday's qualifying results from the 41st annual AutoZone Winternationals at Pomona Raceway, the season-opener of the NHRA's 50th Anniversary. The race is the first of 24 events in the $50-million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL
1. Doug Kalitta, 4.578 seconds, 315.71 mph; 2. Mike Dunn, 4.606, 315.49; 3. Larry Dixon, 4.632, 303.84; 4. David Grubnic, 4.638, 314.75; 5. Tim Gibson, 4.650, 313.37; 6. Tony Schumacher, 4.701, 303.37; 7. Gary Scelzi, 4.763, 299.33; 8. Darrell Russell, 4.769, 300.06; 9. Doug Herbert, 5.291, 186.95; 10. Howard Haight, 6.556, 140.56; 11. Bobby Baldwin, 9.214, 86.59; 12. Kenny Bernstein, 10.709, 92.04; 13. Andrew Cowin, 13.146, 74.62.

FUNNY CAR
1. Jerry Toliver, Pontiac Firebird, 4.878, 314.09; 2. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.931, 266.06; 3. Del Worsham, Firebird, 4.957, 306.95; 4. Johnny Gray, Firebird, 4.974, 308.35; 5. John Lawson, Firebird, 4.985, 301.60; 6. Al Hofmann, Firebird, 5.059, 294.75; 7. Gary Densham, Chevy Camaro, 5.075, 295.72; 8. Bob Gilbertson, Camaro, 5.098, 300.93; 9. Jim Epler, Camaro, 5.138, 284.27; 10. Ron Capps, Camaro, 5.410, 206.01; 11. Dean Skuza, Dodge R/T, 5.439, 200.53; 12. Whit Bazemore, Firebird, 5.906, 155.58; 13. Tony Bartone, Camaro, 6.046, 152.31; 14. Bob Hallock, Firebird, 6.580, 136.59; 15. Chuck Etchells, Camaro, 6.694, 136.48; 16. Scotty Cannon, Firebird, 6.784, 117.85.

PRO STOCK
1. Bruce Allen, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.828, 201.16; 2. Warren Johnson, Grand Am, 6.836, 201.91; 3. Ron Krisher, Pontiac Firebird, 6.858, 200.80; 4. Arturo Delgado, Chevy Camaro, 6.879, 199.76; 5. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cavalier, 6.881, 202.18; 6. Richie Stevens, Grand Am, 6.882, 200.35; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Oldsmobile Cutlass, 6.886, 199.94; 8. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.893, 200.38; 9. Robert Patrick, Ford Mustang, 6.895, 200.20; 10. Brad Jeter, Grand Am, 6.904, 199.79; 11. Tom Martino, Grand Am, 6.906, 200.29; 12. Troy Coughlin, Cutlass, 6.907, 198.93; 13. George Marnell, Grand Am, 6.911, 199.94; 14. Mark Pawuk, Grand Am, 6.912, 199.82; 15. Darrell Alderman, Dodge R/T, 6.914, 200.74; 16. Brad Klein, Firebird, 6.915, 200.17.

PRO STOCK TRUCK
1. Randy Daniels, Chevy S-10, 7.461, 180.16; 2. Scott Perin, S-10, 7.474, 179.95; 3. Bob Panella Jr, S-10, 7.485, 181.42; 4. Jeff Gracia, S-10, 7.504, 179.14; 5. Greg Stanfield, S-10, 7.515, 179.11; 6. Mark Whisnant, S-10, 7.531, 180.28; 7. Joe Pigford, S-10, 7.533, 178.31; 8. Brian Self, S-10, 7.536, 179.28; 9. Todd Patterson, Dodge Dakota, 7.537, 179.06; 10. Bart Price, S-10, 7.538, 179.04; 11. Mike Corvo Jr, GMC Sonoma, 7.538, 177.98; 12. Mike Coughlin, S-10, 7.541, 178.97; 13. Jeff Naiser, S-10, 7.548, 178.12; 14. John Lingenfelter, Sonoma, 7.551, 178.59; 15. Matt Rhoades, S-10, 7.552, 178.83; 16. John Coughlin, S-10, 7.557, 179.73.

Drag Racing Story of the Day!