NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The 21st and final event in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is on deck as the tour moves to historic In-N-Out Burger Pomona Raceway, where champions will be crowned in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, and a handful of NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman classes.

The nitro classes will be front and center as there are multiple contenders for the titles in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

Realistically, there are five drivers still in contention for the Top Fuel title as Steve Torrence, Leah Pruett, Doug Kalitta, Mike Salinas, and Justin Ashley are all within 82 points of the lead, and the Pomona event offers points-and-a-half, meaning each round-win is worth 30 points.

Torrence holds the upper hand as he’s got a slim 15-point advantage over Kalitta, while Pruett is just 34 points back after a solid performance during the Countdown to the Championship. Given all the possible scenarios, there is a distinct possibility that the title isn’t decided until the final round on Sunday.

The Funny Car points battle is equally exciting with just 17 points separating Matt Hagan, Bob Tasca III, and Robert Hight. Hagan and Hight are both seeking their fourth championships, while Tasca is hoping to win his first. Hight and Hagan each have six victories in Pomona, while Tasca’s lone Pomona win came at the 2021 NHRA Finals.

The championship battle aside, the Funny Car class is loaded with talent, including world champs John Force, J.R. Todd, defending event winner Cruz Pedregon, and Del Worsham, who is making his return to the class as a driver in addition to his more familiar role as Alexis DeJoria’s crew chief.

The Pro Stock title is all but decided as Erica Enders is well on her way to a sixth championship, which means she’ll likely join an exclusive club that includes just 10-time champ Bob Glidden and Warren Johnson, who also has six Pro Stock titles. Enders has a 114-point lead over Greg Anderson, which means she likely needs to win just one round of eliminations in order to make it official.

While there might not be much drama left in the Pro Stock points battle, the competition just to make the field will be intense as there are 23 cars on the entry list competing for just 16 spots in the field.

So far this season, seven drivers, Enders, Greg Anderson, Dallas Glenn, Matt Hartford, Deric Kramer, Troy Coughlin Jr., and Camrie Caruso, have won Pro Stock events.

The points battle in Pro Stock Motorcycle is also just about over as second-year phenom Gaige Herrera has already won 10 events for the Vance & Hines team and only needs to qualify in order to clinch his first title. Herrera can make history by winning an 11th event, and he’s a huge favorite to do just that.

In addition to Herrera, teammate Eddie Krawiec is still chasing his 50th career victory, while Matt Smith, Hector Arana Jr., Jerry Savoie, Kelly Clontz, Joey Gladstone, Jianna Evaristo, and veteran Steve Johnson are most likely to grab a victory should Herrera slip up.

The Top Alcohol Dragster should also be of particular interest to Pomona fans as the 24-car pre-entry list includes NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Angelle Sampey, and Julie Nataas, who recently locked up her first world title in the class.

2022 EVENT WINNERS

Austin Prock, Top Fuel; Cruz Pedregon, Funny Car; Greg Anderson, Pro Stock; Angie Smith, Pro Stock Motorcycle

 MOST VICTORIES

Don Garlits, Doug Kalitta, Tony Schumacher, 6, TF; John Force, 16, FC; Greg Anderson, 14, PS; John Myers, Matt Smith, 5, PSM.

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.628 seconds by Clay Millican, Feb. '18; 338.94 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. ‘22

Funny Car - 3.822 seconds by Matt Hagan, Feb. '17; 337.33 mph byRon Capps, Nov. '22

Pro Stock - 6.480 seconds by Erica Enders, Nov. '14; 213.84 mph by Drew Skillman, Nov. '15

Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.703 seconds by Angelle Sampey, Nov. 22; 202.94 by Angie Smith, Nov. 22.

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 338.94 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. ‘22, Pomona, Calif.

Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 339.87 mph by Robert Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif.

Pro Stock - 6.450 sec. by Erica Enders, March '22, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown, N.J.

Pros Stock Motorcycle – 6.627 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Oct. 23, Dallas; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July ’21, Sonoma, Calif.

EVENT SCHEDULE (Pacific Time)

FRIDAY, Nov. 10

Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing Series eliminations at 8:30 a.m.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

SATURDAY, Nov. 11

Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing Series eliminations at 8:30 a.m.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at noon and 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, Nov. 12

Pre-Race ceremonies begin at 9:30 a.m.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, Nov. 12, FS1 will televise two hour of qualifying coverage at 2 p.m. ET

SUNDAY, Nov. 12, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 4 p.m. ET

SUNDAY, Nov. 12, FS1 will televise a 30-minute post-race show at 7 p.m. ET.

Watch all day on NHRA.tv