NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Anthony Bertozzi doubles to lead Winternationals Sportsman champions

Nine champions were crowned in Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, led by Anthony Bertozzi, who doubled up for the second time in his career, winning in Top Dragster and Super Stock.
03 Apr 2023
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
Anthony Bertozzi

In addition to the Camping World Drag Racing Series action taking place at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, nine champions were also crowned in Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, led by Anthony Bertozzi, who doubled up for the second time in his career, winning in Top Dragster and Super Stock.

Two-time world champ Anthony Bertozzi earned the first leg of an historic double when he claimed the victory in Right Trailers Top Dragster. Bertozzi topped Andy Spiegel in the final with a 6.66 on his 6.63 dial in a race decided by .012-second. [video]

Moments after winning the Right Trailers Top Dragster class, Bertozzi claimed his second career double when he also scored in Super Stock. Bertozzi was nearly-perfect off the starting line and ran an 8.98 on his 8.93 dial to hold off veteran Len Schneider, who won his first national event in Phoenix in 1994. [video]

Joey Severance, the defending Top Alcohol Dragster world champ, got started on his next 25 wins with a victory at the Winternationals, hi. second at the storied event and his fourth in Pomona. The final round was a classic power struggle between the West Coast’s two premier blown alcohol dragster drivers, and Severance won easily with a 5.25 after five-time Winternationals winner Shawn Cowie smoked the tires at the green. [video]

Reigning Top Alcohol Funny Car world champ Doug Gordon, who will retire from driving at the end of the season to turn the reins over to daughter Maddi scored in his 2023 national debut, wheeling the Beta Motorcycles Camaro to an emotional win over former world champ Shane Westerfield, who was racing in honor of his late team owner, Rick Jackson. Gordon was a brilliant .023 on the Tree in the final and raced to his first Winternationals triumph in 20 years on a 5.44 to 5.45 count. [video]

Andrew Moeck went wire-to-wire for his first career Comp win, qualifying his 220-mph, methanol-fueled, supercharged AA/AM GTO in the No. 1 spot and then defeating 2019 Winternationals champion Scott McClay’s C./ED in the final, (-.60) 6.35 to (-.56) 7.18. [video]

It took just a week for Kyle Rizzoli to rebound from a final-round loss in Phoenix as he stopped Brian McClanahan in the Stock final to claim his 12th national event win and fourth in Pomona. Rizzoli sealed the win with a tight .017-seccond package. [video]

Jessica Bogacki joined her husband, three-time world champion Luke, as an NHRA national event, with a superlative effort in Super Comp. Bogacki was in the teens in reaction time throughout the race and saved her best light for the final, cutting a clutch .005 and running 8.928 to defeat Logan Warr’s identical-but-later pass for her first win. [video]

Marko Perivolaris claimed his sixth career win and his second in Super Gas, drilling the Christmas Tree with a .004 reaction time in the final and racing his Camaro to a 9.914 to defeat two-time Winternationals champ Val Torres Sr.’s 9.921. [video]

Chris Newman claimed his second win in Right Trailers Top Sportsman by beating reigning world champ Lance Abbott in the final. Newman ran dead-on his 6.65 dial for the win after Abbott broke out by three-thousandths. [video]