NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The legendary dragstrip in Pomona plays host this weekend to the 65th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, race No. 3 of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

Splendid weather is forecast for the weekend at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, which has 104 NHRA national events in its history: 64 Winternationals, 39 editions of the season finale, and the special 50th Anniversary Nationals in July 2001.

The event will get a supercharged addition today with the running of the Right Trailers NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, originally scheduled for the season opener in Gainesville but postponed due to inclement weather.

Selections for the big-money bonus race were made on Friday in Gainesville and will carry over to Pomona. Top seed Steve Torrence will take on Tony Stewart as his opening-round opponent, while Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican will face off in the opening round. Shawn Langdon and defending world champion Antron Brown will race, while the final first-round pair features Justin Ashley and Brittany Force.

While the focus on Friday will be on Top Fuel, the early-season focus has been on Funny Car, where the season’s first two winners – Chad Green in Gainesville and Paul Lee last weekend in Phoenix – upset the favorites to reach the winner’s circle, locking out top guns, including world champ Austin Prock and past world champs Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, and Ron Capps. Capps, a four-time Winternationals champ, will be looking for a huge rebound after a car-destroying engine explosion and guardwall shunt in Phoenix. 

Kalitta Motorsports’ Langdon has been the early star in Top Fuel, leading the points after a runner-up in Gainesville and a win in Phoenix – where he also captured the season’s first Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge title on Saturday – but he’s sure to be challenged by Ashley, who has won the last three Winternationals and will be looking to become just the second Pro driver in NHRA history to win the Pomona event four straight years, and his own teammate, 2023 world champ Doug Kalitta, who with four Winternationals wins, is the most successful active Top Fuel driver at the event.

Fans who were in Pomona for last year’s season finale no doubt remember the epic winner-take-all Pro Stock final round between Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn, which went to Anderson and earned him his sixth world championship. The two KB Titan Racing teammates have also raced in the two Pro Stock final rounds since then, with Anderson winning a week ago in Phoenix and Glenn taking the season-opening title in Gainesville. Race fans are expecting the powerhouse Elite Motorsports team to rebound soon and put a halt to the KB team’s dominance of the factory hot rod class, but will it happen in Pomona?

2024 EVENT WINNERS

Justin Ashley, Top Fuel; John Force, Funny Car; Dallas Glenn, Pro Stock

MOST EVENT VICTORIES

Don Garlits, 6, TF; Doug Kalitta, 4, TF (active driver); John Force, 7, FC; Matt Hagan and Ron Capps, 4 (active drivers) Bob Glidden, 7, PS; Greg Anderson, 6, PS (active driver).

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.628 seconds by Clay Millican, Feb. '18; 338.94 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. ‘22.
Funny Car - 3.804 seconds by Austin Prock, Nov. '24; 341.68 mph by Prock, Nov. '24
Pro Stock - 6.480 seconds by Erica Enders, Nov. '14; 213.84 mph by Drew Skillman, Nov. '15.

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, Minn.; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. ’24, Pomona, Calif.
Pro Stock - 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, Mar. ’25, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May ’14, Englishtown N.J.

FRIDAY, March 28
Lucas Oil Series qualifying and eliminations at 8:30 a.m.
Top Alcohol qualifying at 11:30 a.m., TAFC 2:50 p.m. and TAD 5:20 p.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock qualifying at 4:30 p.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car qualifying at 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Right Trailers NHRA Allstar Top Fuel Callout eliminations at 2:00 p.m., 3:20 p.m. and 4:55 p.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at 2:15 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, March 29 
Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8:30 a.m.
Top Alcohol qualifying at 11:00 a.m. and eliminations TAD at 4:30 p.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock qualifying at 1:45 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, March 30
Pre-race ceremony, 9:45 a.m.
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 11:00 a.m.

TELEVISION

FRIDAY: March 28, FS1 will televise one hour of Top Fuel All-Star Callout highlights at 9:30 p.m. (ET)
SATURDAY, March 29, FS1 will televise one and half hour of qualifying highlights at 8:00 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, March 30, FS1 will televise one and half hour of qualifying highlights at 12:00 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, March 30, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. (ET)