After taking the winter months off the NHRA Drag Racing season has begun at the Auto Club Raceway At Pomona with the 51st Annual Kragen-O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals.
Larry Dixon, the 2010 Top Fuel champion was the #1 qualifier and set a new Top Fuel national record with a 3.770, which was just slightly better then the previous record of 3.771 held by Tony Schumacher.
Cruz Pedregon took the #1 spot on his third qualifying pass with a run of 4.015. Cruz will take on his brother Tony Pedregon in the first round on Sunday after he finished qualifying in the #16 spot. John Force, the 2010 Funny Car Champion qualified in the #5 spot. Unfortunately one of my favorite cars of 2011, the In-N-Out Funny Car driven by Melanie Troxell will not be in the field of 16 on Sunday.
Erica Enders ran a career-best 6.553 in her first qualifying attempt and that ET held up through two rounds of Pro Stock qualifying giving her the #1 spot. Greg Anderson, the 2010 Pro Stock Champion qualified in the #2 spot. Former Pro Stock Champion Mike Edwards failed to qualify for the 16 car field.
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| Larry Dixon | Cruz Pedregon | Erica Enders |
Here are are my picks for the winners:
Top Fuel - Larry Dixon
Funny Car - Jack Beckman
Pro Stock - Greg Anderson
