Lombardo Lightens Up, Gets Record

John Lombardo of Newhall took his “Blue Max” to the maximum Friday at the Winternationals in Pomona--establishing a Los Angeles County Fairgrounds and national funny car record with a 5.68-second run down the quarter-mile strip.

Holly Beadle, whose husband, Raymond, drove the Ford Mustang until this season and still owns the car, attributed the quick time to the car’s new fighting weight.

“They’ve lightened the car up,” she said. “We’ve got new wheels on the car that are 40 pound lighter than the old ones. And John is about 40 pounds lighter than Ray.”

The 250.69 m.p.h. run made Lombardo the top funny car qualifier.

Tim Grose of Saugus was the No. 2 funny car qualifier Friday. The 30-year-old racer covered the strip in an ’82 Charger in 5.7 seconds at 231.12 m.p.h. He thinks he can beat Lombardo on Sunday.

“I lifted up the throttle about 300 feet before the finish line, which is why I was down in the 230 range,” Grose said. “So there is a good chance for the national record.”

Dale Pulde of Granada Hills was the seventh-fastest funny car qualifier Friday with a a 5.83-second run at 251.6 m.p.h. Don Prudhomme of Northridge had engine trouble and did not qualify.