Winternationals : Drag Race Champions Start Fast in Pomona Qualifying

Last year’s Winston World drag racing champions came out of the box Thursday as if they meant to hold onto their laurels.

Dick LaHaie in top fuel, Kenny Bernstein in funny car and Bob Glidden in pro stock not only took first-round qualifying honors in the 28th annual Chief Auto Parts Winternationals at the Pomona Fairplex--they broke records in doing it.

LaHaie, driving a new Dave Uyehara-built dragster for Larry Minor’s Miller High Life team, raced down the quarter-mile strip in 5.191 seconds at 279.58 m.p.h. Both his elapsed time and speed were Winternationals records, bettering the 5.298 and 270.59 set last year by Don Garlits, who is not competing this year.

“The 5.19 gives us a starting point,” LaHaie said. “I know we can improve the elapsed time. But overall I am pleased with the performance.”

Darrell Gwynn of Miami, who has won two of the last three major top fuel events at Pomona--the 1986 Winternationals and 1986 and 1987 Winston Finals--was second quickest with a 5.262 run.

Amato, runner-up to LaHaie in last year’s world championship series, did not make a qualifying run Thursday because of problems with his clutch.

Three-time world champion Bernstein, who will debut a new Buick Reatta in place of last year’s LeSabre, broke his own elapsed time record with a 5.411 run against John Force, who set an all-time record of 5.34 last Sunday at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix. Force, in his ’87 Firenza, smoked his tires and shut off early. Bernstein’s old record was 5.482.

Bernstein credited a new spoiler designed by crew chief Dale Armstrong and aerodynamicist Gary Wheeler for his quick run.

“We had to make some changes after Phoenix and getting a new spoiler obviously helped,” Bernstein said.

“The car left a little soft, but it made it up in the middle of the track and went real hard. I had trouble at the finish line with the sun in my eyes and I may have shut off just a little early, but I don’t think it would have affected the ET. Maybe the miles per hour, though.”

Bernstein’s speed of 265.80 was second fastest to the 268.09 of Tripp Shumake, who was driving Billy Meyer’s new Ciera. Meyer, who won last year’s Winston Finals, is not racing this year because of his new duties as owner of the International Hot Rod Assn.

“I had to cut back somewhere, and it seemed like driving was the logical place,” Meyer said. “I couldn’t very well run in my own IHRA events because of a conflict of interest, so I hired Tripp to drive my car all year.”

Glidden, who has been the fastest pro stock qualifier in the last 21 NHRA national events, appeared likely to make it 22 when he broke the meet record with a 7.391-second run in his year-old Ford Thunderbird. This bettered the 1987 record of 7.403 by Warren Johnson of Duluth, Ga.

Glidden’s time was more than one-tenth better than Joe Lepone’s Chevy Berreta, who was second at 7.419.

Qualifying for the three professional classes will resume at 2 p.m. today and will conclude with a double session Saturday. Eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday.