A strong Santa Ana wind brought sunny, dry and warm temperatures to the second oldest NHRA drag racing event. Sponsored by K&N Filters, the 42nd annual NHRA Winternationals was held at the famed Pomona Raceway track, February 7-10, 2002. NHRA unveiled its new sponsor, Powerade, by Coca-Cola, and though it may take some getting used to, the new sponsorship got off to a smashing success. Doug Kalitta, Doug Herbert and Tony Schumacher led the Top Fuel field after Thursday qualifications with John Force, Whit Bazemore and Gary Densham leading the Funny Car contingent. Jim Yates and Kurt Johnson ran 1-2 in Pro Stock. Friday saw Kenny Bernstein come alive in Top Fuel with a sizzling 4.583 at 326.16 mph run, only to be surpassed by an astounding 4.49 e.t. by Aussie Andrew Cowin. Cowin’s effort produced the fastest unofficial 1/8 mile clocking in NHRA history with a time of 277.89 mph. Bob Glidden returned to the Pro Stock ranks after a four year hiatus and received thunderous applause whenever it was his turn to race, but failed to make the final field of 16 cars, in a very tough and competitive division.

Gary Scelzi and Alan Johnson unveiled their new car and sponsors, White Cap and Toyota. The car was only a few days old and ran credible times in the Funny Car class, placing 8th in the final field for Sunday. Scelzi has had previous experience in the Funny Car arena having driven an alcohol Funny Car before switching over to Top Fuel. It still seems a bit strange seeing the Top Fuel champion racing in the Funny Car class. There was a tremendous interest by the fans in the new car and especially in the impact that Toyota might have on the sport of drag racing. Alan Johnson was kind enough to give me some background on his new deal. The car is actually Bruce Sarver’s old E-moola.com Funny Car and Bruce is a consultant with the team. As more sponsorship becomes available, Sarver is projected as a driver for a second Funny Car. Johnson says that it is imperative to field a second car in order to develop as much data as possible and to compete against other two car teams, especially John Force, who has three cars in his camp. The powerplant is a RodeckTFX 426 Hemi, and though it seems odd that Toyota is the sponsor, Johnson points out that only Dean Skuza in this division has an engine that represents his sponsor.

Toyota is a major player and sponsor in CART, though it will be moving to the IRL in 2003. Toyota is also heavily involved in the Import Series, and it is possible that TRD (Toyota Research and Development) may develop its own engines for the drag racing circuit depending on its market research. Johnson spent 18 months trying to convince Toyota to sign on as a sponsor. This is one team that has the skills and abilities to succeed and the drag racing community is rooting for them, because Toyota can change everything, if they decide to stay. Toyota’s success just might be the catalyst drag racing needs to bring back the carmakers that once dominated this sport’s sponsorships. White Cap is also a new sponsor for Johnson’s enterprise. It is a 400 million-dollar construction and hardware firm with outlets in the Southwest. They see their sponsorship as a perfect match. The visibility they receive back East will allow this company to pursue nationwide expansion plans in the future.