The Goodguys,
9th Pomona Nitro Nationals was everything the ill-fated March
Meet wasn't. Mother Nature gave three days of ideal racing temps
and Brett Harris and the Nitro Thunder team took full advantage
of it. The track would take everything you could throw at it
and Harris and Co. threw a lot. Harris qualified # 1 with a 5.828
(low ET of the event) at 260.26 (new national record).
Photos and
full story below.
Brett Harris and the Utah Posse
celebrate the 5th straight Pomona win for the Nitro Thunder team.
The previous four wins came with Jack Harris in the seat.
The Nitro Thunder Traveling
Road Show
First Qualifying
Session - Friday
Early Friday afternoon the Pomona
Fairplex was filled with the sound of 3000 HP Top Fuel Dragsters.
Brett Harris in the potent Jack Harris Racing "Nitro Thunder"
car from Kaysville, Utah paired with Rick Rogers in his Tuttle
built "Full Throttle News" entry.
Harris and Rogers back
up after their burnouts.
Harris left hard and marched
right down the middle of the track to a nice baseline 5.899 at
254.09.
Even though he's "retired"
from the drivers set of the Nitro Thunder dragster (he will be
driving the teams new Funny Car) Jack Harris has more fun in
a car than outside one. Thus he has been driving the twin engine,
fuel burning flathead dragster on exhibition runs for its owner,
"Flathead Jack".
On this run Friday afternoon
Harris made the fastest pass ever by a flathead powered drag
car, a stellar 175.
Second Qualifying
Session - Friday
Rick McGee and Jack Harris
before the second session.
At 4:45 p.m. the second session
began with Brett Harris paired with Rick McGee in the Tedford
& McGee "Overtime Special".
Steve Tyrell guides Harris back
from the burnout to make sure he stays in his "tracks".
Steve Watson sets the
data computer just before Harris stages.
Both Harris and McGee
had stronger leaves than the 1st session.
Big Red never missed a beat and
Harris became the second driver to top 260 mph in a front engined
Top Fueler. Of course the first to do it was his dad, Jack. With
a 5.828 @ 260.26 (low ET and Top Speed of the event) Harris stayed
#1 and McGee improved two spots with a stellar 5.982 @ 246.48.
The Utah Posse was ecstatic.
Back in the pits, Brett Harris
receives his 260 MPH Club had from father Jack. Co-Crew Chiefs
Steve Watson and Rayce Muchmore join in.
Third Qualifying
Session - Saturday
The final car for the final session
was poll sitter Brett Harris who got the track all to himself.
Harris hit the throttle
and was off on ANOTHER stout pass.
Never missing a beat Big Red
tripped the lights with a 5.839 at 259.61 which easily backed
up Friday's 260.26 which established a new Goodguys/VRA record.
Brett’s father Jack set the old speed record of 259mph way
back in November of 2004.
Top
Fuel Qualifying after 3rd Session
1. Brett Harris
- 5.828 @ *260.26
2. Brad Thompson - 5.841 @ 248.80
3. Sean Bellemeur - 5.849 @ 254.57
4. Jason Richey - 5.881 @ 259.16
5. Denver Schutz - 5.914 @ 244.16
6. Jim Murphy - 5.917 @ 249.30
7. Mendy Fry - 5.919 @ 243.99
8. Adam Sorokin - 5.958 250.83 |
9. Terry
Cox - 5.980 @ 240.38
10. Rick McGee - 5.982 @ 248.02
11. Pete Kaiser - 6.013 @ 250.97
12. Rick White - 6.040 242.54
13. Brendan Murry - 6.054 @ 240.29
14. Bill Dunlap - 6.176 @ 230.88
15. Shannon Stewart - 6.180 @ 213.30
16. Rick Rogers - 6.464 @ 229.86 |
New Goodguys/VRA
Speed Record
Here's a visual of some of the
action that regularly takes place in the Nitro Thunder pit between
runs. After any given run the car is towed to the scales then
back to the pits. This first photo was taken 14 minutes after
the car rolled under the canopy. The top end of the engine, oil
pan and pistons have been removed and the new pistons are going
in.
The left
cylinder head is going back on.
The rods
are being torqued.
Heads
bolted down and blower manifold back on.
There
is always lots of parts cleaning that must be done.
28 minutes from
the time the car got back to the pits the engine is ready to
fire up.
Jack
still packs the parachutes on the car.
Jack with his My cousin Thayne
Jensen and his son and grandchildren.
Drag
racing being a sport of hurry up and wait, the crew had time to rest before the
first round of eliminations later that afternoon.
Sunday
Eliminations
|
