Rain Postpones Three Top Finals

On a cool day ideal for speed, the first three rounds of eliminations Sunday in the 39th AutoZone Winternationals at Pomona Raceway set up intriguing finals in each of the top three pro classes.

But then the rains came, washing out the championship round.

Rescheduled for today at 10:30 a.m., it will feature these matchups:

* National record-holder Mike Dunn of Wrightsville, Pa., seeking his first victory since 1996, against Larry Dixon of San Diego, who is hoping to become the first driver to win consecutive Winternationals top-fuel titles.

* Gary Densham, 52, of Bellflower, who has never won in 30 years of racing funny cars, against Tony Pedregon of Gardena.

Densham, on a one-year leave of absence from his job as an auto shop teacher at Cerritos Gahr High, was an upset semifinal winner over John Force of Yorba Linda, Pedregon’s teammate and winner of eight Winston series championships, including six in a row.

* Troy and Jeg Coughlin of Columbus, Ohio, in the first pro stock final matching brothers. Troy, who at 34 is five years older than his brother, is seeking his first National Hot Rod Assn. victory.

The drivers were happy about the decision to postpone the finals.

“The way the weather conditions are, it’s all positive,� said Dixon, whose father, Larry Sr., won the Winternationals in 1970. “The rain takes all the heat out of the track and it doesn’t make for fun racing.�

Earlier Sunday in top fuel, two-time defending Winston series champion Gary Scelzi of Fresno was a surprising first-round loser to Bob Vandergriff of Cumming, Ga., for the second year in a row.

“It happens,� said Scelzi, who didn’t lose again in the first round after last year’s Winternationals and has gone out in the opening round only four times in 45 events. “We don’t like it, but that’s part of racing.�

Eddie Hill, 62, of Wichita Falls, Texas, whose Friday run of 4.535 seconds at 313.80 mph was a track record until Dunn broke it Saturday, was forced to forfeit his quarterfinal race to Kenny Bernstein of Lake Forest when he couldn’t shift his top-fuel dragster into reverse after the burnout.

“As soon as I stopped at the end of the track, I shifted her back and forth just fine,� said Hill, the oldest competitor in the nitro classes. “All I can figure is, it just wasn’t our time.�

In funny car, Densham’s victory over Force was the biggest surprise. It was his first over the Winston champion in 19 meetings.

In pro stock, Warren Johnson of Sugar Hill, Ga., the defending Winston series champion and No. 1 qualifier, was upset by two-time Winston champion Jim Yates of Alexandria, Va., in the quarterfinals.

Yates then lost in the semifinals to Troy Coughlin.

Drag Racing Notes

Tickets for today’s finals are $10, but those holding tickets from Sunday will be admitted free. Parking is free. . . . Top-fuel driver Cory McClenathan of Anaheim, who sat out Saturday’s two qualifying runs after being hospitalized overnight for a gastrointestinal condition and dehydration, made it to the second round before losing to Mike Dunn. . . . Funny car driver Jeff Arend of Chino Hills was defeated by Dale Pulde of Sylmar in the first round, losing a chance to collect a $100,000 bonus by winning the event. Under a program introduced at the Winternationals, drivers this year have the opportunity, through a pre-race drawing, to compete for bonuses at each NHRA event. Robert Patrick of Fredericksburg, Va., was eligible for a $50,000 bonus but lost to George Marnell of Las Vegas in the first round of pro stock eliminations. . . . NHRA officials announced a four-day attendance of 112,800, of which about 30,000 were on hand Sunday. The figure was up about 5,000 from last year.