The All Motor Class was another edge-of-the-seat affair. After qualifying rounds, Scott Kelley sat in the number-one spot ahead of points leader Joel Mandl. As far as the All Motor championship, Mandl just needed to advance through two rounds to secure the big one, but competition this time around was tough with less than four tenths of a second splitting the entire field.
The first round saw Tsuneaki Mankumo and the Signal Auto CRX advance along with Mandl and Tony Shagday, who made a his seasonal debut back behind the wheel of the Skunk2 Integra. Kelly took the win light in his first round confrontation. The semis paired up Mankumo against Kelly and Shagday against Mandl. Kelly out-treed Mankumo, but when something went awry in the Volkswagen at the end of the track Kelly gave away the win and the championship. Mandl had the big one wrapped up, but was still looking for his first win of the year after earning the points lead by several runner-up finishes. Unfortunately, Shagday hadn't lost his touch and the Skunk2 powered its way around Mandl's Civic to take the ticket to the final. Shagday used the lane choice to his advantage and drove past Mankumo for his first NHRA victory with an 11.14-second e.t.
Ari Yallon already had the Street Tire Class wrapped up going into the finals, but after an incredible five wins in five NHRA events he was looking for a perfect six out of six. Things were going as expected after qualifying, with the ultra-consistent Yallon sitting on top of the qualifying table almost half a second ahead of his nearest pursuer. A first round bye run made things even easier for the Texan, and a matchup with the 12-second Supra of Michael Rickman was as good as an advance to the final free card. When it came down to the last two, Joel Tanzman had been turning mid-10s throughout competition and threatened to spoil Yallon's quest for an unbeaten season. However, consistency may as well be Yallon's middle name, as the champion pulled out another good light and the win as he made it six for six.
The Modified Class saw Craig Paisley make his NHRA comeback after a horrific crash earlier in the season kept him on the sidelines. However, a good start to the year had earned the East Coast racer enough points to keep him in contention for the championship going into Pomona. Paisley got straight down to business by taking the top slot in qualifying with an 8.74. Carlos Gonzalez, also in the chase for the championship, qualified second with an 8.82, followed by Ray Lockhead, Steph Papadakis, Adrian Sabori, Ed Bergenholtz, Jose Vidal and Alan Jacobs. Papadakis fought mechanical gremlins all weekend long, keeping his runs below par, while Bergenholtz spent the outing dialing in the revamped CRX. The big surprise came in the form of a red Mazda RX7 owned by Ray Lockhead. The back-halved rotary stepped up big time, running mid-8s and defeating the almighty Toyota powerhouse driven by Paisley in the final. Paisley's runner-up finish was, however, enough to earn him the championship.
The Pro Class produced one of the best drag races we've seen all year long. Jose Torres and the Siguel Racing Mazda claimed the number one position during qualifying with a 7.58-sec. blast. Abel Ibarra in the mighty Toyo Tires Mazda was a tad behind with a 7.60, and R.J. Simrock took third in the AEBS Ford Focus. Hiroshi Shiobara came out all the way from Japan with a big-power Nissan 300ZX, hungry for a Wally.
The points race was still heated up with Ibarra and Simrock both in contention for the championship. In the first round, Ibarra got past Dan Bollschweiler and Simrock ousted the Mazda driven by Efron Vasquez. Shiobara busted out a gigantic 7.53 at more than 181 mph in the opener, and in doing so simply worked Adam Saruwatari's NSX. Torres also advanced on a bye run.
The semis produced a clash between Shiobara and Torres, and then Simrock and Ibarra. When Torres broke the Japanese driver got the easy advance to the final. But in the other battle the championship was on the line. If Ibarra was going to be crowned champion he had to beat Simrock. The pair staged and both cut awesome lights, but Simrock gained the holeshot and had the power to hold off the hard-charging Mazda. Simrock had the championship in the bag. That didn't stop him from letting it all out in the final. Another fast reaction time and Simrock was out in front. At half-track, the Nissan's huge power began reeling in the Ford and at the stripe Shiobara grabbed the win light setting a low e.t. and high mph of the event.
The 2001 NHRA Summit Import Drag Racing Series produced some intense heads-up drag racing all season long, culminating in one of the best import drag races ever at Pomona. Five of the most die-hard import racers in the land have gone into the record books as NHRA racing champions. For 2002, the organizers have bumped up the schedule to include eight events across the country. Stay tuned, and we'll let you know when and where and, of course, bring you the very best in coverage.