Nitro Nationals Drag Race - What's So Damn Funny?

As history continues repeating itself, the Goodguys Pomona Nitro Nationals was no exception. In fact, the Goodguys VRA may be the prime example. With 15 nostalgia-bodied fuel Funny Cars and 17 front-engine Top Fuel dragsters entered in competition, one could have mistaken the 2006 Goodguys Nitro Nationals for the 1966 NHRA Winternationals. Ideally you couldn't ask for better drag racing battleground than the historic Pomona Raceway. This strip has seen drag racing grow from its infancy in the late 1950s and mature into today's 300-mph speed spectacle.

As the Goodguys goes through some changes of their own, the 3-year-old Funny Car category has become the fastest growing--in numbers of competitors--of the pro-racing classes. The popularity of this recently added category has quickly become the headline act of the Goodguys drag racing series. Does this mean Top Fuel is dead? On the contrary, take Adam Sorokin and Sean Bellemure for example--two second-generation Top Fuel drivers who took it upon themselves to use their qualifying laps as a best-of-three match race. No news on how much money exchanged hands between the two, but Sorokin may owe Bellemure dinner, as Sean's quicker 5.96 e.t. was the better of the third and final qualifying run since Sorokin made nice with the left-lane guard wall at about the 1,000ft mark, slowing his dragster to a 6.26 e.t.

In keeping with the spirit of the original Funny Car classes of the '60s and '70s, the Goodguys rules state "bodies are limited to 1967 to 1979 American made bodies" and "bodies must resemble the original mass-produced make and model."

For those who are old enough to remember Funny Cars the first time around, these fuel-burners brought back fond memories of drag racing's glorious past. And for those who were seeing it for the first time, well, let's just say it was an awesome display of pure "old-school" drag racing at its finest. What more could the nostalgia drag racing junkie ask for than to see a 1971 Dodge Challenger Funny Car launch into a wheelstand from the 60ft mark only to touch ground a few hundred feet later? Probably not much. This was just the case when wheelman Mike Adams stomped on the loud pedal of Jeff Gaynor's Funny Car, sending the front end skyward during the first round of eliminations on Sunday.

This wasn't the only excitement in the Funny Car category, as the weekend christened two new members of the 5-second Funny Ccar club. Dennis La Charite happily joined in with a 5.97 e.t. in his 1968 Corvette Funny Car, and rookie driver Chris Krabill went 5.97 in Gary Turner's 1977 Plymouth Arrow-bodied Funny Car, tuned by veteran wrench Donnie Couch.

At this pace it's likely we'll see a few new members join the 5-second club before season's end. And with speeds up around 250 mph, the Funny Car category may be the most exciting class in all of nostalgia drag racing.

Although the Pomona event is primarily geared toward drag racing, the car show area was plenty full of roadsters, customs, street rods, and street machines, leaving little doubt the West Coast is still a hotbed for hot rodders. With magazine feature cars present in any given aisle, the quality of rides was top notch.

As the Goodguys VRA does what it takes to keep the spirit of nostalgia drag racing alive, only time will tell if history will again repeat itself. In the meantime, we'll just sit back and enjoy the ride. And if that particular ride happens to be a 1971 Dodge Challenger Funny Car powered by a 500ci Hemi hopped up on 98-percent nitro, then let history keep right on repeating itself ... over and over again.