First round notes

Time to light 'em up!

And Tony Pedregon lit of the Pomona sky after his engine exploded into a fireball during a first-round loss to John Force. (Staff photo by Will Lester)

11:05 a.m. - And we're racing! Cory McClenathan shows he ready to play with nice low 4.5-second pass to beat the Bud Prince
11:09 - Hot Rod Fuller, after qualifying a very disappointing 10th, steps up and makes the quickest run of the weekend with a 4.494.
"She's been purring all weekend," said the driver of the Caterpillar dragster. "It's about time she started to roar!"
11:13 - Well, so much for that prediction. Vandergriff just smoked the tires near the 60-foot mark and loses to Morgan Lucas. We'll see if Shoe can save my reputation.
11:22 - I got one right as Tony Schumacher makes the second-quickest run of the round with an easy win over Doug Kalitta.
"That was a battle," Schumacher said. "It's an unbelievable way to begin a season."
11:34 - And the best class, or is it my personal favorite - the Funny Cars - take to to the track. And we have our first shocker as Gary Densham defeats top qualifier Tim Wilkerson.
"Gary ran good," Wilkerson said. "That just shows you what can happen. You have to come out and be on your game, or your day's over."
11:43 - I'm not doing good. Mel Troxel taps the tires before half track and loses to Bob Tasca, who gets his first win in the class.

Here's a down-track shot from Raul Roa as Tony Pedregon's Chevy Impala expodes near the 1,000-foot mark. Pedregon was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, but later returned to the track.

11:55 - John Force advances to the second round when 2007 champ Tony Pedregon jumps the start. Then it gets scary. Pedregon's Chevy Impala explodes into a big fire ball just before the 1,000-foot time. The car then bounces off the left retaining wall just past the finish line and bounces across the track before resting against the right wall. Force, meanwhile, can't get his car stopped an lands in the sand trap at the end of the track. Both drivers were able to get ouf of their cars under their own power and are OK. This is one of the worst crashes I've experienced live, and I have to admit I was a bit shaken as I've dealt with Tony more than any other driver, so it was a relief to see him walk away with just a few minor burns to his hands.

Pedregon's car catches fire near the finish line. This is a shot of the Pomona Raceway video board by Raul Roa.

Force had some interesting comments. You could tell that while Tony is no longer a member of his team, he is certainly not forgotten.
"I broke every rule in the book" Force said. "I thought I was late when he got way out there, not knowing he had red-lit.
"I glad he's Ok. I love Tony Pedregon.
"I got to the (finish line) when I saw his car explode. I was looking at him and forget to hit the (parachutes). I keep telling my kid (Ashley Force) don't forget the chutes, and then I do it. But I'm glad Tony is OK."
Pedregon was transported to Pomona Valley Medical Center for evaluation.
He was later released and watched his brother advance to the finals.
"There was no warning," he said. "It blew up, and I had instant flames, like a flame-thrower in my face and the scary part was I didn't know where I was. I hit the wall very hard and I feel very lucky. I knew that my hands were burned and I knew that I got beat up a little. When I got out of the car I thought, 'I can't believe the car finally stopped and I'm going to get out of it.' I got out of it slowly because I wanted to make sure the car was completely stopped."
12:17 - And we end the first round with a doozy. Ron Capps vs. Robert Hight in a battle between two teams who expect to win the championship. Hight wins a tire-smoker as Capps takes out the 1,000-foot cone and is disqualified.
Well, there goes my pick in Funny Car. It appears the nitro coupe Gods finally caught up with Capps, who had made four consecutive 4.8-second runs before smoking the tires near halftrack.
12:36 - Anderson follows up a win by Kurt Johnson with another low 6.6 run. Then Coughlin ends the round with victory to cap off a Pro Stock round, where all the higher-qualified cars were victorious. It looks like everyone came to play today.