NHRA's Top Contenders Talk Pomona and Countdown Championship, FYI WIRZ

The top eight “Countdown to One” contenders in the NHRA Full Throttle Series professional classes this week—Larry Dixon vs. Tony Schumacher, Matt Hagan vs. John Force, Greg Anderson vs Mike Edwards, Andrew Hines vs. LE Tonglet—roll into Pomona, California for the final race of 23 and the last of six in the playoffs. It’s coming down to the championships.

The Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals probably won’t create much  more of a surprise in Pro Stock Car as Greg Anderson's 115 point lead. Top Fuel ace Cory McClenthan has an almost insurmountable 106 points in his way to best Larry Dixon whose team has won more than half the races this year. 

Only 138 total points, plus maybe three qualifying bonus points, are available per race in the pro ranks. That is only if a national record is set for a 20 point bonus.

So unless Tony Schumacher pulls off another final race miracle and dissolves an 85 point Dixon lead, or Anderson stumbles as Edwards wins, the top excitement is in Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Leader Matt Hagan surged to the No. 1 position when Force went out early in Reading. He still leads champion icon John Force who is a scant 37 points behind. The elder Force is 61 and Hagan is 27. An even younger LE Tonglet, 22, is pressing hard on leader Andrew Hines, 27, in Pro Stock Motorcycle with only 34 points in his way to catch the champion. 

Youth could prevail in these Pomona finals.

So what do the top contenders have to say about going into Pomona? Are they apprehensive, excited, ready, calculating or whatever? 

Here are their words. It’s your take.

Larry Dixon (Top Fuel Dragster) two-time champion (leader)

“I like the fact that we have four round wins, 80 some points lead on second place,” Dixon said. “So, I mean, that’s comforting, but it’s not a guarantee. We just got to go out there, race hard like we have been all season. 

“We do what we’ve been doing, then everything is fine. If we leave the door open for not just Tony but for Cory Mac (McClenathan), as well, because he obviously still has a shot at this, too, yeah, then they can. But we need to go some rounds. I’d like to win the race, to be honest with you.” 

Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel Dragster) seven-time champion (-85)

“Everything just has to go right,” Schumacher said. “There’s nothing easy about it. We got to show up. Not only does everything have to go right for us, but I think, like I said, we have to go out, win the race, qualify real well, and possibly set a world record. But also the points leader has to falter. That’s hard to imagine because they’re such a good team. 

“If I don’t win the championship, I will be the first guy to walk over and shake Larry’s hand. He’s had an amazing season. I may be the only guy who knows how he’s feeling. I’ve won that many races.”

Matt Hagan (Funny Car) (leader)

"I feel really good about everything," Hagan said. “We're still leading the points, which is huge, and leading is a lot better than following coming into the final race, so I'm excited about that.

"My family is going to be with me in Pomona, so I'm looking forward to spending some time with them. It's just been a great year. Hopefully we finish strong.

“There are only four rounds of racing left and John Force has to make up half of those on me, and that's huge. But I know how determined he is, but so are we.

”This thing will fall where it falls, but we sure hope it falls our way."

John Force (Funny Car) fourteen-time champion (-37)

“We held the lead all year,” Force said. “We made a mistake very critical at Reading that opened the door for Hagan and he took advantage of it. It put us in the No. 2 spot. 

“Right now I’ve got to come in with an attitude that there can be no error, there can be no mistakes. We have to gobble up every point that we can. 

“We can’t wait for Hagan to fail. You have a driver that knows how to win a championship. He’s in this game. He’s very focused. So we can’t wait for him to err. 

“I’m in the gym every day making sure I don’t get any injuries. You have to have everything you can to throw at them because they’re going to throw everything at us.” 

Greg Anderson (Pro Stock Car) three-time champion (leader)

“The championship isn’t won until they hand you the trophy and the big check,” Anderson said. “This team is going into Pomona with guns blazing. As we have seen in the past, lightning can strike at any point during the final race, changing what most would consider a done deal. Having already had a pretty crazy year, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point.

“Still, we’re not going to take it easy or race defensively. I’ve seen teams in many different sports lose when they play that way, so I’m certainly not going to do it. We’re going to be as aggressive as we’ve ever been, doing whatever it takes to win the race.”

Mike Edwards (Pro Stock Car) one-time champion (-115)

Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock Car) four-time champion

"There's something magical about Pomona," Coughlin said. “There's been so much history made there, so many special moments, so many legendary drag racers running down that strip. I'm getting goosebumps right now just talking about it.

"If you're a drag racer, I can assure you from personal experience that your blood starts pumping when you pull through the gates of that racetrack.

"We'd love to close strong. I can tell you from past experiences that closing out the year with a victory makes the off-season much more enjoyable.”

Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) three-time champion (leader)

“We wanted to leave Las Vegas with an 80-point lead,” Hines said. “We are going home to Indianapolis, and the bikes are going straight to California, so we’ll be racing at Pomona with the equipment that’s on the truck. We’ve still got a few things we have not tried, but it’s going to go down to the wire.”

LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) (-34)

“We never really thought we could be in this kind of position,” Tonglet said. “I’m glad we can be a threat to Andrew. If we want to beat him, we need to get on the same side of the ladder so we can meet him before the finals.”

Photo credit: Gary Larsen @ Racetake.com

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports topics compiled, condensed and often written by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. Quotes provided by NHRA team media.