NHRA Quotes and Photos from Pomona

Compiled by Ian Tocher
Photos by Zak Hawthorne and James Drew
2/15/05

The 2005 racing season began with the 45th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals held Feb. 10-13 at Pomona Raceway in Pomona, CA. Here, compiled from NHRA and team press releases, is the racers' view of the event in their own words.

TOP FUEL

"I actually may have slowed the car down a bit by pulling the parachutes too early because my visor was fogging up and I couldn't see." --Tony Schumacher after securing the top spot with a 4.447-second pass at 326.79 mph in the final qualifying session (James Drew photo)

"That was a great run. It picked the front end up and then sat it down. When Connie's [Kalitta, team owner and crew chief] power and clutch hit it and picked up the front again, the steering wheel went loose on me and it stayed that way for about 500 feet. I was thankful that it stayed in the groove and trucked on through there. It was just fantastic." -- David Grubnic on the career-best 4.464 at 327.35-mph pass that qualified him second

"We're happy, tickled pink as a matter of fact. It doesn't get much better than this." -- Joe Amato, team owner for Morgan Lucas, after Lucas made his first pass in the 4.40s (4.474/326.40) to qualify fourth

"Right now, we're a sixth-place car. The more runs we make, hopefully the better we'll get." -- Larry Dixon on his starting position after making the quickest run of his career (4.481 at 326.95) (Zak Hawthorne photo)