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Top Fuel and Funny Car were also excellent shows. Garlits was the low qualifier with a 6.49, but lost in round one to Southern California great James Warren when his "Swamp Rat" bogged a hundred feet off the line. Winning was another SoCal hot dog and later NHRA employee, Carl Olson, who wheeled Mike Kuhl's entry past Dennis Baca's tiger. Baca probably was the favorite going into this final as he had recorded a best of 6.50 in eliminations, this coming at the expense of Jim Dailey and Hank Johnson in round one, while Olson's best were a pair of 6.60s in rounds one and two in wins over Chris Karamesines and Tony Nancy.
Funny Car was the scene of future great Ed McCulloch's second career win. The 1971 U.S. Nationals Funny Car winner beat Jerry Ruth's Mustang, Butch Maas in Jim Murphy's "Holy Smokes" Barracuda, Jake Johnston in Gene Snow's number two Revell "Snowman" Challenger, and in the final, the same Dale Pulde he beat at the above Indy race. Pulde, of course, was driving Mickey Thompson's Ford Pinto. While even 30 years ago, the Pomona race was the big focus of attention in the drag racing world, the AHRA Winter Nationals held a week earlier at Beeline Dragway in Scottsdale, Arizona produced some significant history. When Steve Carbone beat Jim Nicoll in the Top Fuel, it marked the last time two front-engine Top Fuelers would meet in a major association final. And in Funny Car, Pulde's luck was a little better as he ousted Pat Foster in Barry Setzer's thundering Vega both in the semifinals and the AHRA break rule finale. |
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