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... AND WE DO MEAN TRIVIA
The First of 2000
With the only qualifying remark being "National event competition,"
the Pomona bash produced some ultra-trivial firsts for the second millennium.
Check these out.
| First Pro Stock Six |
Marnell & Black - George Marnell
(‘99 Firebird) - 6.998 |
| First Pro Stock 6.8 |
Century 21 - Tom Martino (2000 Firebird)
- 6.886 |
| First Pro Stock 200 |
Century 21 - Tom Martino (2000 Firebird)
- 200.14 |
| First Funny Car Four |
John Force (2000 Mustang) - 4.958 |
| First Funny Car 300 |
Johnny Gray (2000 Firebird) - 301.20 |
| First Funny Car 310 |
Force - 311.20 |
| *First
Top Fuel Four |
Bobby Baldwin (Finish Line Prods.) -
4.826 |
| First Top Fuel 300 |
Bob Vandergriff (Haldex/Martin Chevrolet)
- 301.20 |
| **First
Top Fuel 310 |
Gary Scelzi (Winston/Alan Johnson) -
316.60 |
| First Top Fuel 320 |
Joe Amato (Dynamax) - 320.05 |
- * - Baldwin’s
father-in-law, Chris "the Golden Greek" Karamesines, was
the first drag
- race driver over 200-mph in the previous century.
- ** - Amato’s 320
came on Thursday, while Scelzi’s 316 happened Friday, so if you’re
- a stickler for details, Amato was the first over 310.
- *** - With the exception of
Martino and Scelzi, all firsts were on Thursday, Feb. 3.
ODD-SERVANCES
... in recent memory, this reporter has never seen such a wide
variety of associate big-letter Funny Car sponsors. It was like being
at a 1970 East-West Funny Car event. Larry Huff’s PriceNet.USA
’99 Firebird, the John Lindsay / Phil Miller-owned Rosa Maria’s
Mexican Food ’99 Avenger, the Kenny Sayers-driven Ahrens-Margaretich
/ LaKing’s Candy ’99 Corvette, the Moore Parts.Com ’99
Avenger of Wyatt Radke, the EMoola.Com (major backer) 2000 Firebird,
the two WWF cars, the MAD magazine ugly car (’99 Firebird) of the
Creasy Family, Bob Gilbertson’s Trick Tank Corvette, Phil Burkart’s
NitroFish ’99 Firebird, and Cruz Pedregon’s Frank & Son
Card Show 2000 Firebird serve as a few examples.
... C&C Concessions, which serves as Pomona’s concessionaire,
is definitely charging year 3(!)000 prices. A regular beer is $5, large
is $6. A hot dog is $3.25, a regular drink $2.50, a cheeseburger $4.25,
and if you’re cutting back on the fat, a chicken breast combo is
a kneebuckling $8.50. I expect controlled substances and LaFitte
Rothschilde for numbers like that.
... NHRA’s rule changes may have been controversial, but one move
they made over the winter was not. Hiring Ray Alley as NHRA Director
of Fuel Racing was hands down a unanimous decision. I personally heard
nary a discouraging word.
... File this under How the Mighty Have Fallen Dept. L.A. radio station
97.1 FM had a Howard Stern tent on the pitside of the track that, at
least when I walked by, hadn’t drawn flies. That’s "S-T-E-R-N,"
you can file it just under the Spice Girls.
... Young Clay Millican, an IHRA Modified racer who debuted in Top
Fuel with the Chicago White Sox dragster at the ’98 Route 66 Nationals,
will race in Top Fuel in 2000. Peter Lehman of Chicago bought all of
Tommy Johnson Jr.’s Top Fuel pieces and he and Millican hope to
debut at the IHRA Winternationals at Darlington, S.C. This should be
quite an effort as Mike Kloeber, the tuner of the first Funny Car over
300-mph, will call the tuning shots.
... Best joke heard over the weekend? Master story teller and former
crew chief for Funny Car great Don Schumacher , "Colonel John"
Hogan told this little jewel.
There’s this church and all these people are in it for a
Sunday service. Right in the middle of the service, a big cloud erupts
in the center of the place and up pops the devil. The parishioners
haul ass for the exits including the minister. Everybody leaves except
for one guy, kneeling and praying on a pew in back. The devil glides
over to him and demands
... "Do you know who I am?"
The guy looks up from prayer and says, "Know who you are?
What kind of question is that? I’ve been married to your sister
for 30 years."
Rimshot from the drummer and we’re outa here.
— CM
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