The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series roared back to In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip this week for the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, launching another chapter in the sanctioning body’s 75th anniversary season.
Thursday belonged to the backbone of the sport — the sportsman racers — and they didn’t waste any time getting after it.
With qualifying kicking off the weekend, Super Street, Stock, Super Comp, Super Stock, and Super Gas quickly rolled into first-round eliminations, turning Pomona into a battleground from the first hit down the strip. Early-round pressure, tight competition, and zero room for error set the tone as racers began carving their path through the ladders.
While the nitro-powered machines and Pro Stockers waited in the wings, the sportsman ranks carried the weight of opening day — and delivered.
That balance shifts Friday.
Sportsman eliminations resume at 8:30 a.m., but the intensity only builds as Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock fire off their first qualifying runs of the weekend. The energy established by the sportsman racers carries forward as the first blasts of nitro shake Pomona and signal the arrival of the sport’s headline acts.
All of last season’s NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world champions are on hand this weekend, including Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta, Funny Car champion Austin Prock, and Pro Stock champion Dallas Glenn, joined by a deep field of contenders and proven winners across all three categories. Rising talent like Maddi Gordon adds another layer of intrigue as the next wave looks to make its mark.
By the time the weekend builds to full song, Top Alcohol cars will join the fight, and Legacy Nitro Funny Cars will deliver a thunderous blast from the past, giving fans a full-spectrum look at NHRA’s evolution — from its roots to today’s nitro-burning firepower.
From first-round sportsman battles to the looming arrival of nitro-fueled chaos, Pomona is already alive — and the Winternationals is just getting warmed up.
This story was originally published on April 10, 2026. 
The post PHOTO GALLERY: Pomona Fires to Life Thursday at NHRA Winternationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
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