NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

When each season starts, drivers often talk about the importance of getting a great start to the season, but does early success, particularly at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals, lead to a successful season overall? It did for Ron Capps last season, but winning Pomona doesn’t necessarily mean success for the entire season. Following is a look at stats regarding Winternationals winners who went on to win season titles during the points-earning era.

• 14 of the 43 champions in both Top Fuel and Funny Car from 1974-2016 kicked off their championship campaigns with victories at the Winternationals. In Pro Stock, 12 of 43 did so. That’s a percentage of roughly 30 percent for each category.
• The last Top Fuel champion to win the opener was Shawn Langdon in 2013.
   
• Capps’ 2016 Funny Car title run began with a win at the Winternationals. Before that, John Force’s 2010 championship was the last to begin with a win at the opener.
   
• Jason Line is the most recent Pro Stock champion with a Winternationals win (2011).
   
• The most recent year in which all three class’ champions won at the Winternationals was 1989: Gary Ormsby (Top Fuel), Bruce Larson (Funny Car), and Bob Glidden (Pro Stock).
   
• The 1989 season was one of three in which all three Winternationals champs went on to win season titles. That also happened in 1975 and 1978.
   
• Force and Glidden have the most championships that began with a Winternationals win with five apiece. In Top Fuel, Larry Dixon leads with all three of his titles beginning with a Pomona victory.

Following is a list of drivers by class who won the Winternationals and a season championship.

Top Fuel
Gary Beck (1974), Don Garlits (1975), Kelly Brown (1978), Shirley Muldowney (1980), Jeb Allen (1981), Gary Ormsby (1989), Gary Scelzi (1997, 2000), Larry Dixon (2002, 2003, 2010), Tony Schumacher (2004, 2008), and Shawn Langdon (2013)

Funny Car
Don Prudhomme (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978), Frank Hawley (1983), Kenny Bernstein (1987), Bruce Larson (1989), John Force (1991, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2010), Tony Pedregon (2003), and Ron Capps (2016)

Pro Stock
Bob Glidden (1975, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1989), Lee Shepherd (1984), Darrell Alderman (1991), Warren Johnson (1993), Jim Yates (1996), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (2000), Greg Anderson (2004), and Jason Line (2011)