The latest update as of November 21, 2021

PRO STOCK - ROUND ONE ELIMINATIONS

(LEFT) Getting the tires hot first was Deric Kramer in the "Get Bio-Fuel" Camaro. With only two round wins since Indy, Kramer was looking to do better at Pomona, but starting from the #8 position, meaning that he would almost certainly face the #1 qualifier in the second round, looked to be a daunting task.

(RIGHT) As can clearly be seen in the photo, Kramer (near lane) left on opponent Kenny Delco (by half a tenth), then outran him to the finish line with a solid 6.596 - 208.52 to hold off Delco's almost as quick 6.619 - 209.30 effort.

(LEFT) Young Aaron Stanfield, in only his second full season in Pro Stock, entered the Countdown to the Championship in the third position, but some inconsistent results had dropped him out of contention and pushed him down to #6 coming into the final race of the season. He qualifed decently in the #7 position, but was matched up with the #10 qualifier and only outqualified him by two hundredths.

(RIGHT) In the far lane, Cristian Cuadra in the bright orange Corral Boots entry, cut a very sharp .015 light that gave him a slight lead over Stanfield (near lane). Cuadra's lead didn't last past the Christmas tree as he encountered serious tire shake, forcing him to lift and coast to a 13-second clocking. Meanwhile, Stanfield made his best pass of the weekend with a strong 6.588 - 208.33 to advance to the second round.

(LEFT) Even newer than Stanfield to Pro Stock competition, second generation driver Mason McGaha overtook his father Chris in the standings, and was hoping for a strong finish to his season. He burned out here before facing his father in an all-McGaha match in the first round, holding lane choice with his #6 qualifying spot, versus Chris' #11 position.

(RIGHT) The "old man" Chris McGaha (far lane) left first on his son, but the lead was short lived as he quickly became a victim of tire shake, slowing to a 16-second pass. Improving on his qualifying effort was young Mason, as he put down the quickest e.t. of the round to this point, ringing up a 6.586 - 208.39 on the fairgrounds scoreboard.

(LEFT) Knowing that she faced a very tall mountain to climb, Eric Enders burned out in the "Melling Performance" Camaro, before her first round race. Coming into eliminations sitting 47 points behind Greg Anderson, she had to keep turning on winlights to stay in contention. If she could advance to the semifinal round, where if all the cards played as expected, she would be facing Anderson, BUT would have to not only beat him, but win the final round too. Tall task indeed!

(RIGHT) Knowing that he nothing to lose as he was at a performance disadvantage, Steve Graham, rolled the dice on the starting line and came up bust, as his -.001 redlight automatically eliminated him. Enders didn't spare the horses as she pounded out a very quick 6.576 - 209.10 to give her a good chance at lane choice in the second round.

(LEFT) Facing Enders in the next round would be the winner of this next race. Burning out first in the "Total Seal" car, Matt Hartford hoped to finish the season on a strong note, as he had slipped from the #6 spot at the start of the countdown to the #9 position coming into this race. Qualifying in the #4 position put him in a good position going into eliminations.

(RIGHT) Leaving first by a smidgen, Hartford (near lane) left Bob Butner (far lane) quickly behind as tire shake claimed another victim. Hartford exactly matched his qualifying e.t. with a 6.587 - 209.59 timeslip. In the far lane, Butner limped across the stripe at 22.094 - 37.60 to close out his weekend.

(LEFT) After scoring his first national even win in Charlotte, young Kyle Koretsky had only notched a first round win in St. Louis, then dropped to consecutive first round losses, eliminating him from the points chase before arriving in Pomona. He rebounded here though with a #2 qualifying pass to earn a decided advantage over his first round opponent.

(RIGHT) Barely visible in the far lane, in a similarly-hued pink car, Troy Coughlin Jr. had been going in the opposite direction to Koretsky, notching back-to-back semifinal finishes at the two previous races, but a #14 qualifying position put him in deep trouble going into the first round. He left almost together with Korestky, but couldn't keep pace going down track and crossed the finish line second with a 6.603 - 207.91, trailing Koretsky's winning - and low e.t. of the round to this point - 6.566 - 208.71 pass.

(LEFT) Going into eliminations with a 47-point lead over closest challenger Erica Enders, all Greg Anderson had to do was keep turning on the winlight, or see Enders fall before meeting him in the semifinal round. The championship was by no means wrapped up, but Anderson was sitting in the driver's seat, literally and figuratively.

(RIGHT) Looking like he was laying a gigantic holeshot on Anderson, John Callahan (far lane) was instead turning on a blatant redlight with an -.232 reaction time against Anderson's safe .071 launch. Callahan shut off early, seeing the winlight glowing in Anderson's lane, and slowed to an 11-second time. Anderson didn't take it easy as he cranked out a new low e.t. of the meet at 6.549 - 208.68 to serve notice that he wasn't taking any prisoners in his quest for a fifth world championship.

(LEFT) Closing out the round was the odds-on consensus for Rookie of The Year, Dallas Glenn. Taking his third win of the season at the previous event of the season in Las Vegas, Glenn was still mathematically in the points until Anderson's first round win eliminated him, but only needed a first round win to clinch third place in the standings. He was in a strong position, qualifying #3 and holding at least a tenth of a second advantage over his opponent.

(RIGHT) That opponent, Alan Prusiensky (far lane) did leave first, but left a redlight on the tree, cutting it just a little too close with an -.020 reaction time, while Glenn was solid on the lights with an .018 leave. Glenn improved slightly on his qualifying time with a very good 6.572 - 207.85 to earn lane choice over Mason McGaha in the second round, while Prusiensky clocked his best of the weekend with a 6.628 - 207.37 losing effort.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - ROUND ONE ELIMINATIONS

(LEFT) Pro Stock bike opened eliminations with two middle of the pack runners, the #6 qualifying Scotty Pollacheck (near lane) matching up against the #7 qualifier Andrew Hines (far lane). They left nearly together but Hines slowed near the top end and was off the throttle early to a 7.014 - 173.52, while Pollacheck ran strongly to a 6.857 - 197.80 time as he advanced to the second round.

(RIGHT) With only 12 bikes in the field, Angelle Sampey (far lane) met up with #8 qualifier Angie Smith in the opening stanza. While Smith was well out of contention, Sampey only trailed points leader Matt Smith by 41-points and had to advance to keep her title hopes alive. It was all over before Sampey left the line as Smith redlighted (-.028), handing her the automatic win. Smith ran it through to a 6.927 - 193.74, while Sampey powered to a great 6.812 - 183.22, despite shutting off a little early.

(LEFT) Another championship contender, Steve Johnson (near lane), sitting just 45-points behind the leader Smith, came into the first round from the #4 qualifying position and easily dispatched Freddie Camarena (far lane) with an excellent 6.801 - 197.86 to easily cover Camarena's leaving first (.038 to .074), finishing second 6.969 - 195.39 pass.

(RIGHT) With nothing at stake other than a possible event win, former champion (last time in 2012) Eddie Krawiec (near lane) qualified well in the #3 spot, and took an easy win Chris Bostick (far lane) redlighted. Bostick keep on the gas to the finish, clocking a 6.915 - 196.44, while Krawiec notched a much better 6.843 - 199.64 to move into the next round.

(LEFT) Needing to keep winning rounds, or see his pursuers fall early, Matt Smith (near lane) held a big advantage going into eliminations. Holding top speed of the meet along with his #2 qualifying 6.778 - 201.25 effort, nearly matched the e.t., and exceeded the mph with a tremendous 6.779 - 201.85 pass to obliterate Ryan Oehler's (far lane) distant 7.030 - 94.07. Smith's win gave him the matchup he wanted in the second round, facing Angelle Sampey, and only needing to defeat her to take his fifth World Championship.

(RIGHT) The final race of the round featured two female competitors, with low qualifier Karen Stoffer (near lane) facing Kelly Clontz (far lane). Everything went in Stoffer's favour, as she left first, ran low e.t. of the meet (6.741) at 200.26 mph for a statement win. Clontz ran out of power early and coasted to a 9-second loss to finish her season. Stoffer advanced with lane choice and a very good chance to earn her third consecutive final round berth and possibly, her second win of the season.