The 1987 NHRA Winternationals (commonly known as the Winternats) were a

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanction ...

(NHRA)

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

event, held at Auto Club Raceway,

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

on 1 February.

Top Fuel Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.641 second ...

began a revival, from what looked like a death knell in 1984, with thirty-two entrants for a sixteen-car Funny Car field, including

Kenny Bernstein Kenneth Dale Bernstein (born September 6, 1944) is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed "the Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed "th ...

(in his controversial, and quick, new

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

- sponsoredGanahl, Pat. "Winter Heat: '87 NHRA Wnternationals", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 88.Baskerville, Gray. "Winter Heat: Leave it to Leavers", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 91. Bud King

Buick LeSabre The Buick LeSabre is a full-size car made by the division Buick of General Motors from 1959 until 2005. Prior to 1959, this position had been retained by the full-size Buick Special model (1936–58). The "LeSabre", which is French for "the sab ...

Ultimateracinghistory – NHRA Winternationals – Funny Care Race – February 1, 1987
(retrieved 23 November 2018)), Ed "The Ace" McCulloch, Tom Hoover, Tom "Mongoo$e" McEwen,

John Force John Harold Force (born May 4, 1949) is an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing (JFR). He is one of the most d ...

, and

Raymond Beadle Raymond Beadle (December 16, 1943October 20, 2014) was an American drag racer and auto racing team owner. Beadle was perhaps best known as the driver and owner of the ''Blue Max'' Top Fuel funny car. Beadle won three consecutive NHRA Funny Car ...

. Bernstein's switch to Buick meant

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Motorcraft Motorcraft is an auto part brand owned and operated by Ford Motor Company. Products under the "Motorcraft" brand include spark plugs, batteries, brakes, fuel filters, A/C condensers and accumulators, motor oil, automatic transmission fluid, am ...

sponsorship would go to the new Candies and Hughes

Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998 to 2001. Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the ''T-Bird'', Ford Introduce ...

, driven by Mark Oswald.Ganahl, Pat. "Winter Heat: '87 NHRA Wnternationals", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 89.

Events

began a revival, from what looked like a death knell in 1984, with thirty-two entrants for a sixteen-car Funny Car field, including Kenny Bernstein, Ed McCulloch, and Tom McEwen, and

Don Prudhomme Don Prudhomme (born April 6, 1941, in San Fernando, California), nicknamed "the Snake", is an American drag racer. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991. Racing career Prudhomme crewed for "TV Tommy" Ivo on Ivo's ...

(who, surprisingly, failed to qualify). High-mounted wings and

cylinder head In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and possibly heat dissipation fins. In more modern ...

s milled from

billet In European militaries, a billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. In American usage, it refers to a specific personnel position, assignment, or duty station to which a soldier can be assigned. Historically, a billet w ...

aluminum were the leading technical highlights. Maximum qualifying e.t. was 5.60, the quickest yet for a Top Fuel field.

Results

Top Fuel Dragster

hosted a field of 16, including low e.t. qualifier Hank Endres (driving for John Carey), "Big Daddy" Garlits (qualified #3),

Shirley Muldowney Shirley Muldowney (born June 19, 1940), also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag racing, Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) ...

(#7 qualifier), Larry Minor (qualified #11), Gene "Snowman" Snow (#2 qualifier), Amato (qualified #6), and Darrell Gwynn (qualified #8). Ultimateracinghistory – Winternationals – NHRA Top Fuel Race – February 1, 1987
(retrieved 23 November 2018)

Round One

Low e.t. qualifier Hank Endres (turning in a 5.32) eliminated Carey (his car owner, who qualified #9, with a 5.49). #17 qualifier

Tom Morgan Tom Morgan may refer to: Sports * Tom Morgan (rugby union) (1866–1899), Wales international rugby union player * Tom Morgan (footballer), football (soccer) manager with Wrexham and Port Vale * Tom Morgan (baseball) (1930–1987), American basebal ...

(stepping in after #12 qualifier

Ray Stutz Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

failed to start) lost to #4-qualified

Dan Pastorini Dante Anthony Pastorini (born May 26, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Houston Oilers. He played college football for the Sa ...

. Muldowney qualified #7, but lost to

Bill Mullins William Mullins (born 30 January 1948) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, the major rugby league competition in Australia at the time. Caree ...

, who qualified #15. Frank Bradley, who qualified #10, lost to #2 qualifier Gene "Snowman" Snow. Minor, #11 qualifier, was eliminated by Garlits (qualified #3). Qualifying #16 (high e.t.), Ed Moore was defeated by #8 qualifier Darrell Gwynn. Denver Schutz, #14 qualifier, lost to Joe Amato, who qualified #6. Dick LaHaie, qualified #5 (driving for Larry Minor), turned in a 5.307 passDanh, Philippe. "Winter Heat: Life on the Starting Line", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 92 caption. to defeat Jack Ostrander, who qualified #13.

Round Two

Pastorini lost to Gwynn. Amato defeated Snow. Garlits eliminated Mullins. Endres was defeated by LaHaie.

Round Three

Gwynn lost to Amato, and LaHaie was eliminated by Garlits (5.38 to 5.36 seconds)Danh, Philippe. "Winter Heat: Life on the Starting Line", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 92.

Final round

Garlits recorded a 5.298 at on his final pass of the meet, defeating Amato, who turned in a 5.415. Garlits also had a better reaction time.

Top Fuel Funny Car

Top Fuel Funny Car began a revival, from what looked like a death knell in 1984, with thirty-two entrants for a sixteen-car field, including Bernstein, McCulloch, Hoover, Force, and Don Prudhomme (who, surprisingly, failed to qualify).

Round One

Oswald (qualifying #2, at 5.52 seconds and ) defeated #10 qualifier Hoover. Force (qualified #9) lost to low-e.t. qualifier Bernstein.

, qualified #4, was defeated by #12-qualified Graeme Cowin. Doc Halladay, qualified #8, was beaten by high-e.t. qualifier Tim Grose. #14 qualifier John Martin defeated #6 qualifier Billy Meyer.

Steve Hodkinson Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation), se ...

qualified #15, and eliminated #7 qualifier Johnny West. McEwen qualified #13, and went out in round one.

Round Two

Grose fell to Cowin, Hodkinson to Pulde. Bernstein trailered McCulloch, and Martin eliminated Oswald.

Semi-final round

Martin was eliminated by Cowin, Pulde by Bernstein.

Final round

Cowin faced off against Bernstein, and lost.

Pro Stock

Bob Glidden Bob Glidden (August 18, 1944 – December 17, 2017) was an American drag racing, drag racer. He retired from Pro Stock racing in 1997 and returned in 2010. Glidden retired as the driver with the most wins in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA ...

debuted a new 1987 Thunderbird with a low-e.t. qualifying pass of 7.425 seconds at . Larry Morgan qualified #16 in an

Oldsmobile Firenza The Oldsmobile Firenza was a compact car which was produced by Oldsmobile from 1982 to 1988. It was based on the front-wheel drive GM J platform, which was shared with the Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird ...

(owned by Bob Panella) at 7.57 seconds and .

Warren Johnson Warren Johnson (born July 7, 1943 in Virginia, Minnesota) is an American former NHRA drag racing driver. He is the driver with the second most wins in pro stock with 97 career wins, six world championships and earned himself the nickname "the P ...

turned in several 7.4-second passes in a row, and went home having recorded low e.t. and top speed in class of the meet, 7.403 seconds and .

Round One

Glidden eliminated #9 qualifier

Mark Pawuk Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

. Morgan defeated #8 qualifier Joe Lepone.

Gary Brown Gary Brown may refer to: Sports * Gary Brown (running back) (1969–2022), American football running back and coach * Gary Brown (offensive lineman) (born 1971), American football player * Gary Brown (rugby union) (born 1980), Irish rugby player ...

, #15 qualifier, lost to the #7-qualified

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

of Tony Christian. Bruce Allen qualified #3, but lost to #11 qualifier Don Coonce's Firenza. Johnson qualified #2, and eliminated # qualifier

Kenny Delco Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". ...

. Lee Dean qualified #4, only to lose to Darrell Alderman, who qualified #12. Reid Whisnant qualified #13 and lost to #5 qualifier Butch Leal. Steve Schmidt, qualified #12, lost to Gordie Rivera, qualified #6.

Round Two

Glidden lost in round two to a

holeshot A holeshot is a term used in motorcycle racing to describe or reference the first racer to get through the apex of the first turn at the beginning of the race. Getting the holeshot gives the rider a competitive advantage and some level of control ...

by Leal (with a 7.52 e.t. to Glidden's 7.45). Alderman was eliminated by Morgan, Christian by Coonce. Rivera lost to Johnson. Ultimateracinghistory – NHRA Winternationals – Pro Stock Race – February 1, 1987
(retrieved 23 November 2018)

Semi-final

Morgan faced Johnson, and lost. Leal eliminated Coonce.

Final round

Johnson took the win.

Top Alcohol

The TA/D final pitted

Denny Lucas Denny or Dennie may refer to: People *Denny (given name), a list of people named Denny or Dennie *Denny (surname), a list of people surnamed Denny or Dennie *Denny (hybrid hominin) Places Denny * Denny, California, a ghost town *Denny, Falkirk ...

against Bill Barney. Lucas's dragster did a wheelstand, yet still managed a pass of 6.312 seconds and , exactly to the thousandth the same as Barney's. The win was initially given to Barney, but after examining the videotape recorded by

Diamond T Sports Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

, it finally went to Lucas. Chuck Phelps brought his ''Bad Moon Rising'' TA/FC to Pomona; playing

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

in the pits and dressing his crew as

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

may (or may not) have contributed to his taking the class win.

Super Gas

Super Gas had fully 62 entrants. The class was won by Ed Sellnow, in a

small-block A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, and bu ...

Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...

Competition Eliminator

The field was 49 cars. Frank Parks qualified #15 in a C/ED, owned by Todd Patterson; Parks was eliminated in Round Three. The class was won by a B/Econo Altered

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

, owned and driven by Patterson.

Stock

The

Stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

final matched Norm Rollings (of Pomona, in a

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

(his first national event) lost to Harry Axemaker, in a G/SA 1971 Firebird; it would be his first class win in eighteen years of trying.Baskerville, Gray. "Winter Heat: Leave it to Leavers", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 90 caption.

Notes

Sources

*Baskerville, Gray. "Winter Heat: Leave it to Leavers", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, pp. 90–91. *Danh, Philippe. "Winter Heat: Life on the Starting Line", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, p. 92. *Ganahl, Pat. "Winter Heat: '87 NHRA Wnternationals", in ''Hot Rod'', May 1987, pp. 88–89. {{Authority control

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanction ...

NHRA Winternationals