"Hopefully we can play spoiler and help my buddy Brandon [Bernstein] win the championship this year," Todd said. "I'm not worried about next year. We have some big announcements coming real soon. I'm definitely gonna be here racing next year in a Top Fuel dragster. Right now we're gonna worry about finishing this year as strong as we can.

"[Crew chief Kevin Poynter and I are] both still learning together, two young guys having fun and living our dream. He's newer to being a crew chief than I am to driving, but he's doing really well. This will be our farewell race together, so it would be great for us to walk away with a trophy."

All four Countdown to One racers are safely in the field. Bernstein is quickest in his Budweiser dragster with a 4.529 at 329.83 mph. Tony Schumacher, fourth in the points standings, is in sixth place in his U.S. Army dragster with a best of 4.544 at 323.04 mph. Larry Dixon, second in points, is eighth in the SkyTel rail with a 4.572, and points leader Rod Fuller shut off early and carded a 15th-best 4.643 at 265.85 mph in his Caterpillar-backed hot rod.

Jeff Arend

Local Funny Car racer Arend, who hails from nearby San Dimas, is tops in his category with a 4.781 at 324.90 mph in the Worsham Racing Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS. Arend has been qualifying strong lately, although he only has one No. 1 qualifying effort, earlier this year in Indy.

"We had an idea we could run in the 4.70s," Arend said. "It was a little soft early, but after that it was fine. It certainly agreed with what we were trying to do. We're trying to do the best we can in my hometown here. I live just a few miles from here.

"We've known for a while that CSK was pulling back to one car in 2008, so we've been looking for another sponsor for my car for a while. As you know, it's very hard to put deals together. We'd love to go out with a win. Our timing has sucked this year with bad things happening at the worst possible times, but maybe we can get the breaks this weekend."

The highest-qualified racer in the Countdown to One is former world champion Gary Scelzi, who is fourth with a 4.813 at 319.98 mph in his Mopar/Oakley Charger. Scelzi is second in the points, a distant 91 markers behind Tony Pedregon. Scelzi's teammate Ron Capps is fifth with a 4.845 at 322.42 mph in his Brut Revolution Dodge, and Pedregon (seventh at 4.864) and Robert Hight (eighth at 4.867) also earned top-half slots. 

By qualifying for this event, Pedregon will eliminate Capps from championship contention.

Jeg Coughlin

A runner-up last weekend in Las Vegas, Coughlin remains in control of a great hot rod as his Jegs.com Chevrolet Cobalt carried him to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 6.689 at 206.95 mph. Coughlin entered this weekend's race 34 points behind Anderson, so every point is important.

"The points are set up where we couldn't get a round back on Greg in qualifying, but we can get more than a round up on Dave [Connolly], so they all count, certainly," Coughlin said. "It's just good to run this well right out of the trailer and send the message we have a car to win the race with us this weekend.

"The track will greatly improve throughout the weekend. It's good right now, but after the nitro guys, who are so intense with downforce, go down it a few times, it will make it all the better. It's exciting to come into Pomona with the Countdown to One going on and to qualify No. 1, at least provisionally. We're having fun."

Anderson, who beat Coughlin in Vegas, isn't giving up much in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO; he ran a second-best 6.690 at 207.18 mph. Allen Johnson, who has a mathematical shot at the championship, is fifth with a 6.696 at 206.23 mph in his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T, and Connolly recorded just an 11th-best 6.713 at 206.76 mph in his Torco/Seelye Wright Chevrolet Cobalt. 

Angelle Sampey

Three-time Pomona winner Sampey is hoping to go out with a bang and ran her U.S. Army Suzuki to a track record 6.973 at 188.94 mph to take the first-day lead. Sampey is scrambling to find a new sponsor after learning the Army wouldn't be back for 2008, so she was pleased with a chance to meet with the media.

"I hope that I can hold onto it because we're in the middle of finding a job for next year, and we need every little bit of publicity we can get," Sampey said. "The news [of her sponsor leaving] hit us hard, but it hasn't taken anything out of my determination to succeed. In fact, it's only made me more determined to show everyone we're worth sponsoring. I know we can still win races and championships, and I want to show everyone that.

"I didn't even think we went that fast that time because it was so smooth. It went really straight that time. We've been having trouble with it kicking out on us, but it didn't that time and that was on a new tire, so I'd imagine that new tire will stay on there all weekend. There's more out there. The track's in great shape."

Points leader Andrew Hines is third on the grid with a 6.996 at 189.71 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod. Chip Ellis, who is second to Hines in the points, follows close behind in fourth place after a 7.010 at 188.46 mph on his Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin.

Peggy Llewellyn kept her slim title hopes alive by running a seventh-best 7.061 at 186.20 mph on the Rush Racing Products Buell V-Twin. Third-place Matt Smith didn't make it down the track under power Thursday.

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