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2017 NHRA Finals at Pomona: Championship Highlights

Pete Ward . November 11, 2026 . Drag Racer
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Auto Club NHRA Finals: Champs Crowned, Surprises Abound

There are races and then there are Races. The Auto Club Finals was one of those Races, with an added shot of adrenalin, just for good measure. It’s gonna be difficult for the NHRA to top this one.

The pro component of the 2017 season was dominated by Funny Car. Blazing speeds and mind-numbing ETs dominated the headlines. But at Pomona, Top Fuel stole the show. Brittany Force progressed steadily throughout the regular season, scoring one event win, and began the countdown in sixth place. Once the playoffs started, she really showed her mettle, winning three races. Going into eliminations, she trailed Steve Torrence by only nine points.

Torrence was having a monster year, having won eight races out of 11 final-round appearances, but once the countdown begins, all bets are off. Both racers advanced to the second round, but there Torrence’s season went sideways. Force won her match, while Torrence fell to Antron Brown, giving her the Top Fuel championship. Adding insult to injury, Force went on to win the race.

2017 NHRA Finals
Robert Hight torched the record books in 2017 with Top Speed and Low ET heroics, but his performance was inconsistent. He came into Pomona with a slim lead over reigning champ Ron Capps, who was superior for most of the season. Qualifying for Hight was nearly disastrous, making it into the field at 15th on his final effort. The first round of elims witnessed Capps falter and Hight win, giving the 2009 F/C champ his second world title.
2017 NHRA Finals
Troy Coughlin and Mike Castellana were vying for the Pro Mod championship coming into the Vegas national event prior to Pomona. The final showdown between the two came in the second round with Coughlin taking the win and securing his third world title.
2017 NHRA Finals
Eddie Krawiec needed only to qualify at the finals to secure his fourth championship. His four playoff wins plus several others, including Indy, propelled him to the season’s crown.
“Bob Utner,” Bo Butner’s evil twin, trailed Greg Anderson by a seemingly insurmountable 52 points coming into Pomona. Taking matters into his own hands, he defeated Anderson in the semis, but needed an event victory to secure the Pro Stock crown. In the finals, he faced rookie terror Tanner Gray. Per usual, Gray leaped to an early lead, but rattled the tires, and Butner roared by to capture his first Pro Stock crown.
2017 NHRA Finals
Joey Severance came into Pomona with the TAD championship Wally firmly in hand, his third in a row. This achievement was made possible by his win over Shawn Cowie in the final round at the Vegas national event preceding the finals.
2017 NHRA Finals
Shane Westerfield cruised into the Pomona pits, grinning ear to ear, because he, too, had claimed his Eliminator championship (TAFC) at Vegas.
David Rampy added yet another world champ Wally to his burgeoning collection. This makes three for Comp Eliminator and a total of five.
2017 NHRA Finals
Justin Lamb joined an elite group having won world titles in two categories in the same season. He secured the Super Stock crown at The Strip in Vegas, his home track. Two weeks later, he drove the four hours to Pomona and won Stock. This feat brings his championship count to four.

2017 NHRA Finals
With the Super Comp World Championship secured, Austin Williams hauled his ’72 Duster to Pomona and proceeded to win the event’s Stock Eliminator.
2017 NHRA Finals
In S/G, John Labbous Jr. entered Pomona with a mere three-point edge over Chris Cannon. In the second round of elims, Labbous won the hard-fought championship battle, taking a win, while Cannon came up short.
2017 NHRA Finals
Lynn Ellison was another racer who held a hot hand in Vegas, which netted him the Top Dragster World Champ Wally.
Top Sportsman’s premiere World Champ, Jeffrey Barker, claimed his second crown in mid-October with a Division 2 Lucas Series victory.

 

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