{"id":102585,"date":"2025-11-17T20:44:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/nhras-glen-cromwell-opens-up-on-decision-to-cancel-nhra-finals-in-pomona\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T20:44:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:44:28","slug":"nhras-glen-cromwell-opens-up-on-decision-to-cancel-nhra-finals-in-pomona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/nhras-glen-cromwell-opens-up-on-decision-to-cancel-nhra-finals-in-pomona\/","title":{"rendered":"NHRA\u2019s Glen Cromwell Opens Up on Decision to Cancel NHRA Finals in Pomona"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHRA made the call Sunday to cancel the 2025 In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona amid unrelenting rain, unsafe track conditions, and temperatures that made it impossible to prepare a safe surface for 11,000-12,000 horsepower race cars. With the race officially called, the remaining 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world champions were determined by current points: Austin Prock in Funny Car, Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock and Richard Gadson in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Doug Kalitta locked up his second Top Fuel world title on Saturday, and Shawn Cowie clinched the Top Alcohol Dragster championship the same way.<\/p>\n

NHRA President Glen Cromwell spoke at length about the decision during an in-depth appearance on the SpeedFreaks <\/em>show with host Kenny Sargent \u2013 the show\u2019s founder, CEO and co-host \u2013 and co-host Crash Gladys. Cromwell acknowledged the disappointment, frustration, and shock from fans, teams, and the wider drag racing community, but stood firmly behind the choice on the grounds of safety.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Cromwell described the weekend as unlike anything he\u2019s seen in nearly three decades with the NHRA. \u201cI\u2019ve been with the NHRA for 28 years. I\u2019ve never seen anything like this,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had rain come in Friday and it never let up. It continued all the way through today.\u201d The forecast for Monday and Tuesday wasn\u2019t promising, and long-range models showed another front moving in by Thursday and Friday. \u201cWe exhausted everything we could do,\u201d Cromwell added. \u201cThere\u2019s just no guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even during brief breaks in the rain, the situation deteriorated. Cromwell explained that 48 hours of continuous rainfall had forced water underneath the rubber on Pomona\u2019s concrete pad, peeling it loose as soon as the surface began to dry. \u201cPeople don\u2019t quite understand that \u2013 when water gets underneath that rubber, it starts to peel up,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would have had to scrape 600-700 feet of the concrete, lay down new rubber, and that would take four to five hours. If everything stayed dry, you\u2019re looking at racing at five o\u2019clock with temperatures dropping. That\u2019s a major concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Track temperature proved to be a critical factor. Cromwell said the NHRA targets around 70 degrees for nitro cars \u2013 already on the low end \u2013 but Sunday\u2019s ambient temps hovered in the low-50s. \u201cWhen you\u2019re putting 11,000-12,000 horsepower on a racetrack and it\u2019s cold, that\u2019s dangerous. Extremely dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n

<\/span>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Cromwell also stressed that the NHRA worked closely with the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) and top team representatives before making the decision. \u201cWe sat down with PRO this morning \u2013 NHRA and PRO along with leaders from Elite, KB, and our Pro Stock Motorcycle teams \u2013 and walked through it,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery single one of them agreed with this decision. Even Tony Stewart, who still had a shot at the Funny Car championship [with driver Matt Hagan]. We all wanted to finish it on the racetrack, but the track just wasn\u2019t going to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, the series evaluated backup plans starting early in the week, including running into Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, delaying the race to the following weekend, or even shifting to another track. Cromwell said those scenarios ultimately fell apart due to forecast uncertainty, safety concerns, and logistical realities \u2013 including broadcast constraints, travel, staffing, and team resources. \u201cA race team is a business,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cThey\u2019ve got staff, people, budgets, commitments. How long can you keep teams here with no guarantees?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cromwell was candid about fan frustration and criticism, acknowledging that communication could have been better in real time. But he remained unwavering on the core reason for the cancellation. \u201cUltimately, it comes back to safety. That\u2019s number one. Our fans come out to see cars go 340 miles per hour, but we have to keep our drivers safe. That\u2019s the most important thing you can do in motorsports.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the NHRA considered all ticket holders and confirmed that 2025 Finals tickets retain full value for either the 2026 Winternationals or 2026 NHRA Finals. \u201cAnyone who had a ticket this past weekend can use that ticket next year. That ticket is cash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cromwell didn\u2019t shy away from the reality that the season ended in a way no one wanted \u2013 competitors, fans, sponsors or staff. \u201cWe get no joy out of this decision,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough day for everybody. I\u2019m happy for our champions, but this is hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed by shifting focus to the future. The NHRA celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2026, and Cromwell revealed the organization is already deep into planning a major year-long celebration of John Force set for 2027. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working on it prior to his announcement,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t share details yet, but it\u2019s big.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the disappointment in Pomona, Cromwell remained confident in the decision and the road ahead. \u201cWe\u2019re going to pick up, move on, and look forward to 2026 \u2013 and then some exciting stuff even after that in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on November 17, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post NHRA\u2019s Glen Cromwell Opens Up on Decision to Cancel NHRA Finals in Pomona<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NHRA made the call Sunday to cancel the 2025 In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona amid unrelenting rain, unsafe track conditions, and temperatures that made it impossible to prepare a safe surface for 11,000-12,000 horsepower race cars. With the race officially called, the remaining 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world champions were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}