For the second consecutive day, the National Hot Rod Association’s season-ending In-N-Out Burgers NHRA Finals was rained out Saturday due to a massive storm enveloping much of Southern California, including In-N-Out Burgers Pomona Drag Strip, the site of the event, in Pomona, Calif.

Forecasts are not promising about racing Sunday, which remains on schedule with the final four rounds of eliminations for the season, ending with the crowning of the champions in all classes, most notably the pro ranks of Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Unfortunately, the storm is so large that it’s predicted that the rain may continue all the way until Wednesday.

NHRA officials announced Saturday afternoon that they are going ahead with plans for the four rounds of eliminations on Sunday. Each elimination ladder will be set by the current points coming into this weekend.

Sunday’s schedule has Top Fuel and Funny Car starting at 10 a.m. PT (instead of the originally scheduled 11 a.m. PT), followed by Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Because of track curfew regulations, all nitro racing (Top Fuel and Funny Car) must be completed by 6 p.m. PT.

NHRA has not announced its provisional plans for the event if Sunday also gets rained out.

Among options NHRA officials could consider:

• Try to run at least two of the four final rounds and then come back early Monday to wrap things up, weather permitting.
• It could wait things out until mid-week if the weather clears as predicted.
• The sanctioning body could reschedule the event for next weekend to return to the Pomona drag strip.
• Or, and it is not out of the realm of possibility, if weather continues to preclude any type of racing, NHRA has the option to cancel the event entirely and award championships to those drivers or riders who came into the weekend in the lead in their respective professional classes.

If NHRA were to cancel the event entirely, it’s believed it would be the first time a season did not conclude in the sport’s 74-year history.

If a few hours’ window of dry weather occurs on Sunday (track drying of at least one hour also has to be taken into consideration), NHRA would likely attempt to run as many elimination rounds as possible, and then hopefully complete the event on Monday, weather permitting.

But again, if rain becomes an obstacle, the event’s completion could be pushed back to Tuesday or even Wednesday.

There is one significant off-track concern: the championship awards banquet is set for Monday night, November 17, at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. If the final race is not completed, obviously, awards cannot be handed out (unless NHRA completely cancels running the event and gives out awards based on the current points standings).

NHRA is expected to make an announcement about the status of the banquet sometime on Sunday. If the event gets pushed back to next weekend, it’s likely the banquet will be cancelled.

NHRA’s best-case scenario is if the weather clears enough to get in at least two elimination rounds on Sunday and then complete the event Monday morning – weather permitting, of course – then it’s likely the awards banquet will be held as scheduled later that evening.

Highlights to watch for if the race can at least get underway:

• With all four qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday being rained out, points leader Doug Kalitta automatically clinched his second Top Fuel championship in three seasons.
• Two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force will make her last pass on a drag strip. She is retiring from the sport to start a family with her husband.
• Defending Funny Car champion Austin Prock needs only to win his first round matchup with rookie Hunter Green, and he’ll clinch his second straight title. But if Prock loses in the first round, top challenger Matt Hagan must win all four rounds to take what would be his fifth career Funny Car title.
• In Pro Stock, points leader Dallas Glenn also needs just to win his first-round matchup vs. David Cuadra to earn his first career championship over six-time champ Greg Anderson. But if Cuadra upsets Gleen, Anderson must win all four rounds to earn his seventh career title.
• In what is arguably the most exciting championship battle to be decided, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Richard Gadson and Vance & Hines teammate Gaige Herrera are in a winner-take-all matchup. Gadson leads Herrera by 21 points (each round win is worth 30 points). Since they’re on opposite sides of the elimination ladder, the two riders could face each other in the final round to decide the championship. Or, if Herrera finishes at least one additional round ahead of Gadson, he will be crowned the champion. Gadson is going for his first career PSM title, while Herrera is in search of his third consecutive two-wheeled title.

NHRA will announce further schedule changes, if needed. Updates will also be posted on NHRA.com and NHRA’s social media channels.