ESPN NHRA

POMONA, Calif. -- Spectacular Southern California weather, huge crowds and several performance milestones were just icing on the cake at the 48th CARQUEST Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway.

The 2008 NHRA POWERade Series got off to a red-hot start last weekend with dramatic side-by-side matchups throughout eliminations, resulting in familiar faces occupying the postrace winner's circle.

Tony Schumacher ruled Top Fuel, Robert Hight picked up Funny Car honors and Greg Anderson made a big step toward his fourth POWERade Pro Stock title on race day, while elsewhere in those three professional categories, you didn't have to look very far to find drivers who experienced opening-day highs and lows. Here are some examples:

The highs
Cory McClenathan will be racing as part of Don Schumacher's enormous operation in '08. Having the infrastructure of Don Schumacher Racing provides technical and logistical support that gives Cory the best overall racing platform since McClenathan drove for Joe Gibbs' operation before the coach left the NHRA six years ago. With old friend and tuner Mike Green now back with McClenathan, Sunday's runner-up finish could be a sign of things to come.

Antron Brown added further evidence that he will be a factor in Top Fuel. Although he advanced no further than Round 2 in eliminations, he qualified No. 1 in his nitro debut and appears to be a good fit with tuner Lee Beard. His pit area was mobbed with fans throughout much of the weekend, and you can bet he'll be winning many more rounds in 2008.

Hillary Will continues to impress as she gains more and more experience aboard Ken Black's Top Fuel Dragster. She officially became the fastest woman in NHRA history when she scored top speed of the race in Pomona with her 334.65 mph pass -- tying her with Tony Schumacher for fifth fastest speed all-time -- and the former Top Alcohol Dragster standout keeps edging ever closer to her first professional event title.

Tim Wilkerson suffered a first-round upset on Sunday but the fact he qualified No. 1 to begin the season in a Funny Car class bristling with high-dollar tuneups and multi-car teams is a reflection of his tremendous knack for maximizing his resources and taking on the role of giant killer. The round wins will come, and there's not another racer in the category who underestimates the threat Wilkerson brings to the other lane.

John Force is still dealing with the after effects of his accident last September, including lingering pain in his ankle and hands. But the 14-time POWERade champion made a spectacular last-shot qualifying pass on Saturday that put him into the field in the No. 4 spot and advanced to the semifinals on Sunday. His teammate, Hight, won the race and new driver Mike Neff qualified for his first national event. Not a bad weekend after a demoralizing 2007 season.

Melanie Troxel has made the transition from Top Alcohol Dragster to Top Fuel Dragster to Funny Car with remarkable ease. She nearly made NHRA history in Pomona qualifying when she held the No.1 spot after the first two sessions in a category where a woman has never scored low qualifier honors. Her day ended early on Sunday, but she made her point: She can handle her new ride.

The lows
Doug Kalitta continues to struggle. A forgettable 2007 couldn't have ended soon enough for him and his team after being squeezed out of the championship by Tony Schumacher the year before. Kalitta could only manage to qualify No. 11 in Pomona before smoking the tires in the first round and losing to ... yes, Tony Schumacher.

Brandon Bernstein brings one of the sport's most experienced, respected and capable teams to the table. This is a group that has every necessary tool to win championship after championship, and getting off to a good start in Pomona was important to them. Paired against McClenathan in the first Top Fuel matchup of the season, losing that first-round contest put a damper on Brandon's high hopes for a strong '08 launch.

Del Worsham, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Tony Bartone all had their own particular reason for a successful Winternationals showing in Funny Car. Worsham has forged a new racing partnership with Top Fuel owner Dexter Tuttle; Johnson was making his first start in place of the retired Kenny Bernstein; Bartone and team owner Jim Dunn were racing with new sponsorship from Candidae Dog Food. All three failed to qualify.

Tony Pedregon has never experienced as violent an engine explosion as the one he suffered in Sunday's first-round loss to John Force. Pedregon had already fouled out before his car disintegrated 1,000 feet later, resulting in an enormous fireball that caused second-degree burns to his right hand. The plus side? He was interviewed on NBC's "Today Show" and CNN's "American Morning" on Monday.

Doug Herbert began his "For My Boys" tour in Pomona, and it appeared he had a race car good enough to win the event thanks to quick and consistent passes in qualifying. He got past Alan Bradshaw in Round 1 of eliminations but didn't have enough for Schumacher in Round 2. There were few people in Pomona who wouldn't have liked to see Doug go the distance on Sunday and establish himself as a leading candidate for the 2008 POWERade championship. He'll have another immense rooting section cheering him on in two weeks in Phoenix.

Bill Stephens covers NHRA for ESPN.com.