NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The action at Sonoma Raceway began long before the NHRA Mission Food Drag Racing series racers took to the track on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday and Thursday, the track hosted the lates event in the Pacific Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, featuring NHRA’s best sportsman racers. Here is a recap of the final results

COMP – Kevin Carter
SUPER STOCK – Ryan McClanahan
STOCK – Jimmy DeFrank
SUPER COMP – Trey Vetter
SUPER GAS – Marko Perivolaris
SUPER STREET – Andrew Olson
TOP DRAGSTER – Chad Axford
TOP SPORTSMAN – Don Meziere
SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE – Michael O’Neil

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE TIME TRIAL 1

The eight Pro Stock Motorcycles that will race in Saturday’s GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle Allstar Callout will received two time trial runs on Friday to kick off pro qualifying.

Steve Johnson set the early pace with a 6.894 in the first pair alongside Chase Van Sant’s 6.926. Van Sant’s bike is now wearing the colors of event sponsor Power Edge.

John Hall ran 6.799 in the second pair alongside Jianna Evaristo’s 6.854 on her JHG Buell.

Matt Smith made his return to this Denso Buell with a 6.795 while his wife, Angie, was a tad quicker with a 6.770 on her pink Denso entry.

The top two qualifiers, Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson, closed out the session, but couldn’t match the performance of the Smith team. Gadson ran a 6.821 while Herrera rode to a 6.814.

PRO STOCK Q1

As expected, the Pro Stock field was quick from the get-go in Sonoma with most drivers solidly in the 6.5-second zone.

Not surprisingly, Greg Anderson leads the way after Q1 with a very strong 6.522 in his HendrickCars.com Camaro. Anderson is just barely ahead of defending event winner Greg Stanfield, who posted a  6.534.

The rest of the top qualifiers include Aaron Stanfield with a 6.537, Chris Vang with a surprising 6.538 , Erica Enders at 6.543, Cody Anderson with a 6.545, and Matt Latino at 6.546.
 

FUNNY CAR Q1

There were some solid runs early in the session including a 4.006 by Hunter Green and a 4.032 by Jeff Arend and four pairs into the session, Dave Richards posted the first three second run of the weekend with a 3.966 in the Blue Bird Turf entry.

The top spot changed hands when Alexis DeJoria wheeled the Bandero Café Chevy to a 3.917 at nearly 330-mph while Austin Prock ran 4.050 on his first run of the weekend.

Chad Green and Jordan Vandergriff were both making solid runs before breaking the tires loose before the finish line with Vandergriff slowing to a 4.547 and Green running 4.620.

Jack Beckman made a great run with a 3.942 and Ron Capps, the incoming points leader, closed out the round with the best run of the round with a 3.900.

TOP FUEL Q1

The first pair of Top Fuel did not disappoint as NorCal native Jasmine Salinas set a brisk early pace with a 3.751, 331.77 to easily cover Will Smith’s 3.893.

Shawn Reed opened with a 3.850 while Tony Schumacher hazed the tires and shut off early.

Salinas held on to the top spot midway through the session, but she was challenged by Josh Hart’s 3.763 and Billy Torrence’s 3.803. Hart later revealed that he’s driving a new Speedmaster dragster this weekend.

Tony Stewart, who has enjoyed tremendous success in Sonoma during his NASCAR career, took over the top spot with a 3.736 in the R+L Carriers dragster while Antron Brown ran 3.784.

Maddi Gordon maintained the momentum from her recent win in Norwalk with a 3.751 at her home track in Sonoma while Leah Pruett also made a very competitive run with a 3.772.

The final run of the session was worth waiting for as teammates Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon ran matching 3.714 elapsed times. Kalitta earned the higher position thanks to a slightly faster speed, 337.07 to 336.49.
 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE TIME TRIAL 2

A 6.805 by Steve Johnson hinted at the potential of the second session, which kicked off as the sun began to set behind the huge ( and full) grandstand at Sonoma Raceway.

Gaige Herrera remained consistent with a 6.778 alongside a competitive 6.845 by Jianna Evaristo.

The field is tightly bunched as Richard Gadson rode to a 6.769 with John Hall right alongside at 6.789.

In the final pair of the round, Matt Smith overcame the headwind to produce the first 200-mph run of the session with a 6.730, 200.86 while wife, Angie rode to a 6.800.

PRO STOCK Q2

Going into the second session, everyone knew the Pro Stock field would get quicker and that there would be a few surprised and it didn’t take long for that to happen. Stephen Bell ran a 6.530 early but in many cases the run of the session was made by Shane Tucker who made one of the best runs of his career with a 6.516.

A pair later, the first 6.4-second run popped up with a 6.499 by Cody Anderson with Eric Latino clocking at 6.520 and Matt Hartford also improving with a 6.511.

Erica Enders moved to No. 2 at least for the time being with a 6.503 while Jeg Coughlin ran 6.533.

Equally as impressive as Tucker’s run was the 6.498 turned in by Chris Vang, who doesn’t race often, but is generally competitive when he does.

Vang scored the $2,500 Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier Bonus after his run withstood a challenge from favorites Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn.

“We don’t race often, even when we’re not out here, we’re thinking about racing and working hard to improve our program,” said Vang.

FUNNY CAR Q2

Nighttime nitro qualifying in Sonoma is typically the highlight of any season and this year’s edition delivered as promised.

The first driver down the track, Jordan Vandergriff, set a swift early pace with a 3.849 in the Cornwell Tools Camaro while Tim Gibbons made a solid pass at 4.081. There were plenty of great runs, but in the end, Vandergriff held on to win the Deecell After Dark bonus of $4,000.

Matt Hagan and Spencer Hyde followed with runs of 3.934 and 3.915, respectively.

Chad Green and J.R. Todd also made full runs with lots of header flames at 3.903 and 3.939.

Jeff Arend nearly put Jim Dunn’s car into the threes with a 4.019 at just 283.13 mph.

Austin Prock expected to run 340 mph, but didn’t get down the track while Dave Richards got loose in the other lane and slapped the wall in his Blue Bird Turf entry.

Ron Capps and Jack Beckman were the final two drivers to take a shot at the top spot and while Capps shut off early, Beckman drove to a 3.873 in the Peak Chevy.
 

TOP FUEL Q2

In the opening pair of Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher shut off early, but still put up a very respectable number with a 3.744 at just 293.73 mph. Unfortunately in the other lane, Clay Millican experienced another rear end failure that resulted in a lengthy delay.

The NHRA Safety Safari worked diligently to restore the racing surface, but faced with a 10 p.m. curfew, the decision was made to cancel the remainder of the second session. As a result, the $4,000 Deecell After Dark bonus was awarded to Q1 leader Doug Kalitta.