Jason McCulloch joins Josh Hart Racing in pursuit of Top Fuel championship
NHRA Funny Car icon Jim Dunn honored with NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award
Toyota wins its first NHRA Manufacturers Cup championship
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series champs honored at awards ceremony
Tony Stewart named 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year
In Memoriam
Unofficial Mission Foods points standings
Greg Anderson joins exclusive company with sixth NHRA Pro Stock title
Antron Brown secures fourth Mission Foods NHRA Top Fuel world championship
Funny Car world champ Austin Prock makes fastest run in NHRA history
Gaige Herrera locks up second straight Pro Stock Motorcycle championship
In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals Sunday preview
Austin Prock clinches first Funny Car world championship in dominant fashion
Saturday News and Notes from the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals
U.S. Army veteran, mother receives life-changing car gift at NHRA Finals
Cody Lane and Cody Webber clinch NHRA Lucas Oil Series titles in Pomona
DHL, Kalitta teams join forces to provide 2 million meals in “Race To End Hunger”
In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals Friday preview
Zurn Elkay and Mainline Sales join Krista Baldwin for NHRA Finals
Shell Roofing Solutions Group covers Funny Car driver Jason Rupert in Pomona
Paul Lee enters NHRA Finals with a new look from Mainline Sales Inc.
NHRA to honor veterans during weekend-long celebration in Pomona
Hull to finish rookie Funny Car season in iconic Mooneyes/Jim Dunn Racing entry
Factory Stock ace Stephen Bell to make NHRA Pro Stock debut in 2025
Final odds released for NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel, Pro Stock championships
There's still time to enter 2024 NHRA Sweepstakes featuring big prizes
Sorensen and Fuller clinch Lucas Oil Series Sportsman titles in Las Vegas
Pritchett to make long-awaited Top Fuel debut in Shumake’s dragster in Pomona
FallNationals, JEGS Allstars coverage highlight new National Dragster issue
Prescott Raceway joins NHRA member track family in Division 4
Force keeps Western Swing sweep hopes alive at highlight-filled Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals
Schedule | Tickets | Entries | Results
Team reports | Photos | Race Notes | Points
John Force continues his midseason surge and raced to his second consecutive Funny Car win of the year in front of a sold-out crowd at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were winners of the 15th NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event of the season in Sonoma.
Force secured his 145th career victory in the category when he defeated Ron Capps in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T in a tightly contested race. Force powered his Realtree Peak Antifreeze Camaro to a winning pass of 3.948 seconds at 324.59 mph to the losing run of Capps at 3.960, 320.13.
“We won Denver and that got me motivated,” said Force. “My daughter [Courtney] and Robert [Hight] were outrunning me in Denver, but we got the win. We knew it was going to be a different animal here. We got down here, and I was amazed.”
John Force
J.R. Todd
Greg Anderson
LE Tonglet
This is his second win in the daunting three race stretch of the Western Swing, which concludes next weekend in Seattle. In 1994, Force became the only Funny Car in NHRA history to sweep all three events.
Capps, who raced to his third runner-up finish on the season, along with his category leading four wins, retains his points lead in Funny Car. Capps, along with Courtney Force of John Force Racing who is second in the points, become the first two Funny Car competitors to earn berths in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
Todd piloted his SealMaster Top Fuel dragster to his first win in nearly a year when he defeated Richie Crampton in the final. His winning run of 3.745 at 324.83 to the losing effort of Crampton with a 3.806 at 313.07 earned Todd his ninth career Top Fuel victory. This was the first win for Todd since he defeated Shawn Langdon in Seattle last season.
“It has been a long time coming for these SealMaster boys,” said Todd. “We have been to a few finals and haven’t been able to close the deal. I had all the faith and confidence in Connie Kalitta and Rob Flynn, and they made the right calls all day.”
Steve Torrence, the No. 1 qualifier who raced to a semifinal appearance, and Brittany Force, who has two wins on the season, also gained entry in the Countdown to the Championship on Sunday.
In Pro Stock, Anderson continued his dominating season in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro when he defeated his KB Racing teammate Bo Butner for his seventh win of the season. Anderson, who notched his 85th win, raced to victory with a pass of 6.580 at 210.54 to the trailing run of 6.622 at 210.70 by Butner.
The win ties Anderson with Bob Glidden as the second winningest Pro Stock racer in history behind Warren Johnson with 97 victories. This is the fifth career win in Sonoma for Anderson, and he is the Pro Stock points leader.
“This track has been magical to KB Racing, not just to me but Jason Line, too,” said Anderson. “This place is special to me and magical. It is everything a Pro Stock racer wants. It is a great racetrack, great weather conditions, and full grandstands. You don’t get any better than that. It cranks us up and gives us a lot of energy.”
Butner retains his third-place position in the points and joins Anderson and Line as the first three racers in Pro Stock to lock in a position in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Tonglet won his first race since the Brainerd event in 2011, defeating Andrew Hines in the final. Tonglet, who is the 2010 Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion, had the winning run of 6.813 at 196.73 to the losing run of 6.864 at 194.52. Tonglet faced Katie Sullivan, Hector Arana, Eddie Krawiec, and Hines to secure the win.
“It has been five years since we have won, and to bring home the Wally after beating Andrew and Eddie back to back is just huge for our team,” said Tonglet. “We just come out here to have fun, and it wasn’t getting fun. We had to change somethings up and started getting round-wins, and it is just great.”
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing will resume Aug. 5-7 with the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle.