NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

For more than five decades, NHRA National Dragster's famed Tricky Tipster has tested his prognosticating skills prior to each national event, putting odds on the top eight racers he thinks have the best shot at victory in Tricky Tipster. This week, Tricky Tipster handicaps the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

TOP FUEL Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Stock Motorcycle
	Antron Brown • Matco Tools It’s not easy to go from high elevation back to sea level with the sun on the racetrack and be successful at both, but this team can adapt on the fly like few others. Brown is going for his fifth Sonoma win in eight years.	3-1
	Tony Schumacher • U.S. Army You can’t sweep the Western Swing if you don’t win Denver, and “the Sarge” is the only driver remaining in the class with long enough reach to grasp that broom handle.	7-2
	Steve Torrence • Capco Contractors This team can be outright dominant during stretches as they showed during Denver qualifying. This is the only stop on the Western Swing that Torrence has yet to check off his list.	4-1
	Doug Kalitta • Mac Tools Kalitta has always run well in Wine Country and has a whopping five wins here to his credit, which is the most in Top Fuel history.	5-1
	Shawn Langdon • Red Fuel/Sandvik Coromant Over the past six years, he has won this event in two different classes, and his dad won in Super Comp in 2014. He won twice on the Eastern Swing and has a chance to do the same on the Western Swing.	6-1
	J.R. Todd • SealMaster He has two runner-ups and a semifinal finish in the last three races. He won Denver in 2014 and Seattle in 2015, so it would make sense for him to take the remaining race in the Western Swing in 2016.	7-1
	Brittany Force • Monster Energy 14 races into the season, this team has not been outrun during eliminations when the car makes it to the finish line. If they can keep the candles lit with no tire smoke, she might have a big day at a race that is one of Alan Johnson’s “majors.”	8-1
	Clay Millican • Parts Plus/Great Clips We were hesitant to say he’s back after a good run in Chicago eliminations, but he provided enough evidence in Denver for us to cue up the LL Cool J classic. This team is capable of knocking out opponents with or without their momma’s permission.	10-1
FUNNY CAR
	Ron Capps • NAPA Dodge As if his very quick hot rod wasn’t enough to put him atop the order, Capps and Sonoma Raceway go together like cheese and wine. Capps has four wins here, three of which have come in recent years.	2-1
	Courtney Force • Traxxas Chevy While Denver and Sonoma may be polar opposites when it comes to conditions and tuning, it’s hard to overlook the utter dominance of Force last weekend. Combine that with a great overall season record, and it’s easy to see why the 2014 Sonoma winner jumped up the rankings.	3-1
	Robert Hight • Auto Club Chevy While others have had big swings in performance, this car as of late has been one of the more steady ones, and it can run with the best of them, as evidenced in Denver when he was on pace with or better than Force.	4-1
	Jack Beckman • Infinite Hero Dodge Tipster was a little iffy on where to put Beckman after a somewhat-forgettable Denver weekend, but what this Jimmy Prock-led team did here last year alone is worthy of a high ranking. Plus, Beckman has shown glimmers of great promise at various points this year.	6-1
	Matt Hagan • Mopar Express Lane/ Rocky Boots Dodge Is Hagan’s car worse this week than it was last week when it was third in our rankings? Not really. Others just stepped up and therefore had strong cases to be above him. In other words, it’s just another week in the always competitive Funny Car class.	7-1
	John Force • Peak Chevy Not only is he coming off a big win in Denver, but Force has a pretty solid record at this event. In addition to holding the record for most wins at this event with seven, Force was in the final here two of the last three years.	8-1
	Del Worsham • DHL Toyota Though feeling a little less perplexed about this car after the semifinal run in Denver, Tipster still isn’t 100 percent sure about where this team stands. We’ve definitely seen moments of great potential, but it just feels like something is holding them back for some reason.	10-1
	Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge Like last week, this team’s drop is not entirely about its performance but rather the overall, competitive nature of the class. It really wouldn’t be a surprise if last year’s runner-up is able to go rounds again and make Tipster’s already tough job even more challenging next week.	11-1
PRO STOCK
	Greg Anderson • Summit Camaro The KB Racing streak may have ended in Denver, but that doesn’t erase what the two Summit drivers have accomplished the first half of the season. With six wins this year and four in Sonoma, Anderson is still the favorite.	2-1
	Jason Line • Summit Camaro Teams tend to struggle with the increased altitude in Denver, and Line and his teammates fell victim to that. The competition is getting tighter, but it’s still too soon to tell if this team has lost their momentum.	5-2
	Allen Johnson • Marathon Petroleum Dart He remains King of the Mountain with his seventh win in Denver, and what’s even more exciting is being the first non-KB driver to obtain a victory this season. Johnson sometimes struggles in qualifying, but eliminations are where he shines.	3-1
	Vincent Nobile • Mountain View Camaro Having made it to his first final round of the season and his teammate Erica Enders qualifying in the No. 2 spot could mean that the Elite Motorsports team is headed in the right direction.	5-1
	Bo Butner • Jim Butner Auto Camaro He continues to qualify strong and has turned his luck around come eliminations. Having to race his KB teammates seems to be the only thing holding him back from his first Pro Stock victory.	6-1
	Shane Gray • Gray Motorsports Camaro His last outing wasn’t what he wanted with a first-round loss, but he still qualified in the top half and continues to impress from race to race.	8-1
	Drew Skillman • Ray Skillman Auto Camaro It looked as if things were turning around for Skillman, but performance in the last few races has been lacking.	10-1
	Alex Laughlin • Gas Monkey Energy Camaro Scoring his first No. 1 qualifying spot of his career in only 21 races is a huge accomplishment for this young driver. Laughlin has had a consistent car all year and is definitely proving he can compete with the best of them.	12-1
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
	Andrew Hines • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson With a Denver win and track record safely in the bank, he’s the odds-on favorite to win in Sonoma and possibly double-up in the Pro Bike Battle.	3-1
	Eddie Krawiec • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson He should be the co-favorite along with teammate Hines because their bikes are separated by only a few thousandths. He’s also the defending event champion.	4-1
	Angelle Sampey • Star/PSE Buell The three-time champ won the Sonoma race in 2004, and based on her recent performances, she’s got an excellent shot to win it again. She’s also a good bet to qualify No. 1 in what promises to be a fast field.	5-1
	Jerry Savoie • White Alligator Suzuki Although he’s never won here, Sonoma Raceway is easily one of his best tracks. The WAR team is just about overdue for a big weekend anyway.	6-1
	LE Tonglet • Nitro Fish Suzuki You know what this team is lacking? Luck. The former champ almost always qualifies in the top half and rarely gets left on, but he’s still winless since 2011. That could change at any moment.	8-1
	Matt Smith • Victory Gunner Was probably going to do some damage in Denver before another mechanical problem cropped up. Once he gets the consistency issues addressed, the Victory team will be a handful.	10-1
	Hector Arana Jr. • Lucas Oil Buell We’ve reached the critical stage; he’s outside the top 10 with three races before the Countdown. Must have round-wins, now.	12-1
	Chip Ellis • Pippin Trucking Buell Last year, this bike qualified on the pole several times. They need to find that performance again to make a run at a championship. The great Sonoma air should yield some big numbers.	15-1