Rookie Report Card after Sonoma
Pro Stock rookie sensation Tanner Gray built on his already sizable advantage in the battle for the Auto Club Road to the Future Award when he powered to his third victory in four final-round appearances during the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, race 15 of 24 (eight of 16 for Pro Stock Motorcycle)on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. In addition to his win in Sonoma, Gray also locked up a spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, meaning he will be one of 10 drivers vying for the world championship in that class this season.
All five Road to the Future candidates were in competition at Sonoma Raceway, but Gray was the only one who tallied round-wins. Top Fuel's Troy Coughlin Jr. and Shawn Reed, Funny Car driver Jonnie Lindberg, and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Joey Gladstone all qualified for their respective fields, but they all were spectators after round one.
Following is a look at the stats for all five drivers through Sonoma.
Coughlin | Reed | Lindberg | Gray | Gladstone | |
Events attended | 15 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 8 |
Best qualifying position | 5 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
Round-wins | 4 | 2 | 9 | 28 | 6 |
Event wins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Runner-ups | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Holeshot W/L* | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3/3 | 1/1 |
DNQs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Points position | 10 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 8 |
*Does not include NHRA Four-Wide Nationals |