TOP FUEL ROUND ONE

One pair. One upset as Josh Hart drove to a competitive 3.746 in his R+L Carriers dragster to beat Tony Stewart, who smoked the tires almost immediately. The win was a huge relief for Hart and his crew, who have made multiple changes recently in an attempt to become more competitive. As for Stewart, the loss marks his first round one loss of the season. 

Two pairs, two upsets as No. 10 qualifier Shawn Langdon took out low qualifier Brittany Force. Langdon didn’t get down the track at all during qualifying but crew chief Brian Husen found the combination with a 3.688 for the win. Force was well ahead, but her Monster Energy dragster went silent before the finish line, slowing to a 3.721 at just 289.26 mph. The win was huge for Langdon, who will now get a free pass to the semi’s.

Antron Brown and Ida Zetterström put on a great side-by-side race that went to Brown by a 3.718 to 3.739 count. Zetterström was clearly frustrated in her top end interview, but promised there are better days ahead for the JCM team as they prepare for their next two races in Brainerd and Indianapolis.
 
Doing what he does best, Justin Ashley left first against Clay Millican and held on for a holeshot win, 3.750 to 3.718. Ashley kicked off the match with a .035 light, the best of the round. Incredibly, Ashley has only been left on once in 31 rounds this season. As for crew chief Mike Green, he was more concerned with the performance of the SCAG dragster. “I can’t believe we  ran that slow,” said Green. “We’ll go back and see what we can find.” 

The round ended with Doug Kalitta taking a one-sided win over Ron August in a rematch of last year’s opening round that went to August. There was no such upset this time as Kalitta marched to a 3.703 although August made a great run at 3.826, the best run of his career. 

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Shawn Langdon vs. BYE; Justin Ashley vs. Antron Brown; Doug Kalitta vs. Josh Hart.

FUNNY CAR ROUND ONE

Hunter Green lit the win light after J.R. Todd smoked the tires early. Green might have been a tough out regardless as he ran a solid 3.915 in the Pronto Auto entry. Green also ran a career-best speed at 333.00 mph. 

Austin Prock threw down a candidate for run of the year with a 3.833 at 340.90 mph in the Cornwell Tools Camaro after Cruz Pedregon shook and shut off early. The run was the second official 340-mph run in Funny Car, following Prock’s initial 340 blast last year in Pomona. Prock’s father and crew chief, Jimmy, had a typical laid-back reaction. “That was great didn’t really expect that,” Jimmy said. “I was really nervous going past Tree but we got it done there.”

Jack Beckman kept pace with his teammate, at least in the elapsed time department with a 3.839 in his win against Jason Rupert, who kept the 2012 world champ honesty with a 3.995. Beckman now has 500 round wins as an NHRA pro to go along with his Super Comp world title.

Paul Lee dodged a bullet in his Denso entry when he slowed to a 4.051 but still turned on the win light after Dave Richards encountered another episode of an early parachute deployment. Lee has a tough draw ahead as he’s got a round two battle against Austin Prock.

Alexis DeJoria left first and made her best run of the weekend with a 3.913 but it wasn’t enough to hold off Spencer Hyde, who joined the performance leaders of the round with a 3.870. Team owner and crew chief Jim Head seemed pleased with the run, but cautioned that “this will be a completely different track when we come back in an hour.” 

Mission #2Fast2Tasty winner Ron Capps also made his best run of the weekend with a 3.854 at over 337.41 in his NAPA Toyota and that was enough to hold off Chad Green’s 3’907. Crew chief Dean Antonelli noted that the team was “tired of being embarrassed by the Force cars.”

The round ended with a bang as Daniel Wilkerson pedaled the SCAG Mustang and experienced his second engine explosion of the weekend. Wilkerson climbed out hf the car quickly, but was clearly frustrated. In the other lane, Bob Tasca III turned on the win light with a 4.085 after working the throttle early in the run.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Jack Beckman vs. Hunter Green; Austin Prock vs. Paul Lee; Ron Capps vs. Spencer Hyde; Matt Hagan vs. Bob Tasca III

PRO STOCK ROUND ONE

Jeg Coughlin Jr. drove to a 6.503 to advance in the opening round of Pro Stock, but most of the fans in the packed Sonoma stands were watching the other lane as Matt Hartford flirted with a right side retaining wall.  Hartford used up quite a bit of lane before finally aborting the run as the crowd breathed a collective sight of relief.

There was a lot of head scratching following the second pair that featured Deric Kramer and Troy Coughlin Jr. Kramer struggled to stage properly, flickering the second bulb before he eventually jumped the start. That clearly distracted Coughlin, who simply drove down the track to secure a one-sided win. Coughlin admitted that he made a mistake by not making a full run, acknowledging that he won’t have lane choice in round two.
 
Mason McGaha shook the tires at the drop of the clutch and that was all Matt Latino needed to advance as he drove to a 6.505 for the win. Latino continues to earn points for his father, Eric, who is recovering from a medial procedure. 

Cody Coughlin threw is hat into the ring as a Rookie of the Year contender with the best run of his young career, a 6.482 that was more than enough for the win after Erica Enders became the third driver in the left lane to shake the tires. 

Aaron Stanfield racked up a solid win with a 6.511, and did it on a holeshot after Norwalk champ Cory Reed missed the Tree and took the loss in spite of a quicker 6.482. Stanfield was more than ready for the challenge with a solid .017 light. 

The track record has swapped hands several times this weekend and Greg Anderson has is against after a 6.467 in his win over Chris McGaha. Anderson held the record for less than two minutes as teammate Dallas Glenn upped his boss with a 6.461 in his win against Kenny Delco.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Cody Coughlin vs. Aaron Stanfield; Greg Anderson vs. Troy Coughlin Jr.; Dallas Glenn vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Greg Stanfield vs. Matt Latino.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND ONE

The Pro Stock Motorcycle had a tough act to follow after an exciting round of nitro and Pro Stock car racing but they delivered including a close 6.780 to 6.821 race between Angie Smith and Chase Van Sant that went to Smith’s pink Denso Buell.

A  red-light by Fred Camarena sent Jianna Evaristo to the quarterfinals and she wasn’t at all disappointed with her 6.775 elapsed time. 

Clayton Howey ran a 6.976 aboard Gary Stoffer’s Suzuki and had a nice view of two-time world champ Gaige Herrera who moved on with a 6.737 on his RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

John Hall not only beat Chris Bostick, but earned lane choice against Herrera in round two. Hall, fresh off his win in Norwalk, ran 6.729, his best run of the weekend. Bostick also made progress with a 6.910, a dramatic recovery after his encounter with the guardwall last weekend in Seattle.

Matt Smith was able to lay back on the Tree and still get by Charles Poskey with a 6.785. Smith ran well, but he won’t have lane choice when he runs teammate Evaristo in round two. Regardless, Smith was able to out all four of his Buell entries into the quarterfinals. 

Brad Hawkes red-lighted and then brushed the retaining wall while Richard Gadson rode to a 6.744 to win the round and earn lane choice for his upcoming race against Angie Smith.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): John Hall vs. Gaige Herrera; Jianna Evaristo vs. Matt Smtih; Richard Gadson vs. Angie Smith

TOP FUEL QUARTERFINALS

Things you don’t see every day. Justin Ashley not only got outrun by Antron Brown, but he also got left on. Brown was first off the starting line, .052 to .066, and never trailed as his Matco Tools team made the necessary adjustments to compensate for the bright sunshine and were rewarded with a 3.740 while Ashley could muster just a 3.817. 

Shawn Langdon had a bye run into the semifinals so there wasn’t much incentive for the Kalitta team to not push as hard as possible. They evidently pushed a bit too hard as Langdon shook the tires and shut off, coasting to an uncontested victory.

Doug Kalitta earned a semifinal bye run with a 3.719 in his Mac Tools dragster after Josh Hart hazed the tires at half-track. Kalitta is going to make it to his first final round since the Phoenix event in March.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Antron Brown vs. Shawn Langdon; Doug Kalitta vs. Bye

FUNNY CAR QUARTERFINALS

The first pair of Funny Cars produced perhaps the best race of the round as Matt Hagan scored a narrow holeshot win over Bob Tasca III, 3.937 to 3.936. The margin of victory at the finish line was just .003-seocnd in favor of Hagan, who is flying the colors of Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage this weekend. 

Jack Beckman dropped almost a tenth from his round one elapsed time, but a 3.924 was more than enough to drop Hunter Green, who lit the tires early. 

The change in conditions didn’t seem to affect Austin Prock much as he lit up the boards with a 3.887 at over 335 mph to easily outdistance Paul Lee and extend his lead in the Mission Foods standings as the season rapidly approaches the end of the regular season.

If Spencer Hyde wasn’t already the favorite to become NHRA’s next first time pro winner he is now after a close 3.872 to 3.886 win against Ron Capps. Hyde not only secured lane choice in his semifinal race against Jack Beckman, but also had low elapsed time of the round.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. Matt Hagan; Spencer Hyde vs.Jack Beckman

PRO STOCK QUARTERFINALS

Both Greg Stanfield and his son Aaron are going to the semifinals and shockingly, neither of them ran quicker than 8-seconds. Greg was first out and both he and Matt Latino shook the tires at the drop of the clutch. Stanfield was first to recover and got to the finish line first despite a 9.400 second elapsed time. 

Aaron caught a break when Cody Coughlin fouled as his JHG Camaro also shook the tires. “When you’re in the right lane, it’s hard to see the other side of the tree,” Aaron said. “I was focused on getting car down the track until they told me on the radio that he’d red-lighted.”

Greg Anderson and Troy Coughlin Jr. both got off the line cleanly and Anderson pulled ahead for a 6.540 to 6.576 victory to earn lane choice in his semfinal against Greg Stanfield.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Greg Stanfield; Dallas Glenn vs. Aaron Stanfield.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE QUARTERFINALS

Perhaps Gaige Herrea is human after all. The rider who has made few mistakes in the last two years, missed the Tree in his quarterfinal race against John Hall and paid a price for it. Herrera was .164 on the Tree and ran a 6.813 and was no match for Hall, who was substantially quicker with a 6.739.

Matt Smit beat teammate Jianna Evaristo, but needed a holeshot to do it. Evaristo was solid with a .035 light, but Smith’s .017 was better and he claimed a 6.819 to 6.809 victory. 

The hopes for an all-Matt Smith Racing semifinal evaporated when Angie Smith’s Denso Buell wouldn’t start prior to her race against Richard Gadson. As Smith walked away in disgust, Gadson rode to a 6.779, a run that likely would have been vulnerable.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Richard Gadson vs. Bye; John Hall vs. Matt Smith.

TOP FUEL SEMI’S

Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown, two of the most tenured drivers in the Top Fuel class, will meet in the final round to decide the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals title. Kalitta is likely a big favorite since he ran a 3.734 on his bye run. By comparison, Brown ran just a 4.195 as he smoked the tires early in his Matco Tools dragster while semifinal opponent Shawn Langdon also knocked the tires loose but could not recover as quickly. 

FUNNY CAR SEMI’S

The mid-day heat prevented any of the Funny Car semifinalists from running in the 3.8s but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of close racing. Austin Prock advanced to his 27th career final round with a narrow 3.927 to 3.937 win over Matt Hagan. Amazingly, Prock is a perfect 8-0 against the four-time world champion on race day. 

There was plenty of drama in the second pair as Spencer Hyde struck the tires early and appeared to hand the win to Jack Beckman. That became doubtful when Beckman’s Peak Chevy also got loose and he flirted with the centerline. After a brief review, NHRA officials determined that Beckman did indeed cross the centerline, sending Hyde into the final round.

PRO STOCK SEMI’S

When he shook the tires in the quarterfinals, Greg Stanfield said that he needed to do a better job of pedaling a Pro Stock car. He did just that in the semi’s when both he and defending world champion Greg Anderson both shook the tires. Stanfield made it to his first final since the 2011 season finale with a 7.236 and he will race his  son, Aaron who made a clean run with a 6.579 in a rare father-son final round.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMI’S

John Hall will race for a Wally for the second time in three events as he took out his crew chief and team owner Matt Smith in a good old-fashioned drag race, 6.782 to 6.817. 

The final will feature a renewed rivalry between the MSR and Vance & Hines team after Richard Gadson had the odd-lot bye run. Gadson, also in search of his second win of the season, ran a 6.817. 

LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES

SUPER STOCK
Trey Vetter def. Kevin Motter  

STOCK
Justin Lamb def. Chad Loge

SUPER COMP
Dale Green def. Trey Vetter

SUPER GAS
Val Torres def. Larry Scarth

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN
Aaron Steinkey def. Rob Mendenhall (no show)