91°µÍø

In addition to the Camping World Drag Racing Series action taking place at Sonoma Raceway, seven champions were also crowned in Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Comp winner Jim Cowan collected career win No. 2 and his first since the 2008 season when he drove his D/E Cobalt to a final-round conquest of Joe Mozeris’ Division 7-champion B/ED. Cowan, who won the 2008 Winternationals and also was runner-up in Pomona in 2005, hammered out a (-.53) 8.05 to fend off four0-time event winner Mozeris’ (-.51) 6.82 blast. []

In a Super Stock battle between two of the West Coast’s most accomplished sportsman racers, Jody Lang squeezed out a narrow .001-second win over Kyle Rizzoli. Lang now has 31 national event wins to his credit including five at Sonoma Raceway. []

Justin Jerome picked up his second NHRA national event Wally following a Stock final-round win against Bryan Phillips, who fouled by seven-thousandths of a second in the final. Jerome previously won the 2019 Four Wide event in Las Vegas behind the wheel of his F/SA Duster. []

Tanner Theobald joined younger brother Parker as an NHRA national event champion with his first career score in Super Comp. Theobald, previously the runner-up at the 2017 Auto Club 91°µÍø Finals, powered to a clutch .017 reaction time coupled to an 8.922 to defeat third-generation racer and first-time finalist Toby Payne, who clocked an 8.923. []

Five years after scoring his first career national event win  in Super Gas at Sonoma Raceway, Evan Kowalski pocket win No. 4 with his Riverside Transmission Center Corvette, running a near-perfect 9.904 to force final-round opponent Beau Hicks into a 9.883 breakout loss. []

Drag racing school instructor Thomas Bayer, already a national event winner in Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, and Super Gas, added a victory in Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers when he beat Melissa Murphy in the final. Bayer cut a perfect .000 light in the final while Murphy fouled.  []

Richard Okerman is now a four-time national event champion in Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers after defeating Michael Henry in the Sonoma final. Okerman gave up a slight lead at the start, but won with a 7.24 on his 7.08 dial after Henry slowed. []