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The first pair of Top Fuel dragsters set the tone for a very entertaining round of nitro racing as Justin Ashley made a dramatic improvement over his qualifying effort with a 3.707 in the Phillips Connect dragster to beat Doug Kalitta, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with a very competitive 3.750 in the Mac Tools dragster. Ashley lost the points lead after a tough start to the Western Swing, but he’s got a chance to catch leader Steve Torrence today.

Josh Hart picked up a much-needed round win after he slapped a six hundredths holeshot on eight-time world champ Tony Schumacher and made it stick, 3.779 to 3.748. Hart had slipped to No. 9 in the standings but sees better days ahead. “We all have our position out here and as a driver, it’s my job to focus hard, stage shallow, and cut a good light. I’m just a very small piece of this. [Crew chief] Ron Douglas will get us tuned up for the next round. He always comes through for us.”

A bye run on race day is a relative rarity for 91���� Pros and quite frankly, most racers would prefer to win four rounds en route to a victory but after two early loses in Denver and Seattle, Austin Prock slept well on Saturday night knowing he’d already punched his ticket for the quarterfinals. Prock’s Montana Brands team, led by Chris Cunningham and Joe Barlam, had a chance to test in round one and they delivered a 3.724, that while impressive, wasn’t enough to secure lane choice for his quarterfinal meeting with Justin Ashley.

Holeshots were the order of the day in Top Fuel as three races in round one were decided via a starting line advantage. In addition to Josh Hart’s win over Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown got past Mike Salinas (who ran 335 mph in a losing effort) and Shawn Langdon defeated Leah Pruett, 3.755 to 3.746. The rise in holeshot races only helps to underscore the amount of parity that currently exists in the NHRA pro classes where almost any car that qualifies can win.

“It stings. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t being honest,” said Pruett. “I gave it my absolute best. I wasn’t staged thin or anything. Some people can do this naturally, and some have to work extra hard at it. My crewchiefs have worked extra hard to give me the best possible car and I’m working hard to be the best possible driver.”

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Ashley vs. Prock; Langdon vs. Hart; Torrence vs. bye; Force vs. Brown

Paul Lee struggled to get down the track in qualifying with a best of just 5.86 in his McLeod Clutches entry but he found the combination in round one with a competitive 3.99 and racked up a round win after his opponent, No. 2 qualifier Alexis DeJoria, red-lighted.

“Win or lose, if we run a 3.90, we’re happy,” said Lee. “Even if we lose and put up a number like that, that’s’ great. I saw her red-light and shut if off a little early but we’re happy because this car hasn’t made it to the finish line lately, so we’re thrilled.”

No one goes through an entire season without a lucky round or two and Ron Capps could certainly testify to that after the opening round in Sonoma. In a round where almost every Top Fuel dragster ran 3.7s and most Funny Cars were in the 3.9s, Capps smoked the tires in his NAPA Toyota. To his benefit, scheduled opponent Tim Gibbons had already been shut off on the starting line. Capps, the reigning and three-time champ, has been one of the most consistent drivers in the Funny Car class this season with just two round one losses in 12 races. He’s also scored a win in Bristol to go with three runner-up finishes.

Is this the day that Chad Green gets his first national event win in nitro Funny Car? Based on his round one performance, it certainly seems possible. Green powered to a 3.923, 328.78 to easily win his round one match against Cruz Pedregon, who knocked the tires loose at half-track. Daniel Wilkerson, Green’s crew chief, predicted that if the Bond Coat team had made the run they wanted in Saturday's last qualifying session, they’d have displaced Bob Tasca III as the low qualifier and thus would have had a bye run in the opening round of eliminations. Green will race Paul Lee in round two and will have a chance to at least reach the semifinals for the eighth time in 12 races this season.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Wilkerson vs. Hagan; Hight vs. Capps;  Green vs. Lee; Tasca vs. Todd

Angie Smith got a singe run after Chase Van Sant’s Trick Tools Suzuki lost fire on the starting line. Despite repeated efforts to get the bike refired, the WAR team had to throw in the towel, and it might not have mattered as Smith made a very competitive run with a 6.781, 200.62. So far, Smith has enjoyed a relatively successful Western Swing with a runner-up finish in Denver and a quarterfinal a week ago in Seattle, the first time the Pro Stock Motorcycle class has visited Pacific Raceways. She was also a runner-up in Saturday’s 91���� Pro Stock Motorcycle Allstar Callout.

Fred Camarena doesn’t make many appearances on the Camping World NHRA tour but that doesn’t mean he isn’t respected by his opponents. Just in case they needed a reminder, Camarena delivered on with an upset win over Hector Arana Jr. and his GETTRX Buell in round one. Camarena remained steady with a 6.913 on his Vance & Hines powered Suzuki and caught a break when Arana’s Buell V-twin bogged badly off the starting line. Camarena will race against another part-time West Coast veteran, Karen Stoffer in round two.

The Gaige Herrera express continued rolling in round one with a strong 6.729, 199.11 in his round one win against Ryan Oehler, who crossed the centerline. Herrera has now won nine of the 12 rounds necessary to Sweep the Western Swing and that doesn’t count his victory in Saturday’s Allstar Callout event. For those keeping score, Herrera was six-hundredths quicker than any other Pro Stock Motorcycle in the opening round of eliminations.

Round two parings (lane choice first): A. Smith vs. Krawiec; Stoffer vs. Camarena; Johnson vs. M. Smith; Herrera vs. Ingwersen

Racing Shawn Langdon, Josh Hart was well aware of the consequences of apoor reaction time so he pushed a bit and came up with a great .026 light. Hart’s R+L Carriers dragster also did its job with a 3.793 at over 330 mph after Langdon struck the tires at half track. Hart has only been to the semifinals four times this season including his runner-up finish in Chicago.

“My guys gave me a really good car, and we seemed to have found what we were looking for. I take a lot of pride in our people and we’re headed in the right direction so I hope we continue to put on a great show for the fans,” said Hart.

Bye runs generally aren’t newsworthy, but Steve Torrence certainly changed that when he boomed a supercharger about 100 feet off the starting line. The initial launch of the Capco dragster seemed normal, as the car didn’t drop a cylinder or do anything else out of the ordinary. When the blower let go, the concussion was massive but Torrence wasn’t hurt and didn’t’ oil the track. Since he was able to stage the car under its own power, he advanced to the semifinals.

“When you blow it up at 60-feet you’re really doing something,” said Torrence. “We’ve got plenty of parts and pieces back there and we’ve got great people so I’m sure we’ll get it put back together, come back and put on a show for these fans. I know I won’t have lane choice but we’re going another round, and that’s the luck of the draw when you get a bye run.”

Semifinal pairings: (lane choice first): Brown vs. Torrence;  Ashley vs. Hart

Is it possible for a driver to semifinal his or her way to a championship? We might just find out this year as Chad Green made it to another semifinal in Sonoma and he’ll now race in another Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty Challenge after stopping Paul Lee. Green ran a consistent 3.963 to move on after Lee shut off early.

“Daniel has the car running so well right now, we just need to keep going rounds and get to a final and win a race now,” said Green, who has already racked up 18 round wins this season, and will have lane choice in his semifinal race against Ron Capps. “At this point, I’d think Mission owes us a nice set of knives or something.”

After winning Saturday’s Misison Foods 2Fast2Tasty Challenge, J.R. Todd was full of confidence as he entered Sunday’s final eliminations so he wasn’t’ the least bit intimidated by the prospect of racing low qualifier Bob Tasca III in the quarterfinals. Todd and his DHL team took car of business with a 3.985 after Tasca slowed to a 4.110. After a runner-up a week ago in Seattle, a race he felt he should have won, Todd is eager to collect what could be his first win since the start of the 2021 season.

“That was a good run and we’re moving on with two more to go,” said Todd. “It put a hole out in round one and still ran 3.95 so we feel like we’ve got a rally good car. It’s been far too long. I just want to go out and win this thing today.”

Semifinal pairings: (lane choice first): Green vs. Capps; Hagan vs. Todd.

Eddie Krawiec knows the value of being a good teammate so he’s not at all likely to be jealous of the success this season by new Vance & Hines rider Gaige Herrera. That being said, Krawiec has been stuck on 49 career wins for far longer than he’d care to admit. Krawiec went to the final a week ago in Seattle, and he’s now in the semifinals in Sonoma following a big win over Angie Smith, who red-lighted. It may not have mattered as Krawiec made an impressive “heat of the day” run with a 6.762, 199.23 on his Vance & Hines Misson Foods Suzuki. When and if Krawiec records his 50th victory, he’ll become just the second Pro Stock Motorcycle racer to accomplish the feat, joining his former teammate and crew chief, Andrew Hines, who has 56 titles as a rider.

Reigning world champ Matt Smith generally doesn’t need luck to win when he does get a dose of good fortune, he’s inclined to take it. Smith left on rival Steve Johnson with a crisp .010 light, but his Denso Suzuki lit the tire just off the starting line. Just when it seemed that he’d have a ringside seat to watch Johnson go to the semifinals, Smith got a reprieve when Johnson’s Mac Rak Suzuki fell silent. It wasn’t pretty, but Smith will happily take the win, even if the time slip shows an off pace 7.160.

Semifinal pairings: (lane choice first): Krawiec vs. M. Smith; Herrera vs. Stoffer

Antron Brown will take on Justin Ashley in the Top Fuel final at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Brown, who suffered a wing strut failure last night during qualifying but luckily wasn’t injured, went to the final for the 132nd time in his carer following an exciting 3.794 to 3.810 side-by-side race against Seattle winner Steve Torrence. Brown figures to have his hands full in the final as he’s got to race Ashley, who has had the quickest car for most of the day. Josh Hart actually left first against Ashley (a rarity) but came up .008-second short at the finish line stripe. Ashley has already won four times this year in five final rounds with his most recent victory coming in Norwalk.

Chad Green will have a final round and possibly a win to add to his seven semifinal finishes when he takes on J.R. Todd in the Funny Car final. Green, who previously enjoyed success in Pro Mod before building his first nitro Funny Car, finally got over the hump when he took out reigning champ Ron Capps in the semifinals, 3.991 to 4.013. Green will have an opportunity to become NHRA’s latest first-time pro winner, but he’ll have to get past the suddenly hot Todd, who is going to back-to-back final rounds after an impressive 3.965 to 3.999 victory against Matt Hagan. Todd will be appearing his 43rd final round as a pro.

Gaige Herrera’s bid for an elusive Western Swing sweep is still alive and he’s got just one round left to make history. Winning all three events won’t be easy as Herrera will have to defeat six-time world champ Matt Smith. Herrera had little trouble beating Karen Stoffer in his half of the semifinals with a 6.793 but Smith needed as much real estate as possible to reach the final as he defeated Eddie Krawiec by just .0007-second in what might well be the closest pro race of the season. Krawiec left first and ran 6.860, but Smith ran him down by an inch or so with a 6.819. In addition to the Sweep, Herrera is looking for his sixth win of the season while Smith is looking for his first win on his Denso Suzuki.

LUCAS OIL SERIES SPORTSMAN RESULTS

SUPER STOCK
Justin Lamb def. Trey Vetter

STOCK
Leo Glasbrenner def. Bo Butner

SUPER COMP
Parker Theobald def. Matt Woodard

SUPER GAS
Dennis Paz def. Evan Kowalski

SUPER STREET
Kenny Snow def. Dennis Paz

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP DRAGSTER
Don London def. Chris Thode

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN
Ted Kellner def. Ken Ratzloff