The NHRA Sonoma Nationals provided some of the most exciting racing of the year with Gaige Herrera once again being the star of the weekend.
One of the favorite stops on the tour, the NHRA made its way into Northern California’s wine country for the Denso Sonoma Nationals. With pleasant weather, and a track that sits just 15 feet above sea level, this track has seen some of the quickest and fastest racing in history.
Saturday included the Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout, as well as the Mission #2fast2tasty Challenge.
Qualifying Highlights
Friday night qualifying would prove to be more of a curse than a blessing. Rapidly cooling track conditions gave crew chiefs in both nitro categories fits. As a result, very few cars in both Top Fuel and Funny Car made it down the track.
The right lane was a problem for many of the drivers on both Friday and Saturday.
At the end of the weekend, the top spots belonged to Austin Prock in Top Fuel with a 3.704 E.T., Bob Tasca III in Funny Car with a 3.938, and Gaige Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.728.
Herrera’s Vance & Hines Suzuki was the fastest bike in all three rounds of the inaugural Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout. He ran a 6.75 to win the final round over Angie Smith after Smith drifted out of the groove and had to shut the bike off.
The Mission #2fast2tasty Challenge also took place Saturday, with Steve Torrence beating Clay Millican in Top Fuel. J.R. Todd won in Funny Car after Blake Alexander was disqualified when his car leaked oil.
Nitro Elimination Highlights
Track conditions were much better on Sunday than they had been for qualifying. The racing during eliminations at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals was some of the best we’ve seen all season.
Justin Ashley was the star of the Top Fuel field again. He beat Doug Kalitta, Austin Prock, and Josh Hart on his side of the ladder. Antron Brown took out Mike Salinas, Brittany Force, and Steve Torrence on his way to the finals.
In the final round, Ashley’s 3.77 at 328 mph beat Brown’s 3.78 at 327 mph. Ashley got his fifth win of the season. He will go into the last three races of the regular season with a 32-point lead in Top Fuel.
J.R. Todd had one of the best weekends of his career in Funny Car. After winning the Challenge on Saturday, he would face Blake Alexander again in the first round on Sunday.
He again bested him, as well as Bob Tasca and Matt Hagan to put himself in the finals with a chance to double up. His opponent in the final round was Chad Green. He faced Cruz Pedregon, Paul Lee, and Ron Capps on his way up the ladder. Todd’s 3.97 at 322 mph in the finals bested Green’s 4.03 at 314 mph. Matt Hagan now has a 32-point lead in the Funny Car standings.
How To Gage Herrera’s Dominance
Once again, Gaige Herrera was the story of the weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Pro Stock Motorcycle. He took down Scott Bottorf, Marc Igwersen, and Karen Stoffer on his way to the finals.
The ladder played out exactly as it should for the final round. Matt Smith beat Lance Bonham, Steve Johnson, and Eddie Krawiec to put himself in the finals. Smith’s bike wouldn’t start, which gave Herrera the automatic win. He is now the first person ever to sweep the Western Swing in Pro Stock Motorcycle and has a 236-point lead in the standings.
Have a weekend… or two… or three… #WesternSwing sweep complete for Gaige Herrera! 🧹@DENSOAutoParts #SonomaNats • @CampingWorld •@NHRApsm pic.twitter.com/rJUiTIZ3FN
— NHRA (@NHRA) July 31, 2023
