Photos by: Alex Owens, Auto Imagery, Mike and Jeff Burghardt
SUNDAY FINAL – VANDERGRIFF, KALITTA AND STANFIELD CLAIM SONOMA VICTORIES BEFORE SELLOUT CROWD
Jordan Vandergriff continued his breakout Funny Car season with his second victory of the year, while Doug Kalitta extended his Top Fuel dominance at Sonoma Raceway, and Greg Stanfield successfully defended his Pro Stock title Sunday at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
The 11th race of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season concluded before another sellout crowd, giving NHRA three consecutive days of capacity attendance at the northern California facility.
Vandergriff defeated Daniel Wilkerson in the Funny Car final with a run of 3.900 seconds at 330.72 mph in his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, collecting the second victory of his career. The Brea, Calif., native capped a dominant weekend after qualifying No. 1 and posting the quickest Funny Car elapsed time during eliminations.
After sweeping through qualifying, Vandergriff eliminated Jason Rupert, Matt Hagan and reigning NHRA champion Austin Prock to reach the final. The victory also moved him to second in the Funny Car point standings.
“My team behind me had the car running so well and so smooth at this race,” Vandergriff said. “Today was one of those days where I got up there, and I knew I was going to go straight and true. Heading into this final round, I knew that we had the car.
“Getting my second win, it means a lot because after my first win, I remember sitting home, on the couch, looking at the Wally, and I’m thinking, ‘You know, how do I get a second one?’ The first one felt like such a whirlwind and a dream come true. This is my job. My job is to come to John Force Racing and win Wallys for Cornwell Quality Tools. Now I’m going to go home and look at two Wallys and ask myself how to get a third.”
Wilkerson reached his second final round of the season after defeating Hunter Green, Spencer Hyde, and Jack Beckman. Ron Capps maintained the Funny Car points lead despite a first-round loss, and holds a 74-point advantage over Vandergriff.
Kalitta added another milestone to his Sonoma résumé by earning his seventh Top Fuel victory at the facility, defeating Jasmine Salinas in the final with a pass of 3.731, 339.36, in his Aflac dragster.
The reigning NHRA champion qualified No. 1, earned the Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier bonus and defeated Clay Millican and Antron Brown before meeting Salinas in the final. The victory was the 61st of Kalitta’s career and his second straight at Sonoma Raceway.
“This is a very special place for me,” Kalitta said. “We had a little dry spell through the years, but I’m glad that we managed to get the last two wins here.
“It’s been 30 years since, unfortunately, we lost Blaine Johnson and I’m going to have the honor of giving this trophy to Alan this evening once we get done with this. It’s very deserving with everything he’s put into this sport. Blaine was a hell of a driver, so this is going to be an honor. This is the time of the year where it gets really fun because we’re all battling for points. We’re still quite a ways behind Shawn [Langdon], but we’ve got enough time to do it.”
Salinas advanced to the first final round of her Top Fuel career with victories over Josh Hart, Langdon and Leah Pruett. Kalitta closed to within 85 points of teammate Langdon in the championship standings.
Stanfield also repeated as Sonoma winner, defeating Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders on a holeshot in the Pro Stock final. Stanfield’s .015 reaction time and 6.551-second pass at 211.30 mph held off Enders’ quicker 6.550-second run.
The victory was Stanfield’s seventh career professional win and marked Elite Motorsports’ fifth consecutive Pro Stock victory at Sonoma Raceway. Stanfield reached the final by defeating Aaron Stanfield, Mason McGaha, and Jeg Coughlin Jr.
“I’m not sure why I do so well here. It must be the wine,” Stanfield said. “It’s a great place with great fans and I just feel really comfortable here. The Elite cars are fast right now. I’m just proud, excited, and thankful to be driving for them.
“The racing is so tight today, so the driving part of it is really critical. Today was obviously a good day. When I race, I really don’t look who’s in the other lane. I just try to focus on my side and what I can do and try to do the best I can.
“On Saturday, I just looked at the ladder and thought, ‘Oh, boy, this ain’t good.’ I just try to do my part to not let everybody down. I won the first round due to pure luck against Aaron, because I should have been beat right there. That was my mulligan of the day.”Â
Enders reached her first final round of the season and the 85th of her career with victories over Kenny Delco, Matt Latino and Troy Coughlin Jr.
Dallas Glenn retained the Pro Stock points lead despite a first-round loss, carrying a 21-point advantage over KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns July 24-26 for the 37th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Seattle.
SATURDAY QUALIFYING – KALITTA, VANDERGRIFF, VANG HOLD NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT SONOMA
Doug Kalitta, Jordan Vandergriff and Chris Vang remained atop their respective fields Saturday, securing No. 1 qualifying positions for Sunday’s eliminations at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
None of Friday’s leading performances were eclipsed during Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, giving Kalitta his third Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier of the season, Vandergriff the second of his Funny Car career, and Vang his first No. 1 in his two-year Pro Stock experience.
Kalitta’s Friday blast of 3.714 seconds at 337.07 mph in his Aflac dragster stood through Saturday, continuing the reigning champion’s success at Sonoma Raceway. Shawn Langdon qualified second with a matching 3.714 at 336.49 mph, while Tony Stewart took the third spot at 3.736.
Kalitta, the defending Sonoma winner, will open eliminations against Clay Millican as he pursues a seventh Top Fuel victory at the northern California facility.
“That was a great run for us. The thing just stayed straight and didn’t smoke the tires,” Kalitta said. “It’s pretty tricky out there right now, and I hope my guys have got a handle on that thing for tomorrow, but so far, so good.
“We’ll just keep our heads down and try to get to the final. This is a real special place for me, and I really hope we can get something going tomorrow.” Â
Vandergriff also stayed on top with Friday’s 3.849 at 332.43 mph in his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, giving the John Force Racing rookie another milestone in an impressive first Funny Car season.
Jack Beckman qualified second with a 3.873, while Daniel Wilkerson claimed the third spot with a 3.899. Vandergriff backed up his qualifying-leading effort Saturday with a 3.931-second pass and will face Jason Rupert in Sunday’s opening round.
“We made some wholesale changes after Norwalk, and they seem to be working out,” Vandergriff said. “We can push it a little bit, and we’ve been really good these last three sessions.
“I think we’ve got a hot rod this weekend, and it’s been a great weekend for us thus far. I love racing here.”
Vang completed a breakthrough weekend by earning the first No. 1 qualifier of his career after Friday’s 6.498-second pass at 209.04 mph in his Prestige Trailers Chevrolet Camaro held through the final qualifying session. Rookie Cody Anderson qualified second with a 6.499, while six-time champion Erica Enders took third with a 6.503.
Vang also collected the $2,000 GESi Pro Stock No. 1 Qualifier Award after earning Friday’s Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier bonus. He’ll begin eliminations against Mason McGaha while chasing the first national-event victory of his career.
“We’ve got good power down low and a good setup,” Vang said. “It takes a whole team to get this done.”
Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m. PDT.
SATURDAY’S #2FAST2TASTY – LANGDON, CAPPS, GLENN ADD SATURDAY WINS TO SONOMA TITLE HOPES
Shawn Langdon, Ron Capps and Dallas Glenn each left Sonoma Raceway with momentum Saturday, capturing Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victories and positioning themselves for a potential weekend sweep at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
With a capacity crowd on hand, the trio claimed bonus money and valuable championship points in the specialty race, turning Saturday into a statement day before Sunday’s eliminations in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Langdon continued the Kalitta Motorsports stranglehold on the Top Fuel bonus event, surviving a dramatic final-round duel with Clay Millican. His 4.491-second pass at 227.50 mph wasn’t clean, but it was enough after pedaling his Kalitta Air dragster late in the run to edge Millican at the finish line.
The victory marked Langdon’s fourth Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the season. Between Langdon and teammate Doug Kalitta, the team has now accumulated 17 championship bonus points through the Saturday program.
“They told me not to pedal. I did, and the first thought that came to my mind was that I was going to be in so much trouble,” Langdon said. “But at the end of the day, it’s good to get another Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty win, which continues that success on Saturday.
“It’s the consistency of what the Kalitta group has done the last couple years of going rounds on Sundays and taking advantage of opportunities and being able to be in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty on Saturday, and then just kind of, no pun intended, chipping away at it.”
Funny Car delivered another crowd-pleasing finish when Capps and Jack Beckman both fought their cars through trouble in the final round. Capps kept his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra under control just long enough, crossing first with a 4.429 at 225.03 to earn his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the season.
The win carried added significance for the Sonoma native, who also leads the Funny Car championship standings heading into Sunday’s eliminations.
“As I said earlier, Guido [crew chief Dean Antonelli] is not going to be happy. I’m not looking forward to walking into the trailer because while it’s great money that Mission Foods puts up for this and the points are incredible, it could have been expensive,” Capps said. “Guido would have been like, ‘You won $10,000, but if you had blown the body off it would have been $110,000.’ Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
“I was just thinking about getting to the finish line first, and I didn’t know that [Beckman] was doing the same thing over there, getting sideways. I can’t wait to watch it. It’s got to be pretty epic to watch.”
In Pro Stock, Glenn added another Saturday trophy to his growing collection by defeating Aaron Stanfield with a 6.526-second run at 210.14 mph in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
The victory was Glenn’s third Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge triumph, although he admitted his team is still searching for the performance level it enjoyed a year ago.
“Honestly, I felt like when I left and the whole run, it felt better than a 6.52. I was hoping to see a 6.51 or even a 6.50 out there,” Glenn said. “I feel like we’re not where we should be, especially compared to last year.
“I know we were really fast last year, and it’s hard to compare to that, but I feel like we should just be at least a couple of hundredths faster, especially looking at the weather and corrected numbers. Still, it’s good to win one of these [Mission Challenge events] and I hope we can do the same tomorrow. I really like the diamond [75th anniversary] Wally.”
With Saturday’s specialty race complete, Langdon, Capps and Glenn will each attempt to convert bonus-race success into Wally trophies when eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m. PDT.
Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 38th annual DENSO Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway, the 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.714 seconds, 337.07 mph vs. 14. Clay Millican, 4.203, 206.16; 2. Shawn Langdon, 3.714, 336.49 vs. 13. Will Smith, 3.840, 326.32; 3. Billy Torrence, 3.726, 336.57 vs. 12. Shawn Reed, 3.806, 331.12; 4. Tony Stewart, 3.736, 333.91 vs. 11. Justin Ashley, 3.799, 334.32; 5. Tony Schumacher, 3.744, 323.19 vs. 10. Antron Brown, 3.784, 324.59; 6. Maddi Gordon, 3.751, 336.49 vs. 9. Leah Pruett, 3.772, 327.98; 7. Jasmine Salinas, 3.751, 331.77 vs. 8. Josh Hart, 3.763, 336.82.
Funny Car — 1. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.849, 332.43 vs. 16. Jason Rupert, Ford Mustang, 4.048, 316.67; 2. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.873, 333.16 vs. 15. Jeff Arend, Dodge Charger, 4.019, 315.27; 3. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.899, 327.66 vs. 14. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.006, 320.97; 4. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.900, 330.07 vs. 13. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.980, 322.19; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.903, 325.69 vs. 12. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.975, 326.48; 6. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.915, 325.92 vs. 11. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.966, 329.50; 7. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.917, 330.80 vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.952, 327.82; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.934, 330.31 vs. 9. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.939, 332.10.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Tim Gibbons, 4.081, 297.55; 18. Dylan Winefsky, 4.450, 196.93.
Pro Stock — 1. Chris Vang, Chevy Camaro, 6.498, 209.88 vs. 16. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.564, 210.57; 2. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.499, 210.67 vs. 15. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.549, 211.36; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.503, 211.33 vs. 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.545, 210.21; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.511, 211.30 vs. 13. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.533, 210.73; 5. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.516, 212.96 vs. 12. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.530, 210.54; 6. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.516, 211.26 vs. 11. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.522, 210.41; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.517, 211.16 vs. 10. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.520, 210.97; 8. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.520, 211.13 vs. 9. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.520, 210.80.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Joey Grose, 6.568, 208.62; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 6.626, 208.49.
FRIDAY QUALIFYING – VANDERGRIFF BLASTS TO YEAR’S QUICKEST FUNNY CAR RUN AS KALITTA, VANG LEAD SONOMA QUALIFYING
Jordan Vandergriff didn’t just leave Sonoma Raceway atop the Funny Car qualifying order Friday. He left with the quickest Funny Car pass of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Vandergriff powered his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS to a track-shaking 3.849-second pass at 332.43 mph during the opening pair of the evening session, a run none of the remaining Funny Car field could touch before qualifying ended at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
The performance also earned the John Force Racing rookie the $4,000 Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier bonus and put him in position for what would be the second No. 1 qualifier of his young Funny Car career.
“To be the quickest Funny Car of the year so far is a huge accomplishment, especially with how competitive this class is. And I’m a rookie—I don’t even know what I’m doing yet,” Vandergriff said. “We fumbled a little in Q1, but I knew we had something figured out. The early numbers looked really good, so I believed we were going to run quick no matter when we went down the track.
“I knew the team wanted to push a little. We’ve run well this year, we’ve won a race, we’ve qualified No. 1 before, but we hadn’t really leaned on it. Tonight we did. I knew we were going to run well. I just didn’t know we were going to run that good.”
Jack Beckman gave John Force Racing two of the top three positions with a 3.873 at 333.16, while Daniel Wilkerson closed Friday third after a 3.899-second effort.
Top Fuel qualifying turned into a one-shot affair after an oildown during the second session forced NHRA officials to end racing because of Sonoma Raceway’s curfew. That left reigning world champion Doug Kalitta’s opening-session blast of 3.714 seconds at 337.07 mph standing as the provisional No. 1 effort.
Kalitta also claimed the $4,000 Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier bonus for the second consecutive season at Sonoma, though he admitted his Kalitta Motorsports team believed an even quicker run was waiting had the second session been completed.
“That first run was definitely a close one. At the time, you don’t realize it’s going to hold up, but it was enough to get us the No. 1 spot,” Kalitta said. “It was disappointing not to get the second session in. Alan Johnson definitely didn’t have that car tuned to run a 3.71 — we were planning to throw down something even quicker.
“Tomorrow’s conditions should be just as good, maybe even better. I think we’ll have a chance to improve on those numbers. It’s Sonoma, one of my favorite tracks. Every time we go up there, we’re trying to do the best job we can.”
Points leader Shawn Langdon matched Kalitta’s elapsed time with a 3.714 but settled for second after crossing the finish line at 336.49 mph compared with Kalitta’s 337.07. Tony Stewart rounded out the top three at 3.736 seconds.
Chris Vang may have produced its biggest surprise.
The second-year Pro Stock racer outran a field packed with world champions and national event winners, driving his Prestige Trailers Chevrolet Camaro to a career-best 6.498-second pass at 209.04 mph for his first provisional No. 1 qualifier.
The run earned Vang the $2,500 Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier bonus and positioned him to chase the $2,000 GESi Pro Stock No. 1 Qualifier Award on Saturday. For a driver making only his fourth start of the season, it represented another milestone in a rapidly developing career.
“It’s exciting. Pretty amazing. I don’t even know how to describe it. We came in here just hoping to qualify, and now we’re sitting No. 1,” Vang said. “We knew we had something to work with after the first session. We threw a little more at it, hoping to run in the 6.50s or maybe the high .49s, and we ended up right where we wanted.
“This bonus helps a lot. We’re trying to run about seven more races this season, and every little bit matters for a team like ours. We didn’t get everything out of that run. It was really good, but there’s still more in it.”
Rookie Cody Anderson narrowly missed stealing the top spot with a 6.499 at 210.54, while Erica Enders qualified third at 6.503.
Friday also finalized the opening-round matchups for Saturday’s GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout. Top seed Gaige Herrera selected Steve Johnson, Richard Gadson called out Chase Van Sant, defending Callout winner Matt Smith chose Jianna Evaristo, leaving Angie Smith to square off with John Hall.
Matt Smith also collected the $1,500 Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier bonus after posting Friday night’s quickest Pro Stock Motorcycle run.
Qualifying resumes Saturday with two more sessions, while the opening round of the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout begins before the final qualifying runs as teams continue chasing the top spots heading into Sunday’s eliminations.
 Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 38th annual DENSO Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway, 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.714 seconds, 337.07 mph; 2. Shawn Langdon, 3.714, 336.49; 3. Tony Stewart, 3.736, 333.91; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.744, 293.73; 5. Maddi Gordon, 3.751, 336.49; 6. Jasmine Salinas, 3.751, 331.77; 7. Josh Hart, 3.763, 336.82; 8. Leah Pruett, 3.772, 327.98; 9. Antron Brown, 3.784, 324.59; 10. Billy Torrence, 3.803, 328.06; 11. Shawn Reed, 3.850, 315.34; 12. Will Smith, 3.893, 275.73; 13. Justin Ashley, 4.122, 225.82; 14. Clay Millican, 4.203, 206.16.
Funny Car — 1. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.849, 332.43; 2. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.873, 333.16; 3. Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.899, 327.66; 4. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.900, 330.07; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.903, 321.12; 6. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.915, 325.92; 7. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.917, 329.26; 8. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.934, 321.81; 9. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.939, 332.10; 10. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.966, 329.50; 11. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.006, 320.97; 12. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.019, 315.27; 13. Jason Rupert, Mustang, 4.048, 316.67; 14. Austin Prock, Mustang, 4.050, 316.52; 15. Tim Gibbons, Charger, 4.081, 297.55; 16. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.208, 219.79.Â
Not Qualified: 17. Dylan Winefsky, 4.450, 196.93; 18. Cruz Pedregon, 4.452, 191.35.
Pro Stock — 1. Chris Vang, Chevy Camaro, 6.498, 209.30; 2. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.499, 210.54; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.503, 211.33; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.511, 211.30; 5. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.516, 212.16; 6. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.516, 210.18; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.517, 210.97; 8. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.520, 211.00; 9. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.520, 210.21; 10. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.520, 210.18; 11. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.522, 210.21; 12. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.530, 210.54; 13. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.533, 210.21; 14. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.549, 210.14; 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.570, 209.82; 16. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.583, 210.57.Â
Not Qualified: 17. Joey Grose, 6.609, 208.62; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 6.749, 204.26.
