Since the start of the 2023 NHRA season, Bob Tasca III has delivered numerous clutch qualifying runs in the nitro Funny Car ranks.

The Hope, R.I., driver added to his total late Friday night at the Denso Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals.

Tasca clocked a 3.839-second time at 338.43 mph to take the provisional No. 1 spot, and he wanted even more from his Motorcraft Ford.

“I've never been so disappointed to run 3.83 and 338 mph. I mean, we really wanted to give the fans a 340-mph run,” Tasca said. “I believe it was right on our run in Bradenton (Fla.), but you're dealing with a 15-knot headwind. And no matter how you want to look at it, it worked against us. We had to spoiler up a little bit too, because we were a little concerned with this kind of wind, that the track can dry out. The spray that they put down dries out. It's not the same as no wind. So, we had a little bit more spoiler in it than we had in Bradenton and then we're dealing with a gusting 15-knot wind.

"But, hey listen, great run for the Motorcraft car. You'll definitely see me back here (Saturday). You won't be able to run 3.83 in the heat. I think 86 was closest to us, so that's pretty stout performance out there in those conditions, and that's the type of race where you got to give it everything you got.”

Tasca III shocked the drag-racing world Feb. 9 when ran 341.68 mph in Bradenton during qualifying for the PRO Superstar Shootout. It was the fastest run in the sport's history, even surpassing the best any Top Fuel dragster has delivered.

Tasca was just off the Sonoma Funny Car mph record set by Robert Hight in July of 2017 with his blast of 339.87 mph.

“We don't run the car to run 340 to run low ET. It's a different set-up on how we run the car,” Tasca said. “And if we would've gone for the ET there, we could have run better than the 83. But to run the speed, it's a little different set-up that the guys run, and it does hurt the ET a little bit.

The weather Saturday in Sonoma is supposed to be 10 degrees cooler than it was Friday with some cloud cover. Tasca responded with a question about the wind in relation to whether he could post a 340-mph run.

“What's the wind going to be? Does anyone know what the wind is going to be (Saturday)? I mean, this wind is a big deal, and I would say we need a track temperature where we can run 84. 83 to 84, which is what you saw out here right now," he said.

"I think the track will be well over 100 degrees (Saturday). Even if it's 75 degrees out, depending on the cloud cover. We ran 338 in Charlotte, ran 338 in Seattle, but that was almost identical track temperature to what we had just now. We'll see. I can tell you one thing: There will not be a time that we won't try to do it if we think we can do it. Because doing it at the All-star race and running 341, and then doing it out here a couple times, I'm talking 338, 338, 338. And we've always had little things. Like one 338 run we had a hole out. Last weekend, ran 338, put a hole out at just past 900 feet. That means a seven-cylinder race car ran 338. Then here I got the wind. In Charlotte we put a hole out and ran 338. So, it's like the racing gods are making it hard for us.”

Especially with the wind in Sonoma, Tasca emphasized.

“It's further down the track,” said Tasca when the wind was impacting his run. “Initially, when we hit the throttle, you can't feel it. But as it kind of sits down and starts to plant out there, I could feel it moving. Because there's a little bit of a quartering headwind. It wasn't straight down the track. And you are fighting it. And as you're fighting it, it's like anything else. You can walk in a headwind and it's like you can feel the difference. Turn around, walk the opposite way. And the race car is no different. So, it feels the headwind. Unfortunately, had that been a tailwind, we'd be probably popping a champagne bottle off right now.”

Then Tasca took a moment to address how a nitro Funny Car driver would plan out a record-breaking 340 mph.

“So, it's funny, and I might be quoting something wrong, but people told me in the motorcycles, when they want to break the speed record, they actually went wide and made the track longer. They actually wanted to make the track a little longer. That was how the drivers tried to get the extra speed, to give them more time to accelerate,” Tasca said. “In our car, we just want to stay absolutely in the center of the groove. Any wasted energy left or right could upset the car, smoke the tires. So as a driver, my No. 1 priority is not just running 340. It's keeping the car in the center of the groove, and the better I can do that with the least amount of steering wheel inputs, the better chance the car has to accelerate.”

If Tasca’s elapsed time does hold through Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions it would be his 18th career NHRA nitro Funny Car No. 1 qualifier and his second of the season. He also was No. 1 in Richmond, Va. It would also be Tasca’s ninth No. 1 qualifier since 2023.

Tasca has one career win in Sonoma (2022) and this would be second career No. 1 qualifier in Sonoma as he took the top spot a year ago.

“I just get excited to see all the fans. Man, this place on a Friday is the biggest crowd we go to anywhere in the country. So, it's great to come out here,” Tasca said. “The facility is second to none, the scenery -- it's a special race. I won this a couple of years ago. It was a win I'll never forget, that's for sure.”