Alexis DeJoria rolled off the trailer in Sonoma, Calif., Friday and was ready to go.

DeJoria clocked a 3.942-second time at 326.56 mph IN Q1 to grab the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot at the Denso NHRA Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals.

Reigning back-to-back NHRA nitro Funny Car world champion Ron Capps had the exact same elapsed time as DeJoria in Q1, but didn’t record a mph, so he was bumped to the No. 2 spot on the ladder.

If DeJoria keeps the No. 1 spot through Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions, it would be her first of the season and the seventh of her nitro Funny Car driving career. Her last No. 1 qualifier came in the Las Vegas fall race in 2021.

DeJoria, who drives the Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, has had plenty of success in Sonoma. In eig

 Like he has been during every dominating performance this season, Gaige Herrera was cool and collected as he kept his secret all week.

Everyone wondered who the Vance & Hines Mission Suzuki racer would choose for his first-round opponent in Saturday’s NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Call-Out.

They found out Friday night. Top-seeded Herrera, goaded by Matt Smith to choose him and joining playful Eddie Krawiec in making fans think he’ll pick his teammate in what would be an unusual strategy twist, selected “my buddy” Chase Van Sant.

On a tricky track Friday night in Q2 at the at the Denso NHRA Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals, Top Fuel driver Austin Prock shined.

Prock, piloting his John Force Racing dragster, clocked a 3.704-second time at 331.36 mph to grab the provisional No. 1 spot.

If Prock holds his position after Saturday's two rounds of action, it would be his first No. 1 qualifier of the season in his Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Top Fuel dragster and the second of his career. He captured the lone No. 1 spot of his career last year in Dallas.

Top Fuel driver Austin Prock emerged as the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the 35th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals with a run of 3.704 seconds at 331.36 mph. 

Joining him atop their respective Camping World Drag Racing Series divisions were Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle)

Currently fifth in points, Prock expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance.

“I haven’t been that quick in a while,” Prock said. “I love working with this team and I have not had much success on the Western Swing in my career. I was very proud of what we did tonight. We dropped a cylinder on the first run and I was pretty mad. But I knew we were going to go up there and make a good run, and it rebounded nicely. 

The NHRA Heartland Nationals will move over to the Missouri side next year.

According to the NHRA in a prepared statement, the sanctioning body will remain in the Kansas City Market in 2024 with the newly constructed Flying H Dragstrip in the Kansas City area. This news comes as Heartland Motorsports Park, a longstanding venue for NHRA events since 1989, prepares to host its final event, the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor, on August 11-13.

The decision to add the Flying H Dragstrip to the schedule comes after Heartland Motorsports Park faced ongoing tax and land disputes with Shawnee County, ultimately leading to its closure. 

In a press release Friday, Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan., announced that the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by Pet Armor, Aug. 11-13, will be the final national event at the facility.

The reason given for Heartland Motorsports Park closing its doors is due to an ongoing fight over property taxes. Heartland Motorsports Park owner Chris Payne owes Shawnee County more than $2.6 million in taxes.

Steve Torrence has won four NHRA Top Fuel championships facing the best of the best in Top Fuel. However, there was one team he wanted to avoid dealing with either in qualifying or eliminations last weekend in Seattle. 

The BooCrew wanted a piece of the 'ol champion at the NHRA Northwest Nationals..

Last season, they started to give the Kilgore, Texas-based Torrence the business. Well, actually, according to Torrence, it's been a few years running. And this year, they were amped up to give more of the same trash-talking.

Things aren’t always what they seem. Tony Schumacher knows that, and that’s why he’s patient and methodical ... and a wee bit frustrated when he hears the uninformed chatter about his Top Fuel future and whether he, who has won 86 times, can win a race again.

"We didn't have the same team last year. I had horse**** parts last year. The car was junk. There was no way to win in that thing. We won this race here by the other car [Brittany Force’s] smoking the tires. We needed people to fall on their swords to win. But it's all new stuff now. And it's not stuff they used. It's a lot of DSR parts they didn't use before. So it's figuring 'em out,” he said.

Paul Lee and his McLeod Racing Nitro Funny Car are returning to Sonoma Raceway with a new marketing partner, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions, and the support of long-time partner Denso. The team is gearing up for what they describe as a wide-open weekend, hosting a full hospitality event with partners Mainline Sales and Breen Design Group. With their tune-up progressing in the right direction, led by John Medlen and Jason Bunker, the team remains focused on achieving consistency.

Denso is a major sponsor of Paul Lee Racing and will have a significant presence at the race. Executives and guests from Denso will be there and the company's logo will also be prominently featured on the Funny Car, highlighting their partnership with Paul Lee Racing.

Dan Muramoto, Manager of the Marketing Department at Denso Products and Services Americas Inc., expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. 

Unless you went into the pits Friday at Pacific Raceways during the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals and noticed the cluster of folks in black shirts around a basic dragster beside a rather non-descript hauler parked on the far edge of the Top Fuel enclave, you didn’t get to see team owner-driver Ron Smith.

The 80-year-old retired Boeing engineer from Kapowsin, Wash., didn’t make a pass in Friday’s lone qualifying session. For some reason, the car wasn’t ready, despite the diligent attention everyone – including July 14 Lucas Oil Series Top Alcohol Dragster Division 6 race winner Kim Parker – was lavishing on it. But the hearts of the driver and crew member Harold Goens still need a bit of tuning, when right now a fix isn’t readily available.

Goens is Smith’s son-in-law, and both still are reeling from the loss in April of Smith’s daughter and Goens’ wife Ronnell from a brain aneurysm. They had experienced the same situation with Smith’s wife nine years before. She, too, had suffered a brain aneurysm, was airlifted to Seattle trauma center Harborview Hospital, and a week later was taken off life support. This is new territory, racing without Ronnell.