Final round-by-round results from the 36th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the 12th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

Point standings (top 10) following the 36th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the 12th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series - 

There has been plenty of drama in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class this season — especially the last two weeks.

Matt Smith, a six-time world champion, has been right in the center of the drama about parity in the class … or lack thereof.    

Prior to last weekend’s race in Seattle – Gaige Herrera aboard a Vance & Hines Suzuki – won all six races, and dating back to 2023 had won 11 races in a row.

The leaderboard remained unchanged in the nitro ranks Saturday at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals as Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) held their top spots. 

The Pro Stock classes, Greg Anderson (Pro Stock car) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) raced to the top of their respective divisions on Saturday’s final two sessions. 

In addition to securing his 58th career No. 1 qualifier, Kalitta finished runner-up in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. He kept his No. 1 spot on the strength of Friday’s track record, 3.649 at 336.40 

Funny Car points leader Austin Prock is supposed to be a rookie, and winning the Mission 2Fast2Tasty is supposed to be a difficult challenge. However, the so-called rookie is making both driving a Funny Car and winning the specialty event look effortless. 

On Saturday at Sonoma Raceway at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Prock won his fifth consecutive race in the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, stopping Blake Alexander in the final round.

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the 12th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

During late-night qualifying sessions is when NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car teams are known to swing for the fences.

That’s exactly what Kalitta Motorsports and Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta did on Friday at Denso Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals – and they hit a home run.

Kalitta recorded a blistering track-record elapsed time of 3.649 seconds at 336.40 mph to capture the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot at Sonoma Raceway.

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.

When Steve Johnson rolls into the waterbox for his burnout to begin his 500th race at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals today, he likely won’t be reminiscing that he made it this far. Instead, he’ll be amazed that he survived race No. 1. 
Johnson made his professional debut at the 1987 NHRA Summernationals in Gainesville, Fla., and did he ever make a first impression. 

There were rows of high-dollar haulers, pits comprised of rows of toolboxes, and a plethora of crewmen to use them. Then there was Steve Johnson, with his pits tucked away in the corner of Old Bridge Township Raceway, his bike shipped in a crate and tucked away under a flatbed trailer.