If home is where the heart is, Doug Kalitta feels at home at Sonoma Raceway. The defending Top Fuel champion, who has won more Top Fuel national events at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals than any other racer in the class, got off to a good start by not only grabbing provisional Top Fuel No. 1 qualifying honors, but also in setting a new track record.
Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock), and Chase Van Sant (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 12th stop during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Kalitta’s pace-setting run covered the 1,000-foot course in 3.694 seconds at 336.40 miles per hour. If the mark lasts through Saturday’s two sessions, it will represent his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 58th in his career.
“That was really cool. I got my first win here in Sonoma, and I have a lot of cool history here,” Kalitta said. (Crew chief) Alan Johnson put a lot of thought into his tune-up, and he had a plan. He’s one bad dude.
“I could tell it was on a run, and honestly, I was happy to be the first car out. I knew it would get cooler as the night went on, and you never know what conditions might do. I thought it might have rattled a bit, but not much. The car was hooked up, and I managed to keep it in the middle, as straight as possible. This is one of the nicest tracks on the tour, and I love the layout with the road course. I’d love to get another win this weekend.”
Brittany Force was second quickest with a 3.668, 335.57 run, while Billy Torrence was third after going 3.684, 332.92.
Tasca, who drove the first Funny Car to exceed 340 miles per hour in preseason testing, came close to running his 340 as he secured the provisional No. 1 with a 3.839, 338.43. The run could give Tasca his second No. 1 of the season and the 18th in his career. He won the race in 2022.
“I’ve never been so disappointed to run a 3.83 at 338 mph. I really wanted to go 340 for these fans,” Tasca said. We would have done it if not for that 15-knot headwind. We were a little concerned about the track, so we also cranked a little more spoiler in it. I’d trade the low qualifier for a 340 run in a second.
“We ran 338 in Charlotte and 338 in Seattle and did it again here. I can tell you there won’t be a time when conditions are there that we don’t try and do it. Believe it or not, we run a little different set-up to try and run those speeds. If we tuned the car a little different, it might be a little bit quicker. As for tomorrow, we’ll see what the conditions are like. It all depends on which way the wind is blowing.”
Ron Capps is second with a 3.864, 332.43 while defending world champion Matt Hagan is third after going 3.869 at 328.22.
Hartford, who began a turnaround last weekend in Seattle, was the quickest of the Pro Stockers on Friday with a 6.515, 210.41 in his GETTRX/Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro. It puts Hartford on track for his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and fifth in his career.
Hartford, who is currently 11th in points, has qualified fourth in three of the past four races but has suffered through five straight first-round losses.
“Things are starting to come around, although this feels like the first race of the season for us,” Hartford said. It’s no secret that this hasn’t been a good year for our team, but I’m a big believer that it’s not where you start; it’s where you finish.
“The last three or four races it’s started to come together, and we’ve had a fast race car and I’m getting my confidence back. In Seattle, I thought we had a chance to go to the pole and we missed it. Here, we said we could run a 6.51, and we did. I think Chicago was the turning point for us. We brought two cars and let John DeFlorian drive the other one. We were able to compare notes from both cars, and we’ve been improving ever since.”
Defending world champion Erica Enders stands third, while Seattle winner Jeg Coughlin Jr. is third.
Winning, obviously has lit a fire under Chase Van Sant, as just five days later after ending one of drag racing’s most unbeatable streaks, he scored the provisional No. 1 spot with a run of 6.768 at 197.10 on his Trick Tools Suzuki. Should that hold, Van Sant, the 2023 NHRA Rookie of the Year, would pick up his first career No. 1 qualifying spot.
“It’s been a whirlwind week, to say the least, and it’s cool to knock it out and get the provisional No. 1 here today,” Van Sant said. “I know the Vance & Hines team has issues today, so I expect a battle, but it’s good to be here. I had my best 60-foot time ever on that run. It’s just reassuring to know we can get the job done, and it reaffirms my faith in Tim [Kulungian, crew chief], not that I ever doubted him.
“I’ve got to run Angie [Smith] tomorrow in the GETTRX All-star Callout and we’ve gone back and forth a few times this season. They’ll be fast too. The wind was a bit tricky, which explains why our mph was down a bit. For me, I really didn’t notice it too much, but the bike just feels a bit more mundane. The win is so unpredictable here in Sonoma because it gusts but it’s usually either a head wind or a tail wind.”
Matt Smith is currently second with a 6.770 at 198.73 and wife Angie Smith is right behind after going 6.784 at 199.26.
Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. PT on Saturday at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
