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.
