Saturday's Sonoma Spotlight
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Sportsman racers filled the staging lanes and began eliminations in their respective categories this morning. |
A collection of classic hot rods greets fans at the front entrance of the dragstrip in Sonoma. |
Riding Greg and Jim Underdahl’s Suzuki, Katie Sullivan made one of the best runs of her career with a 6.997 on Saturday morning that eventually kept her in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field.
|
 |
A large collection of nostalgia race cars are on display for fans to check out throughout the event. |
Alexis DeJoria, who made the second-quickest run of the opening Funny Car session Friday, racked up three more bonus points by recording a best-of-the-round 4.10 in her Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry in the third session. |
| Spencer Massey was one of three drivers to record a 3.79-second run during the third round of Top Fuel qualifying, and he set the track speed record at 327 mph. |
 |
After running a best of 6.538, recent K&N Horsepower Challenge winner Vincent Nobile will start from the No. 5 position and will take on Kurt Johnson in Sunday’s opening round of Pro Stock. |
With a pair of 6.85-second runs on Saturday, Hector Arana Jr. is prepared for final eliminations in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Arana has not been ranked lower than third at any event this season. |
| After struggling in the thin air in Denver, the Sovereign/Star Pro Stock Motorcycle team has enjoyed a much better weekend in Sonoma; John Hall is qualified ninth with a 6.95 and teammate Scotty Pollacheck is close behind with a 10th-best 6.960. |
 |
Mike Edwards, whose Pontiac GXP is wearing K&N colors this weekend, is qualified No. 2 in the Pro Stock field with a 6.527. He will race against veteran Gordie Rivera in round one. |
Jason Line improved on every qualifying run in the Summit Racing Equipment Camaro and made the second-quickest run of the final Pro Stock session at 6.53 seconds. |
In his first appearance of the season, Mike Salinas qualified for the Top Fuel field for the first time in his career. The San Jose, Calif., resident drove his John Stewart-tuned Scrappers Racing dragster to a career-best 3.95. |
For the second straight race, the surging Bob Vandergriff Jr. made good runs throughout Top Fuel qualifying. He drove his C&J Energy Services dragster to four runs between 3.82 and 3.87. |
The throttle hung open on Steve Plueger’s Funny Car wheeled by Dale Creasy Jr. at the end of a 4.22 in the final session, causing the car to catch fire after the finish line. Creasy brought the car to a stop and emerged safely. Whether they will be able repair the damage for tomorrow is to be determined. |
Mike Neff made the best run in the final round of Funny Car qualifying at 4.12 seconds. He’ll start from the bottom half and race Alexis DeJoria in round one. |
Jeff Arend closed out a great qualifying effort with a 4.12 in the DHL Toyota Funny Car that earned him a bonus point. He’ll start fourth during final eliminations on Sunday. |