About last night...

With her landmark 343.16 mph speed, Brittany Force has set the speed record three times this year and it’s now five mph faster than it was at the start of 2025. Perhaps more impressively, Force now has nine of the 10 fastest speeds in the history of Top Fuel including seven runs over 340-mph. The only run that prevents the Monster team from sweeping the speed charts is Doug Kalitta’s 341.34 mph speed from last week in Sonoma. That is the fifth fastest run in the class.

Force has also run over 340 on four of her last ten runs heading into Saturday’s final qualifying in Sonoma. Overlooked in the excitement of Force’s 343 run is Clay Millican’s 335.15 run, which is a career best. 

In Pro Stock, the Elite team has definitely closed the gap to the rival  KB Titan squad and the best evidence of that is Greg Stanfied’s 6.480-second run which is just eight thousandths behind Greg Anderson’s current low E.T. of 6.472. Aaron Stanfield is also close with a 6.489.

So, why didn’t the Pro Stock Motorcycle racers set track records? The simple answer is the 10-mph headwind that blew down track for most of the day. There is no class in drag racing that is more affected by headwind than Pro Stock Motorcycle.  Regardless, several riders managed to run over 200-mph including Richard Gadson and Matt Smtih. 

GETTRX PPRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALLOUT ROUND ONE

The top four riders in the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star NHRA Callout; Gaige Herrera, Matt Smith, Richard Gadson, and John Hall, all advanced to the semifinals of the special event which will pay $25,000 to the winner.

Hall opened with a very impressive 6.713 in his win over Angie Smith while Gadson followed with a very close 6.720 to 6.729 victory against Jianna Evaristo. Matt Smith made the quickest and fastest run of the round with a 6.707, 202.55 in his win over Chase Van Sant, and then Gaige Herrera ran 6.727 on a single run after Chris Bostick was unable to appear as his team continues to work on their bike after a run-in with the guardwall last weekend in Seattle.

For the semifinal Callout, Smith made a surprising choice when he called out his teammate, Hall. Smith explained his reasoning when he noted that “this is a Denso race and I want to make sure we have a Denso bike in the final round.”

With the two MSR entries paired, that leaves Vance & Hines teamamtes Gadson and Herrera. Gadson agreed with Smith’s call, noting it was “a smart business decision.”

TOP FUEL Q3

After a wild Friday night, performances in Top Fuel remained quick and consistent during Saturday’s third qualifying run. Josh Hart kicked off the session with a 3.704, a marked improvement over his previous efforts. Hart explained the team had tested a number of new components including a new injector.

Tony Stewart followed with a 3.700 alongside Ida Zetterström, who also made her best run of the weekend with a 3.730. 

In the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Justin Ashley moved into the final round with a 3.741 after Shawn Langdon hazed the tires at half-track. 

Brittany Force, fresh off last night’s epic 343-mph run, slowed before the finish line but still ran a 3.686 at just 324-mph after Doug Kalitta rolled the throttle early. 

FUNNY CAR Q3

Cruz Pedregon kicked off the third Funny Car session with a solid 3.953 in his Snap-on Dodge and that opened the door for a number of competitive runs. 

Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment team went to a back-up car after last night’s massive explosion and appeared to not miss a step with a 3.908 at over 323-mph.

The recent troubles of Bob Tasca III have been well documented but the Ford Motorcraft Quick Lane team showed significant progress with a 3.918. Tasca also ran 336.49, the best speed of the session in Funny Car but he’s clearly looking for more.

“We just want to go down the track,” said Tasca. “We put our worst blower on and took power out. I hope it doesn’t stall at half-track.”

Jack Beckman and the Peak team had no issues negotiating the track with a 3.876 while in the other lane, Jason Rupert made his best run of the season with a 3.971, due in large part to the tuning advice of veteran Rahn Tobler.

Dave Richards made a move up the standings when he drove to a strong 3.952 at 325.61 mph in his Bluebird Mustang. 

In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, the first pair was worth the price of admission as Ron Capps slipped past Spencer Hyde via a holeshot, 3.908 to 3.902.

Capps will race against Matt Hagan in a rematch of the Seattle final round after Hagan topped Alexis DeJoria. Hagan was consistent with a 3.913. DeJoria knocked the tires loose at half track and heads into the final session not qualified for the 16-car field.  

PRO STOCK Q3

Normally after a Friday night session, there isn’t much improvement on Saturday in the Pro Stock class but Sonoma Raceway isn’t like most tracks. Chris McGaha, the first racer out, improved with a 6.560 to move up a couple spots in the order.

Deric Kramer also made a move in the right direction when he wheeled the Get BioFuel Camaro to a 6.524.

Matt Hartford, who entered the session as the only driver not in the field, remains outside after shaking the tires at the starting line. That same fate befell Erica Enders, who is qualified in the bottom half of the field. 

Mason McGaha also made his best run of the weekend with a 6.529 to continue his recent string of respectable performances. In the other Aaron Stanfield ran 6.513 but did not improve over Friday’s best. 

Greg Anderson, not in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the first time this season, would likely have beaten anyone he ran with a 6.483 to maintain his hold on the top spot.

In the Mission Challenge,  Cody Coughlin will square off against Dallas Glenn in an all-KB Titan showdown. Coughlin, one of the leading contenders for the Rookie of the Year award, defeated his uncle, Jeg Coughlin Jr., in a 6.511 to 6.524 battle. 

Coughlin will have his work cut out for himself as Glenn dropped the hammer with a 6.475 in his win over Greg Stanfield. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q3

There was also movement in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class including an impressive 6.799 from Chase Van Sant and the Trick Tools team, a run that provided a bit relief to the WAR team. 

Jianna Evaristo also breathed a sigh of relief after a 6.771 on her JHG Buell. Evaristo ran alongside her teammate, Angie Smith, who ran 6.803.

In the semifinals of the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star NHRA Callout, Richard Gadson got the best of his teammate, Gaige Herrera, 6.749 to 6.769. This will be Gadson’s first appearance in the final round of the specialty event. 

Gadson will take on defending event winner Matt Smith, who rode past his teammate, John Hall, with a 6.764. 

TOP FUEL Q4

In a word, the final session of Top Fuel qualifying was “tricky” as not many of the fuel dragsters made it to the finish line under power. Clay Millican was an exception as he showed off his Denso colors with a 3.811 that provided a nice set-up for Sunday’s final eliminations. 

In the final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Brittany Force ran just a 3.689 at “only” 324 mph, but that was more than enough to get past Justin Ashley, who smoked the tires. Force also locked up the low qualifier award, the 55th of her career.

The two-time world champ also acknowledged that she’s started including her world record 343 mph run in autographs to fans and that “it still doesn’t seem real.”

FUNNY CAR Q4

The final Funny Car session began with another scary incident for Buddy Hull, who made a solid 4.09-second run, but had another engine explosion that shredded the body and resulted in a high speed trip to the Sonoma stand trap. After a few anxious moments, Hull emerged from the car under his own power. This is the third such incident for the Jim Dunn team who had similar incidents in Bristol and Seattle.

After a lengthy delay, qualifying resumed and Jason Rupert made a very impressive run with a 3.973 at just 280-mph, indicating an early shut off.

There was more drama in the session when Alexis DeJoria made her run. Not in the field after the first three runs, DeJoria faced a tough, but manageable 4.09-second bump spot but had little trouble making the cut with a 3.993 to knock Hull from the field.

DeJoria was the 15th Funny Car driver to run in the three’s but the elusive all-three second field will have to wait for another day as Jeff Diehl elected not to run the final session after locking up his spot in the show with a 4.066.

Bob  Tasca III also ran well with a 3.926  run and the Motorcraft team continues to run big speeds at 333.82 mph. The same goes for Daniel Wilkerson who quickly recovered from Friday’s boomer with a 3.929. 

Austin Prock not only got down the track, but did so with a great 3.908 in his Cornwell Tools Camaro. 

Spencer Hyde out ran both of the Force cars and everyone else in the field with a 3.882 in Jim Head’s Ford. Hyde outran Jack Beckman, who put together an otherwise competitive 3.905.

The round ended with the final of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge where Ron Capps won the bonus race for the second time this season with a 3.904 to 3.926 win over Seattle champ Matt Hagan. Capps and his Dean Antonelli-led crew were happy not only for the bonus money, but also the 10 championship bonus points he's earned so far this season. 

PRO STOCK Q4

There was instant drama in the Pro Stock session as Matt Hartford came to the starting line not qualified and facing a 6.635 bump spot. The Total Seal driver delivered with interest with a 6.515 to not only get into the field, but also grab a midpack spot with his Total Seal Camaro.

Hartford’s run provided an indicator to other teams that there was room for a performance improvement and several drivers did just that including Erica Enders, who moved up a spot with a 6.530. 

Matt Latino and Aaron Stanfield put on a great side-by-side race with Latino running 6.504 to Stanfied’s 6.513. 

Greg Anderson remained both quick and consistent with a 6.473 and he thought his stay on the top of the charts was secure until teammate Dallas Glenn had other ideas. 

Glenn over came a slight starting line lead by Cody Coughlin to not only win the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, but also take over he top spot from Anderson. Glenn’s 6.471 reset the Sonoma Raceway track record and also covered Coughlin’s 6.501 best. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q4

 

There wasn’t much movement in the final qualifying session for Pro Stock Motorcycles although Chris Bostick got back on track following last week’s run-in with the wall in Seattle. Bostick ran a 6.966 to cement his place in the field. 

The highlight of the round was the final of the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout which went to Matt Smith for the second-straight year after Richard Gadson red-lighted by .001-second. Gadson had the quicker bike with a 6.770 but Smith has the trophy and the $25,000 winner’s check after a 6.783 run aboard his Denso Buell. Smith admittedly didn’t make a perfect run, but it was more than enough to get the job done as he’s now won the specialty event three times.