NHRA in Sonoma: Fresh faces on podium after record-setting weekend
Massive powerhouses shook the records to the ground at Sonoma Raceway as Brittany Force rocketed to her fourth victory of the season at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals on Sunday to seize the Top Fuel series points lead.
Wine Country crowned four first-time Sonoma champions with Force’s record-setting day, and Erica Enders (Pro Stock), Joey Gladstone (Pro Stock Motorcycle) and Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) also enjoying some of their best performances of the season.
“We’ve always struggled on the Western swing. Sonoma has always been on my bucket list,” Force said. “It’s like my home track. I grew up here watching my dad race, so it’s always been on my bucket list.”
Force made the quickest run in Sonoma Raceway history in the first round with a 3.662 in her win over John Force Racing teammate Austin Prock. Force then set the track speed record on three consecutive runs on Sunday, capped off by a 337.75 mph mark in her semifinal victory over Shawn Langdon.
“To put those kinds of numbers on the board, it’s just incredible,” Force said. “I have to give it up for my team and I’m always going to bet on them. There’s a lot of good competition in this class, but we’re going for this championship. I’m excited for today and we’re ready to keep going.”
On the other end of the ladder, San Jose’s Mike Salinas seemed to have a relatively easy path to the final, with a first-round bye, followed by wins over Justin Ashley and Doug Kalitta, as his car simply outperformed the competition.
Force went 3.709-seconds at 335.48 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Flav-R-Pac dragster to beat Salinas in the final round, moving back into the points lead over Salinas with her 15th career win.
Sonoma fans hoped to celebrate two wins for the Force family, but in the Funny Car final John Force could not catch winner Tasca, who earned his first win of the season and 10th of his career.
Tasca, who had lost in the final round at the past two races, picked up wins against Jason Rupert, Blake Alexander, and then points leader Robert Hight to set up the marquee matchup with John Force.
“There’s nobody I want to race more than John Force,” Tasca said. “It’s a treat for me to race John and I know he brings his ‘A’ game.”
Tasca credited crew chiefs Mike Neff and Jon Schaffer for getting their Ford Mustang tuned to a point where “you didn’t need Bob Tasca to drive the car. You could have got a fan out of the stands and it would have been fast,” Tasca said.
“It’s exciting for me as a driver and this thing was as straight as an arrow all day long and it was lights out in the final,” Tasca said. “I have the ultimate respect for John and what he’s done and to beat him in the finals, it’s pretty special.”
Force reached his 263rd career final round on the strength of wins against defending world champ Ron Capps, J.R. Todd, and Alexis DeJoria. Hight maintained the points lead, which now stands at 144 points over Matt Hagan.
After years of bitter disappointment, Enders finally got to taste the wine in the winners podium at Sonoma Raceway, and it couldn’t have been any sweeter after outpacing rival Greg Anderson in the Pro Stock final Sunday.
“A win on this track has somehow evaded us for the 18 years of my career racing Pro Stock,” said Enders, who collected the sixth victory of a dominating run through the first half of the season. “Being able to win for the first time here is truly something I’ll never forget. It’s just been an amazing day.”
There was an extra sense of satisfaction given the fact that the win came against Anderson, who edged her out for the 2021 national championship in the final race of the year. Enders posted a brilliant .018 reaction time and held off Anderson at the finish line with a run of 6.574 at 196.62 in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to earn her 39th career win and sixth in her dominant 2022 season.
“To be the best, you have to beat the best,” said Enders, who is currently the one to beat with an 80-point lead over Aaron Stanfield in the standings. “No matter who comes into this class, (Anderson) will always be the baddest driver.”
Anderson, who remains a win shy of his 100th victory, advanced to his first final this year and 168th in his career by defeating Steve Graham, Bo Butner, and teammate Kyle Koretsky.
As Enders started the day as the top qualifier, she was confident in her position. She also predicted her friend Gladstone would pick up a win on his motorcycle. She was right.
After back-to-back final round appearances the past two weeks, Gladstone celebrated the first Pro Stock Motorcycle victory of his career as he was quickest on the green light at the starting line to hold off Eddie Krawiec in the final with a pass of 6.759 at 200.68 on his J&A Service Suzuki Hayabusa. Krawiec went a quicker 6.758, but Gladstone was quicker on the starting line with a .026 reaction time and held off the veteran.
“I’ve been waiting for this day since I was 12 years old when I decided I wanted to race Pro Stock Motorcycles,” Gladstone said. “To finally be here to do it and race the best guys in the world, this means everything to me. I just had to do my job out there. It’s been quite the road, and this means a lot and more than you could ever imagine. I’ve spent my whole life trying to get here and this is just the start for us.”
Gladstone was simply faster than the competition Sunday. He cruised past San Jose’s Jianna Evaristo in the first round. Katie Sullivan struggled in a second-round loss to Gladstone, who moved on to beat Jerry Savoie in the semifinals.
“Some days you feel like you can’t lose, and this was one of those days,” Gladstone said.