NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

IT’S SAFE TO SAY THE ELITE TEAM IS BACK

Think Dallas Glenn, Greg Anderson, and the rest of the KB Titan Racing team have a stranglehold on the Pro Stock class?

Think again.

Aaron Stanfield’s two wins were a positive sign, but the most compelling evidence that the Elite Motorsports team is indeed back on top, or at least on level ground, in the world of NHRA Pro Stock racing came at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge, where the Oklahoma-based posse pretty much ran the table.

For all their prior success, the Richard Freeman-led Elite squad had enjoyed the sort of success they did in Sonoma. Team Elite put five of their six entries into the quarterfinals, and when Erica Enders, Troy Coughlin Jr., Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Greg Stanfield won in round two, it was a given that the diamond Wally was heading to Wynnewood, Okla.  

During eliminations, a quick clutch foot is a powerful weapon, and Elite drivers did their part with five holeshot victories, including the final, where Greg Stanfield got a slight lead against teammate Erica Enders.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the year will play out in Pro Stock, but smart money says the Countdown to the Championship just got a bit more interesting.

JORDAN VANDERGRIFF IS THE REAL DEAL

Had he not raced several seasons in Top Fuel nearly a decade ago, Jordan Vandergriff would be giving Maddi Gordon a serious run for her money in the race for the NHRA Rookie of the Year award. As such, Vandergriff is not a rookie, and he’s not eligible for the ROY award. Vandergriff is, however, eligible to win the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car world title, and after his performance in Sonoma, there’s not much reason to think he won’t get it.

Vandergriff won the NHRA Southern Nationals in Adel earlier this year, but that victory was nowhere near as dominant as his second title in Sonoma. Vandergriff and his Cornwell Tools Camaro were the class of the field on all three days, and the first-year Funny Car driver certainly did his part.

Vandergriff had the best car in Sonoma with a string of 3.8-second runs, but he admitted that the heightened expectations had negatively affected his confidence. Going forward, that almost certainly won’t be an issue. Vandergriff also sliced Ron Capps’ once massive points lead in half and now trails by just 74 points, so the regular-season title is also in play.

THERE WILL BE MORE FIRST-TIME WINNERS THIS YEAR

The Sonoma event did not feature a first-time Pro winner, but had things gone a bit differently, it might have produced three of them. 
 

Jasmine Salinas and Daniel Wilkerson came extremely close in Top Fuel and Funny Car, and a handful of Pro Stock drivers also challenged for the honor of a diamond 75th anniversary Wally.

In a season that has already welcomed new winners Jordan Vandergriff and Maddi Gordon, there is plenty of room for more, a notion that destroys the myth of drag racing as predictable.

After her performance in Sonoma, Salinas might just be the favorite to score the next win. Racing at their longtime home track, the Scrappers dragster was as competitive as it has ever been, and Salinas also delivered a breakout performance behind the butterfly with a string of solid lights. It’s easy to make the case that only a dropped cylinder in the final kept her from defeating Doug Kalitta in what was already going to be a memorable final.

Wilkerson is also on the verge after final-round showings in Bristol and Sonoma. There isn’t a driver in any class that doesn’t want to see the affable and infinitely quotable second-generation driver hoist his first Wally. In hindsight, perhaps it’s best that he didn’t win the first leg of a back-to-back weekend because the victory celebration will likely last more than seven days.

So, who is going to be the next Pro Stock winner? 
Take your pick.

Chris Vang set low e.t. in Sonoma, and Shane Tucker was insanely quick with his Volanda Tequila Camaro. Then, Matt and Eric Latino, Cody Anderson, Stephen Bell, and Mason McGaha all delivered in the clutch with round-one victories. It doesn’t take much imagination to see any one of them going the distance in the near future.

Drag racing is a sport that loves breakout success stories and first-time winners, and there is plenty of that brewing in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

WHEN IT COMES TO PRO STOCK, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Anyone who tells you the NHRA Pro Stock class is boring or too predictable needs to take a closer look at Sunday’s action at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, which played out like a Hollywood thriller.

Can anyone explain exactly what we saw in Sonoma?

It began with Chris Vang stealing the top spot in qualifying from usual suspects Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn. Vang has plenty of talent, and his Prestige Trailers Camaro has been solid in limited appearances, but not many saw this one coming. A shrewd bettor could have made a killing via PlayNHRA as Vang was roughly 40-1 to set the pace in Sonoma.

The real fun came on Sunday, where there were holeshots aplenty and plenty of carnage with five of the top eight qualifiers, including the top three drivers in the standings, taking it on the chin in round one. Mason McGaha, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Stephen Bell, Troy Coughlin Jr., and Eric Latino all won from the bottom half of the field. Furthermore, Dallas Glenn, Greg Anderson, and Matt Hartford all got a head start on the next race in Seattle with rare early exits.

There is a tired old adage that suggests that “anyone who qualifies can win,” and that has never been more appropriate than Pro Stock 2026.

SONOMA FANS CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF NHRA DRAG RACING

Let’s face a few facts. There is a lot to do in Sonoma, an area that is blessed with some of the best weather in the country and a multitude of cultural, sporting, and outdoor activities and a lot of natural beauty, yet the fans in that region turned out in big numbers, for each of the three days of the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals and the latest in a string of sellouts.

Even the broadcast of the World Cup Soccer final on Sunday didn’t stop fans from filling historic Sonoma Raceway, a popular venue with NHRA fans since the inaugural event in 1988.

The fans that came to Sonoma got to see what effortlessly qualifies as one of the best races of the season, with plenty of fascinating storylines.

The reasons for the solid crowd are likely many. Three days of perfect weather certainly didn’t hurt, nor did the recent win by rookie Top Fuel phenom and California native Maddi Gordon. NHRA’s yearlong 75th anniversary celebration has also been a barn-burner, drawing both longtime fans while cultivating many new ones.