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Doug Kalitta took the second spot with Friday’s 3.661 at 332.84 and Clay Millican qualified third with a 3.699 at 335.15.
In Funny Car, Ron Capps got a chance to celebrate on Saturday at one of his favorite facilities, defeating No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 3.904 at 324.20 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Car Toyota GR Supra.
It’s the second bonus race win of the year for Capps, who put together a solid run to slip past Hagan’s run of 3.926, defeating Spencer Hyde earlier in the day. Capps has come on strong in recent weeks and will try to turn it into a stellar weekend with his fifth victory at Sonoma Raceway.
“I wasn’t sure it was going to cool off but it did and we thought there were some 3.8s out there for sure,” Capps said. “Before we ran, Guido [Dean Antonelli, crew chief] said he thought we could better our qualifying position. That’s a big deal, so I had to stage thin. I also had to be ready for Matt because we all know how good he is.
“It was just a really cool race and it was good to give Toyota a win. I grew up three hours South of here and this has always been a great place to race.”
Hagan stayed on top heading into raceday, earning his first No. 1 qualifier of the season thanks to Friday’s run of 3.861 at 332.59 in his 12,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. The four-time world champion, who also picked up his 53rd No. 1 qualifier, will open eliminations against Jeff Diehl as Hagan attempts to win at Sonoma Raceway for the first time in his standout career.
“That momentum, that chemistry, all the stuff we’re doing right now I feel like has carried into this weekend,” Hagan said. “We’ve got a lot of great things going for us right now and as a team, as a unit, we’re working really well together. I’m excited to get back into race mode. I just love racing and turning the win light on. It’s competitive out there and it’s exciting for me, always.”
Rookie Spencer Hyde used Friday’s 3.865 at 333.58 to qualify second and Paul Lee took third with a 3.890 at 299.00.
Dallas Glenn closed out Pro Stock qualifying in spectacular fashion on Saturday in Sonoma, winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, taking over the No. 1 qualifying spot and setting a new track record all in one remarkable run of 6.471 at 211.79 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
Cody Coughlin left first in the bonus race and went 6.501, but Glenn tracked him down with the quickest Pro Stock run in Sonoma Raceway history, picking up his third – and second straight – victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this year. Glenn, who set track records galore last week en route to a win at his home track in Seattle, also qualified No. 1 for the fourth time this year. The points leader starts raceday against Kenny Delco as he attempts to keep on his torrid pace.
“This shows that we have a good car,” Glenn said. “We ran into a headwind, so I didn’t think we could [qualify No. 1], but we made a good run even though I messed up a bit. I guess I got a bit lucky since Cody was only seven thousandths away from stealing it from me.
“My car is great right now. This is the best car I’ve ever had and the only thing that keeps it from winning is me. I just need to do my job. There is always at least one thing we could do better, so I’m trying to make sure I find that and do it. I’m harder on myself than anyone else will ever be.”
Greg Anderson took second with a 6.472 at 210.14 and Greg Stanfield is third with a 6.480 at 211.66.
Matt Smith won the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle Callout over Richard Gadson, while Gadson finished as the No. 1 qualifier for the first time in his career.
Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
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