NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS RACE RECAP

SONOMA RACEWAY

LEAH PRUETT
Mobil 1 Top Fuel Dragster

Unofficial Points Standing: 3rd

• 13-time NHRA National Event Winner
• Finished 2023 runner-up in championship points
• Finished runner-up up at the 2026 NHRA Arizona Nationals
• Second No. 1 of the 2026 season
• No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Winternationals and Thunder Valley Nationals
• Won NHRA New England Nationals Friday night at Bristol Dragway
• Has only one first-round loss so far this season

Qualifying: No. 9
3.772 seconds at 327.98 mph
Q1: 3.772 at 327.98
Q2: Cancelled due to oil down & curfew
Q3: 4.411 at 178.73
Q4: 5.140 at 135.89

Race Results:
E1: 3.744 seconds at 323.27 mph def. Maddi Gordon 4.876 at 148.09
E2: 3.766 at 330.23, .068-second RT def. Billy Torrence 3.751 at 332.51, .180 RT
E3: 3.751 at 331.94, .091 RT lost to Jasmine Salinas 3.772 at 334.98, .068 RT

“I don’t know how far the Six Flags theme park is from here, but I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster. Between making a solid pass in Q1, and then the vast majority of the field not being able to make that Q2 session, it was tough. We didn’t make it down the track all day Saturday. We were fighting what we call free horsepower because of the air conditions, elevation, and all that. Everyone just gets extra horsepower. So, you’re already living on the edge tune-up wise, then you see the cars that live on the edge all got tipped over and the ones that don’t, make really good runs. We learned from that going into race day and I’m extremely impressed with the persistence that our crew chiefs have in continuing to solve issues and grab momentum. We qualified number nine, first time of the season that we didn’t qualify in the top half of the field.  But we didn’t let that kick us down. I think a lot of kudos need to go to NHRA for how equal the lanes were. It’s truly nice when we can take out that variable.

“Going into first-round, we were against Maddi (Gordon) two races in a row. But we did our job all the way around. And then second-round against Billy Torrence, he has one of those cars that really shined throughout the weekend. So we knew we had our work cut out for us, and the driver showed up in the second round over here. I’ve been working really hard. So getting my reaction time numbers down, it’s just hard to maintain that consistency. So, yeah, I got the win in the second round on a holeshot. It was big. I got to enjoy that for about five minutes as we got back to work for the semis.

I didn’t quite have that great of a light in the 3rd round against Jasmine and got beat on a hole shot. All I needed was just a couple thou,  but that’s drag racing. That’s the roller coaster. The highs and the lows throughout a weekend and our overall mentality, we learned a lot this weekend. Everyone’s heads are high because progress is being made on all the fronts. And we do look forward to going to Seattle, where we’re gonna have tons of trees and oxygen and different type of extra horsepower. Seattle delivers.”

MATT HAGAN
Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat
Funny Car

Unofficial Points Standing: 4th

• Four-time world champion (2023, 2020, 2014, 2011)
• Finished 2025 season runner-up
• Won the NHRA Winternationals, NHRA’s 1000th Funny Car race and the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway
• 14 season streak with at least two wins
• Has raced to 100 final rounds
• Three final rounds at Sonoma Raceway (2012, 2019, 2021)
• Three No. 1 qualifiers at the facility (2009, 2013, 2025)

Qualifying: No. 8
3.934 seconds at 321.81 mph
Q1: 5.011 at 150.45
Q2: 3.934 at 321.82
Q3: 3.970 at 330.31
Q4: 3.957 at 326.87

Race Results:
E1: 3.944 seconds at 333.74 mph, .057-second RT def. JR Todd 3.933 at 332.43, .086 RT
E2: 3.956 at 327.98 lost to Jordan Vandergriff 3.932 at 330.72

“We haven’t had much luck here at Sonoma over the years, but we have been good at Seattle and that’s up next on the schedule. I think we learned a lot here this weekend, and we’ll be ready for Seattle now. We took Saturday here at Sonoma Raceway and tested with some different parts and pieces and you could just see the lightbulbs go off for (Crew Chief Mike) Knudsen. It makes me excited about this next race weekend in Seattle. And we have won a bunch at Seattle including last year. We still come out of here with a lot of positives. Overall, we are in the points hunt and I believe we can continue to win races this year.”