Leah Pruett was able to stay atop of the field to take the #1 qualifying spot along with the coveted yellow hat going into Sunday. Neal Strausbaugh and Leah Pruett wagered the best pass over the Friday and Saturday qualifying runs and their 3.689 at 327.59 mph run was unbeatable by her competitors.
Pruett has been on a streak after early season struggles and she is looking to make it two in a row on Sunday in an attempt to be 2/3's of the way to sweeping the Western swing.
Robert Hights run from Friday also held in funny car where the top 3 qualifiers didn't change in the Sonoma sun.
Hight’s run in the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro gave the Funny Car points leader his third No. 1 qualifier this season and 74th in his career. In addition to his three straight wins at Sonoma, Hight also has five victories in 2022, including two in a row, and he will open eliminations against Jeff Diehl on Sunday.
“There’s a lot on the line, but we just need to take it one round at a time,” Hight said. “You’ve got to try to be perfect and you have to be aggressive out there. To win rounds and come out on top, you’ve got to be on edge, and I’ve got the best guys in the business behind me to get this done. We’re very confident right now because we’ve won the last two races and we qualified No. 1 here, but you have to continue to take it one round at a time because the competition is so good. There’s a lot of good cars right now so to do what we’re doing makes it that much more special.”
Erica Enders jumped to the top of the charts to take the top qualifying position from Elite Motorsports' teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class.
With a pass of 6.506 at 210.97, Enders surprised many who did not think that Friday nights time could be eclipsed. Enders claimed her 26th number-one qualifier in her Pro Stock career followed by Greg Anderson, Troy Coughlin Jr, Aaron Stanfield, and Dallas Glenn.
Finally, in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Steve Johnson was looking at increasing his point lead but instead Angelle Sampey came focused and prepared on Saturday and took the top spot.
Sampey had an amazing pass of 6.700 at 200.95 mph, earning her the Sonoma Raceway track record and is now tied for third quickest run in the history of Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Sampey said, “I was not perfect on the run, I was not perfectly straight on the bike. I haven’t seen the data with Andrew yet, but I don’t see us changing anything for tomorrow.”
The Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals wrap up on Sunday and it looks like another great day of racing. Don't miss any of the action!
Head over to NHRA.com to see a full recap from David Kennedy:
Don't miss the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Saturday photo gallery:
Erica Enders looking to rewrite Pro Stock history this weekend:
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