After Recent Struggles for Steve Johnson, he again showed his strength by being the provisional #1 qualifier at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
Johnson ran an impressive 6.743 at 198.73 to earn the provisional top spot just ahead of last weeks winner, Matt Smith who ran 6.758 at 200.74.
Troy Coughlin Jr ran a fast 6.549 at 210.87 to secure the top sport in Pro Stock as the top 13 cars all ran under 6.6 with the top 3 separated by .004 seconds.
Coughlin is hoping that Friday's times hold through Saturday so he can stay in the number one spot heading into Sunday's DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals with his bright yellow JEGS machine.
Robert Hight is still hoping to sweep the Western Swing and he kicked off the weekend the same way he finished last week in Denver, standing atop the field. Hight earned the provisional #1 with a qualifying run of 3.825 at 332.75 with his closest championship competitor, Matt Hagan in the other lane running 4.018 at 314.02.
The Jimmy Prock led team oozed with confidence after the win last week and a strong car off the hauler in Sonoma.
Finally, after an emotional win for Leah Pruett at the Mile-High Nationals, Leah was able to transform that emotion into momentum by taking the provisional #1 spot for the second straight week.
Leah Pruett lined up against Josh Hart as the second-to-last pair and she continued to impress with a fast pass 3.689 at 327.59.
Crew Chief Neal Strasbaugh was beaming with confidence after the win and it was clear that the team is focused and running with a little bit of a high!
Head over to NHRA.com to see a full recap from last night by NHRA.com staff:
Don't miss the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Friday photo gallery:
Funny Car points leader Robert Hight looks to make history in Wine Country:
Matt Smith looks to keep 2022 season rolling at Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals:
https://www.nhra.com/news/2022/matt-smith-looks-keep-2022-season-rolling-denso-nhra-sonoma-nationals
Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals preview: