Post-Race #SonomaNats

Richie Crampton Sunday

Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Race to Quarterfinals at Sonoma

The Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster and driver Doug Kalitta were looking for their sixth win at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals today at Sonoma Raceway. The championship contending team rolled into race day as the No. 5 qualifier. Over two days of qualifying Kalitta was strong in the heat posting the second quickest qualifying run of the third session on Saturday. The team earned two qualifying bonus points and positioned themselves for success in the first round.

On Sunday morning in the opening round Kalitta squared off against Scott Palmer in a race that could have gone either way. When the tree flashed green Kalitta gave up a little time on the starting line but quickly reeled in Palmer and raced away to the quarterfinals. Kalitta took the win with a 3.795 second elapsed time at over 324 mph.

In the quarterfinals it was an all Toyota match-up with Kalitta racing fellow Toyota racer Antron Brown. It was a close race between two 2019 championship contenders with Brown getting to the finish line first. Just past half-track Kalitta went into tire smoke. The veteran driver tried to pedal his Mac Tools dragster but he was unable to get it to hook back up.

“Antron is a tough customer,” said Kalitta. “We knew we had to be on top of our game against him. We swapped lanes after we saw the first two dragsters smoke the tires in the left lane. That was a tough loss for sure but we will be right back at it in Seattle. The good news is you can forget about this race because you have to start thinking about the next one.”
 
Quotable: 
Doug Kalitta on racing at Sonoma Raceway: This is a special track for me for sure. We have won here five times and I thought we had a shot at No. 6 today. It just didn’t work out for us.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 5 (3.733 sec., 325.69 mph) 
Bonus points: +2 (2nd quickest of Q3)

Race Details: 

First Round
Driver                                    Qual           R/T         ET            MPH 
Doug Kalitta                          5              .119         3.795        324.83 (W)
Scott Palmer                         12             .077        6.455          93.38    
 
Second Round
Driver                                    Qual          R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                          5              .061        4.637      191.29
Antron Brown                         4              .055        4.064       304.64 (W)

Richie Crampton Sunday

Another Quarterfinal Finish for Crampton and DHL Top Fuel Team

Racing at one of the nicest facilities in the country Richie Crampton and the DHL Top Fuel dragster were looking to record their first win at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.  On Friday two solid qualifying runs had Crampton and his DHL team sitting in the top half of the field. Two more consistent passes on Saturday had the young driver feeling confident going into race day.

In the first round Crampton took on veteran racer and Countdown contender Terry McMillen who was right behind him in the Mello Yello point standings. It was a big round with only three more regular season races left after today. Crampton took a great starting line advantage and powered to victory with a 3.798 second to 3.855 second elapsed time advantage. The run was quick enough to give the DHL Top Fuel dragster lane choice in the second round.

The quarterfinals featured a match-up of Crampton versus the Mello Yello point leader Steve Torrence. Both dragsters launched side by side but as they blasted towards half-track it was Torrence pulling away and Crampton overpowering the race track. For the third race in a row it was Torrence ending Crampton’s race day. Crampton was able to solidify his position in the Top Ten and he enjoys a healthy five round lead over the driver in the No. 11 spot in the points.

“The win in the first round was great for the DHL team,” said Crampton. “We made an awesome run on a hot race track. We had lane choice going into the quarterfinals. Steve (Torrence) is a tough competitor and they have been on a roll lately. We knew we needed to be aggressive and we just overpowered the track a little. Last week we had a shot at stopping them and then again today. We are not hanging our heads. Races like this only make us want to work harder.”

Quotable: 
Richie Crampton on heading to Seattle: “The Western Swing is tough and our focus now is on getting the win in Seattle. We have never won there but I know this team is capable of putting together a great two days of qualifying and a strong race day.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 7 (3.743 sec., 325.14 mph)
Bonus points: 0

Race Details: 

First Round
Driver                                    Qual            R/T           ET            MPH  
Richie Crampton                   7               .059          3.798       319.52 (W)          
Terry McMillen                        10              .072          3.855       308.99
 
Second Round
Driver                                    Qual            R/T           ET            MPH 
Richie Crampton                   7               .073          5.115        138.41   
Steve Torrence                        2              .079           3.825       321.19 (W)

Shawn Langdon Sunday

Langdon Scores Career Best ET and Races to Quarterfinals at Sonoma

The Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car and driver Shawn Langdon had one of their best qualifying performances of the season. On Friday night Langdon recorded his career best elapsed time in the night time second session posting a blistering 3.875 second pass to set him up as the No. 2 qualifier. The run put him in position for his second career Funny Car win which would start with a first round match-up against Terry Haddock.

“We made the quickest run of my career in a Funny Car on Friday and that kind of performance is exciting,” said Langdon. “We have been qualifying really well. We just need to put a whole package together on race day. These Global Electronic Technology guys are working their tails off. We are making improvements and figuring things out with every run.”

On Sunday morning Langdon and his Global Electronic Technology team took care of business defeating Haddock 3.953 to 6.548. Langdon never trailed in the race and it set up a monster race against John Force in the quarterfinals.

While the task was tough Langdon felt confident heading into the second round. As both Funny Cars pulled to the starting line to stage Force rolled in, putting the top staging bulb out in an effort to get a reaction time advantage. When both cars launched they were side by side and Langdon took an early lead but just before half-track Force began to pull away for the win.

“I really wanted to get that second round win,” said Langdon. “We are really focused on getting rounds wins to increase our lead over the Funny Cars that are outside of the Top Ten. We made up some ground today and put a round on a few guys. We made a good run in the first round and I was looking forward to having a long day.”

Langdon was racing today to become just the third racer to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at Sonoma Raceway. The former Top Fuel racer picked up his lone Sonoma Nationals in 2013 on the way to his Top Fuel world championship.

“We really wanted to get the win today and be able to say we won Top Fuel and Funny Car at the Sonoma Nationals,” said Langdon. “Only two other drivers have ever done that. The guys are my teammate J.R. Todd and Don Prudhomme. Those are two badass drivers and I wanted to add my name to the list.”

Quotable:
Langdon on heading to Seattle: “I am looking forward to getting to Seattle. Hopefully we will have some good weather. They have all those trees around the track so you can get really good air. If we can pick up a win on the last race of the Western Swing that will give us some good momentum heading to the end of the regular season.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 2 (3.875 sec., 329.99 mph) 
Bonus points: +2 (2nd quickest of Q2)

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                                    Qual           R/T          ET             MPH  
Shawn Langdon                   2               .085         3.952         315.71 (W)          
Terry Haddock                       15             .132          6.548         102.27
 
Second Round
Driver                                     Qual            R/T          ET             MPH  
Shawn Langdon                    2               .056          5.664        128.65                   
John Force                              7               .030          4.111        312.13 (W

JR Todd Sunday

J.R. Todd and DHL Miss Chance For Second Sonoma Nats Funny Car Win

J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry team were chasing their second Funny Car win at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals today. Through two days of qualifying Todd and his DHL Toyota team made decent runs but entered race day as the No. 11 qualifier. Todd posted his quickest run of the weekend, 3.992 seconds, came in the fourth and final round of qualifying.

In the NHRA “Marque Match-Up” of the first round Todd squared off with two-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan. Even though Todd was giving up lane choice he still felt comfortable with the chances of picking up his second Funny Car win and fourth Sonoma Nationals win. Todd also has two Top Fuel victories at the northern California track.

It was a tough round for Todd as his DHL Toyota Camry did not keep up with his opponent in the opening session. The final margin of victory was 3.958 to 4.441 seconds as Todd lost traction at about 400 feet. He was forced to lift and watch as the win light illuminated in the opposite lane.

“I felt really good going into that first round,” said Todd. “We have had success here and we made a solid run in the final qualifying session. I think we were trying to step it up in the first round and we just missed it. We are glad to be down at sea level where it is easier to make power. We are going to head to Seattle and try and pick up the last win of the Western Swing.”

Quotable:
J.R. Todd on heading to Seattle: “I am definitely glad to be heading to Seattle. We got the win there in 2015 and I would love to get another win there. We have had a tough couple of races to start the Western Swing but a win in Seattle will give us a big boost.”  

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 11 (3.992., 319.29 mph)
Bonus points: 0

Race Details:
 
First Round
Driver                                      Qual           R/T          ET            MPH  
J.R. Todd                                11             .122          4.441       197.97   
Matt Hagan                              6              .068          3.958        324.59 (W)

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