Thunderous applause replaced the roar of mankind’s most powerful engines in automotive racing as the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals concluded Sunday. The final races were filled with fouls, hairline finishes and a father and son battle. Victory celebrations were filled with pride for the teams, and the chugging of chalices filled with Russian River Pinot Noir.
Prock Rocket
Austin Prock nabbed the win in the Funny Car category after struggling last week in Seattle at the Northwest Nationals. “I’m so proud to drive this race car for John Force racing,” Prock said after his victory. “We dug so deep after struggling last weekend, and after a few bad runs, we are back in the winner’s circle baby, whoooo!”
Prock’s team celebrated track side with bottles of Russian River Brewery’s Pliny the Elder, Busch beer and wine as they handed around the Wally Trophy and took in the moment. This is Prock’s fifth win of the season.
Family Feud
Like an ancient Greek poem, father faced off with son in the Pro Stock finals, as Greg Stanfield the elder raced Aaron Standfield the younger. The contest was epic, but experience proved victorious as Greg inched ahead to take the cup with a 6.552 ET at 211.49 mph to Aaron’s 6.568 ET at 209.39 mph.
This is Greg’s sixth win in Pro Stock, but this one stands alone. “This was up there. I’m trying to hold emotions back, but that was special, running Aaron,” He said as he subdued his tears.
Aaron accompanied Greg at the post race interview where they both admitted to still being in “shock” from the occasion. Greg said the race meant more to him than the win itself. He also put emphasis on Aaron winning the light and joked that he owed Aaron lunch for it.
Greg’s wife, and Aaron’s mom, said, “I was excited and sick at the same time” while she watched from the sidelines.
Gadson “Wins the War”
Richard Gadson took the Pro Stock Motorcycle win against John Hall with a 6.756 ET at 199 mph. Gadson was so pumped he started a victory dance on his motorcycle before he could take his helmet off.
After losing the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge yesterday when he jumped the tree in a false start against Matt Smith, Gadson saw this win as redemption.
“They [Smith’s team] won the battle yesterday, but we won the war,” Gadson said.
Not to focus on himself, Gadson credited the win as a team effort. “Once they put their heads together, and once we all came up with a game plan, I went up knowing I had the motorcycle to win this race,” he said.
The first win gave relief after yesterday, Gadson said, but his final win was full of excitement. Due to the weather warming all weekend, his ride evolved as well. “The motorcycle I rode in the finals was a completely different bike that I’ve ridden all weekend,” he said, referring to the constant tuning by his team.
As he sipped wine from the winner’s goblet, he mentioned this is the first time he’s been able to partake in Sonoma’s staple since he came here. He said the Sonoma crowd energy that met him at the winner’s circle was even sweeter.
“This crowd was electric all weekend. These people, I don’t think they sat down for three days,” Gadson said.
Kalitta Topples Brown
The first win of the season for Doug Kalitta wasn’t easy, as he competed against last year’s winner Antron Brown in the final round this year for the Wally Trophy.
Kalitta reflected on finally securing a win this year, “We’ve actually been winning these Mission Foods races on Saturday, we’ve won four of those, and I just knew it was a matter of time. You know, my guys, we’re all hungry right now,” he said.
Winning at Sonoma isn’t new to Kalitta, and it goes all the way back to his first year as an NHRA driver. He nabbed his first win at Sonoma Raceway back in 1998, and hat-tricked Sonoma Raceway from 1998 to 2000. This is his sixth win at Sonoma Raceway, the most in Top Fuel history at the track.
“I have always said I love this track,” he said to reporters in the John Cardinale media center after winning, “This is one of the few races my wife joins me at too, she loves the wine tasting experiences.”
Wine was indeed flowing for Kalitta as he left Sunday a winner of not only the Wally, but a crystal chalice filled with Senses Wine’s Russian River Pinot Noir.
The Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota Aug. 14-17.
