On a cool Friday night, Brittany Force drove her Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster to the provisional No. 2 qualifying position for Sunday’s 36th Sonoma Nationals, covering the 1,000 foot course at Sonoma Raceway in 3.668 seconds at 335.57 miles per hour.
It was the quickest run of the year for the two-time Top Fuel World Champion, who is battling to improve her position in the driver standings after missing a race while her dad, 16-time Funny Car Champion John Force, was hospitalized with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) suffered in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va.
That effort, in what likely were the best racing conditions of the weekend, came on the heels of an opening 3.760 at 331.35 mph.
“I don’t know if we’re back,” said co-crew chief John Collins of the first day’s results, “but it’s getting a little better. We were trying to run a little quicker than that, you know. A.J. (Alan Johnson, tuner on Doug Kalitta’s dragster, which set the pace at 3.649 seconds) made a good run. We were trying to go to No. 1, but we’re happy with that.”
Meanwhile, Austin Prock’s streak of eight consecutive best-of-session qualifying runs came to an abrupt end Friday on the first day of qualifying for the 36th Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway .
The Funny Car point leader, who had started the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS from the No. 1 qualifying position in eight of the first 11 races in the Mission Foods series, failed to reach the finish line under power on either of his Friday opportunities.
As a result, he will start the last day of qualifying in the very unfamiliar No. 16 position, for the first time in his Funny Car career facing the possibility that he won’t be among the qualifiers for Sunday’s show.
After losing traction near half track and slowing to 4.659 seconds at only 173.27 miles per hour on his first run, the fourth generation racer had even more difficulty in the night session in which he stopped the timers in 6.495 seconds at 133.45 mph.
This story was originally published on July 27, 2024. 
