NHRA Sonoma Nationals 2026 Friday Qualifying Results: Q1, Q2 and Full Order

The 38th annual DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge was the 11th event of the 20-race 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series. Friday’s professional program included Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock qualifying. Pro Stock Motorcycle riders also made time-trial runs before Saturday’s GETTRX All-Star Callout.

Sonoma is famous for fast night sessions. Cooler air improves engine power, while the racing surface can hold more aggressive clutch and fuel-system settings. That combination made Q2 the main target for Funny Car and Pro Stock teams.

However, Top Fuel never received a complete night opportunity. Tony Schumacher and Clay Millican opened Q2. Schumacher ran 3.744 despite throwing the blower belt near the finish. Millican suffered another rear-end failure, producing an oil-down and a long cleanup.

Kalitta and teammate Shawn Langdon ran identical 3.714 elapsed times in Q1. NHRA broke the tie with finish-line speed, placing Kalitta first at 337.07 mph over Langdon’s 336.49.

Vandergriff delivered the largest position gain. He ranked 14th after Q1 with a 4.547. Then he opened Funny Car Q2 with a 3.849 at 332.43 mph. Nobody answered it.

Vang’s improvement was less dramatic in position but just as important. His Q1 6.538 already ranked fifth. A career-best 6.498 in Q2 put the second-year racer one thousandth ahead of rookie Cody Anderson.

Q1 took place on a warm track. The official Top Fuel sheet recorded 71°F air, 57 percent relative humidity and 119°F track temperature. Funny Car and Pro Stock also ran with the track near 119°F.

Those conditions rewarded safe, complete passes. Teams needed a number on the board before chasing the cooler night track. Therefore, Q1 became especially important once Top Fuel Q2 was cut short.

Top Fuel Q1 full order

Kalitta and Langdon produced the session’s defining side-by-side run. Both stopped the clock at 3.714. Kalitta’s extra 0.58 mph decided first place.

Tony Stewart briefly led with a 3.736. Maddi Gordon and Jasmine Salinas then recorded matching 3.751s, with Gordon receiving the higher position through speed. Tony Schumacher’s first attempt ended at 4.169 after tire haze and cylinder trouble.

Funny Car Q1 full order

Ron Capps closed the opening round with the best pass. His 3.900 at 330.07 mph moved ahead of DeJoria’s 3.917 and Beckman’s 3.942. Only four drivers entered the three-second range.

Vandergriff and Chad Green were on competitive passes before losing traction late. Their 4.547 and 4.620 placed them 14th and 15th. Those positions made their Q2 improvements much more striking.

Pro Stock Q1 full order

Greg Anderson led the naturally aspirated class with a 6.522. Greg Stanfield followed at 6.534, while Dallas Glenn and Aaron Stanfield completed the top four.

Vang’s 6.538 placed him fifth, already ahead of several full-time stars. Mason McGaha did not receive a time after timing out during the starting procedure.

Top Fuel Q2: only one pair completed

Tony Schumacher ran 3.744 at only 293.73 mph after the car threw its blower belt near 800 feet. The elapsed time moved him from 13th to fourth in the provisional order.

Millican’s dragster suffered a rear-end failure in the other lane. He recorded 4.670 at 138.67 mph, but his Q1 4.203 remained his better qualifying run. NHRA charged the team with an oil-down and a 15-point penalty.

The Safety Safari worked to restore the lane. However, the delay reached Sonoma Raceway’s 10 p.m. curfew. Officials returned the remaining cars to the pits and canceled the rest of Top Fuel Q2.

Funny Car Q2: Vandergriff resets the 2026 benchmark

Vandergriff ran in the first pair and immediately posted 3.849 at 332.43 mph. The pass was the quickest Funny Car run of the season at that time. It also moved him from 14th after Q1 to first after Friday.

Beckman gave John Force Racing the top two positions with a 3.873 at 333.16. Daniel Wilkerson’s 3.899 placed him third. Meanwhile, Q1 leader Capps shut off early and retained his 3.900 for fourth.

Dave Richards faced the night’s most visible Funny Car incident. His Mustang moved out of the groove and contacted the wall. Austin Prock also failed to produce the expected full run.

Pro Stock Q2: Vang beats the champions

Pro Stock produced the closest battle. Vang’s 6.498 defeated Cody Anderson by 0.001 second. Enders followed only 0.005 behind the leader.

Shane Tucker’s 6.516 at 212.16 mph was one of the session’s standout runs. It was Friday’s fastest Pro Stock speed and moved him from 14th to fifth.

Greg Anderson could not improve his Q1-leading 6.522. His night pass slowed to 7.897 after he pushed in the clutch early. Consequently, he fell from first to 11th in the combined Friday order.

Kenny Delco also kept his Q1 result after a troubled 12.969-second Q2 run. Joey Grose ran 6.642 in Q2 but retained his earlier 6.609. Both examples show why the final Friday order records each driver’s best run, not only Q2.

Top Fuel’s Friday classification was primarily a Q1 order because 12 drivers never reached the Q2 starting line. Schumacher was the only driver to improve, jumping to fourth with his 3.744.

Kalitta and Langdon gave Kalitta Motorsports the first two positions. Stewart ranked third, while Schumacher’s partial Q2 pass placed him fourth despite a finish-line speed below 300 mph.

Only 14 Top Fuel cars were entered, so everyone remained inside the usual 16-car eliminations field. Saturday’s sessions would still determine pairings and lane choice.

Funny Car completed both Friday sessions. Q2 supplied nine of the top 10 Friday positions, with Capps’ Q1 3.900 the only exception.

Vandergriff, Beckman and Wilkerson all entered the 3.80s. Capps sat fourth, while Green, Hyde and DeJoria completed a tightly packed group through seventh.

The provisional bump spot belonged to Paul Lee at 4.208. Winefsky and Pedregon sat outside the 16-car field after Friday. However, two Saturday sessions remained, so neither was officially eliminated.

John Force Racing held first and second through Vandergriff and Beckman. Prock’s 4.050 left him 14th after a difficult night attempt, showing the wide performance range inside the same organization.

Pro Stock delivered Friday’s closest class order. Vang and Cody Anderson were separated by one thousandth. The first seven drivers were covered by only 0.019 second.

Vang’s 6.498 gave him his first provisional No. 1 and the $2,500 Deecell After Dark bonus. Cody Anderson’s 6.499 made him the only other driver in the 6.40s.

Mason McGaha held the provisional 16th position at 6.583. Grose and Prusiensky were outside the field after Friday. As in Funny Car, two Saturday sessions remained available.

Greg Anderson experienced the largest fall among the Q1 leaders. He dropped from first to 11th, even though his 6.522 remained only 0.024 behind Vang. That statistic underlines how compressed Pro Stock was.

Funny Car gained the most dramatic headline

Vandergriff improved by 0.698 second from Q1 to Q2. Much of that gain came because his Q1 run lost traction near the finish. Still, the 3.849 was not merely a recovery run; it became the class benchmark for the season.

Wilkerson improved from 4.441 to 3.899, while Hagan moved from 5.011 to 3.934. Chad Green cut his ET from 4.620 to 3.903. Therefore, several teams found more than half a second under the lights.

Pro Stock improved as a complete field

Greg Anderson’s 6.522 led Q1. By the end of Q2, that same time ranked 11th. Ten drivers ran 6.520 or quicker, which shows how much the cooler conditions helped the naturally aspirated cars.

Vang improved by 0.040 second. Cody Anderson gained 0.046, and Enders gained 0.040. These were meaningful changes in a class where one hundredth can represent several positions.

Top Fuel remained an unanswered question

The cooler Q2 conditions included 59°F air and an adjusted altitude of only 422 feet. Those numbers suggested the potential for exceptional elapsed times.

However, only Schumacher and Millican ran. Kalitta’s team expected to attack the 3.71 benchmark, but the curfew removed that opportunity. Consequently, the Friday Top Fuel order carried less night-session evidence than the other classes.

Why speed broke Kalitta’s tie with Langdon

NHRA qualifying first ranks drivers by elapsed time. When two drivers record the same ET to the thousandth, speed breaks the tie. Kalitta’s 337.07 therefore beat Langdon’s 336.49.

The margin was only 0.58 mph. Both cars completed the quarter mile in 3.714 seconds, but Kalitta carried slightly more speed through the finish.

What the Deecell bonuses changed

The night-session program paid $4,000 to the low Funny Car qualifier and $2,500 to the low Pro Stock qualifier. The Top Fuel bonus was also worth $4,000.

Because Top Fuel Q2 could not continue, NHRA awarded that bonus to Q1 leader Kalitta. Vandergriff and Vang earned theirs through Q2 performances.

1. Kalitta Motorsports controlled Top Fuel

Kalitta and Langdon occupied the first two positions with identical elapsed times. That result gave the team two strong setup references before Saturday.

2. John Force Racing produced opposite outcomes

Vandergriff and Beckman ranked first and second. Prock sat 14th after failing to complete the expected night pass. The organization had both the fastest car and one of the most vulnerable provisional positions.

3. Vang’s result was not a lucky single run

His Q1 6.538 already placed fifth. Therefore, the 6.498 built on a competitive opening baseline rather than appearing without warning.

4. The Pro Stock bump remained dangerous

Only 0.111 second separated first-place Vang from 17th-place Grose. With two sessions remaining, every driver near the bottom needed another clean run.

5. Friday positions were provisional

Saturday offered Q3 and Q4. The article’s full-order tables represent Friday night only. They do not replace the final qualifying ladder used for Sunday eliminations.