VANDERGRIFF, KALITTA & G. STANFIELD ENJOY VICTORIES IN FRONT OF SELLOUT CROWD AT DENSO NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS
– Dominant weekend leads to FC win for Vandergriff
– Kalitta gets seventh TF Sonoma victory
– Stanfield goes back-to-back in Sonoma in PS
SONOMA, Calif. (July 19, 2026) – Funny Car newcomer Jordan Vandergriff won for the second time this season for John Force Racing in front of a sellout crowd on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, defeating Daniel Wilkerson in the final round of the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) also won at the 11th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season as NHRA celebrated three straight days of sellout crowds at the standout facility.
Vandergriff went 3.900-seconds at 330.72 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS to power past Wilkerson’s 3.950 at 301.33 in the championship round, getting his second career victory and first at Sonoma Raceway.
The Brea, Calif. native defeated Jason Rupert, Matt Hagan and reigning world champion Austin Prock in a thrilling side-by-side duel to reach the final round, finishing off a near-flawless weekend with another stellar performance in the final round.
The team made wholesale changes after Norwalk and it worked like a charm one race later, as Vandergriff was the quickest car the last three qualifying rounds. He qualified No. 1 and then was remarkably consistent in eliminations, including a Sunday-best run of 3.891 at 328.46. That continued all day, as the rising star moved up three spots to second in points with the victory.
“My team behind me had the car running so well and so and smooth at this race,” Vandergriff said. “Today was one of those days where I got up there, and I knew I was going to go straight and tried and true. Heading into this final round, I knew that we had the car.
“Getting my second win, it means a lot because after my first win, I remember sitting home, on the couch, looking at the Wally, and I’m thinking, ‘You know, how do I get a second one?’ The first one felt like such a whirlwind, and a dream come true. This is my job. My job is to come to John Force Racing and win Wallys for Cornwall Quality Tools. Now I’m going to go home and look at two Wallys and ask myself how to get a third.”
Wilkerson advanced to his second final this year and fourth in his career thanks to round wins against Hunter Green, Spencer Hyde and Jack Beckman. Ron Capps remains in the points lead, but it stands at just 74 points over Vandergriff after a first-round defeat to Prock on Sunday.
There is nobody better in Top Fuel at Sonoma Raceway than Doug Kalitta and that again proved to be true on Sunday in front of a capacity crowd, as the reigning world champion denied area native Jasmine Salinas of her first career victory with an impressive run of 3.731 at 339.36 in the final round in his 12,000-horsepower Aflac dragster for Kalitta Motorsports.
It’s the second straight victory in wine country for Kalitta, who now has seven victories at Sonoma Raceway, which is the most in Top Fuel history.
This weekend was another dominant effort for the two-time champion, as he qualified No. 1, claimed the Deecell After Dark Low Qualifier and rolled to round wins against Clay Millican and Antron Brown to reach the final round.
Salinas made a valiant effort in the finals, leaving first with an .056 reaction time, but Kalitta quickly tracked her down as she went 3.815 at 319.14. It’s also the 61st career victory for Kalitta, who stayed second in points as he gears up for another championship run. His Sonoma victory last year keyed his 2025 title run and Kalitta is hoping for the same this season.
“This is a very special place for me. We had a little dry spell through the years, but I’m glad that we managed to get the last two wins here,” Kalitta said.
“It’s been 30 years since, unfortunately, we lost Blaine Johnson and I’m going to have the honor of giving this trophy to Alan [Johnson, crew chief] this evening once we get done with this. It’s very deserving with everything he’s put into this sport. Blaine was a hell of a driver, so this is going to be an honor. This is the time of the year where it gets really fun because we’re all battling for points. We’re still quite a ways behind Shawn (Langdon) but we’ve got enough time to do it.”
Salinas reached her first career final round in a two-wide matchup thanks to round wins against Josh Hart, points leader Langdon and Leah Pruett. Kalitta pulled to within 85 points of his teammate Langdon in the points standings.
In Pro Stock, Greg Stanfield continued to feel right at home in front of a packed Sonoma Raceway, defeating six-time world champion and Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders on a holeshot and a run of 6.551 at 211.30 in his Janac Brothers Racing car.
It’s the second straight victory in Sonoma for Stanfield, who defeated his son, Aaron, in the finals a year ago. It was another all-Elite final round as Stanfield reached the final round this year thanks to victories against his son, Mason McGaha and Jeg Coughlin Jr.
He was lethal on the starting line in the finals against Enders, going .015 to hold off the 49-time Pro Stock winner. Enders went 6.550 at 210.87 as Stanfield hung on by a thin margin to get his seventh career professional victory.
It was also a massive win for Elite Motorsports, as the team had all four cars in the semifinals and won in Sonoma for the fifth straight time. Stanfield has delivered the last two years, moving to third in points.
“I’m not sure why I do so well here. It must be the wine. It’s a great place with great fans and I just feel really comfortable here,” Stanfield said. “The Elite cars are fast right now. I’m just proud, excited and thankful to be driving for them.
“The racing is so tight today, so the driving part of it’s really critical. Today was obviously a good day. When I race, I really don’t look who’s in the other lane. I just try to focus on my side and what I can do and try to do the best I can.
“On Saturday, I just looked at the ladder and thought, ‘Oh, boy, this ain’t good’. I just try to do my part to not let everybody down. I won the first round due to pure luck against Aaron, because I should have been beat right there. That was my mulligan of the day.”
Enders advanced to the final round for the first time in 2026 and the 85th time in her career after round wins against Kenny Delco, Matt Latinno and Troy Coughlin Jr. Dallas Glenn remained the points leader after a rare first-round loss, holding a 21-point advantage over KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who also fell in the opening round.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns July 24-26 with the 37th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Seattle.
***
SONOMA, Calif. — Final finish order (1-16) at the 38th annual DENSO Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway. The race is the 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL:
1. Doug Kalitta; 2. Jasmine Salinas; 3. Leah Pruett; 4. Antron Brown; 5. Billy Torrence; 6. Shawn Langdon; 7. Tony Stewart; 8. Tony Schumacher; 9. Justin Ashley; 10. Josh Hart; 11. Shawn Reed; 12. Maddi Gordon; 13. Clay Millican; 14. Will Smith.
FUNNY CAR:
1. Jordan Vandergriff; 2. Daniel Wilkerson; 3. Austin Prock; 4. Jack Beckman; 5. Paul Lee; 6. Matt Hagan; 7. Cruz Pedregon; 8. Spencer Hyde; 9. J.R. Todd; 10. Hunter Green; 11. Chad Green; 12. Jason Rupert; 13. Jeff Arend; 14. Ron Capps; 15. Alexis DeJoria; 16. Dave Richards.
PRO STOCK:
1. Greg Stanfield; 2. Erica Enders; 3. Jeg Coughlin; 4. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 5. Matt Latino; 6. Eric Latino; 7. Stephen Bell; 8. Mason McGaha; 9. Dallas Glenn; 10. Matt Hartford; 11. Aaron Stanfield; 12. Greg Anderson; 13. Cody Anderson; 14. Kenny Delco; 15. Chris Vang; 16. Shane Tucker.
SONOMA, Calif. — Sunday’s final results from the 38th annual DENSO Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway. The race is the 11th of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
Super Comp — Trey Vetter, Dragster, 8.911, 174.91 def. Grant Williamson, Dragster, 8.913, 168.35.
Super Gas — Doug Sedmak, Chevy Corvette, 9.914, 156.79 def. Brad Pierce, Corvette, 9.906, 139.69.
Top Sportsman — Ken Ratzloff, Studebaker, 6.861, 200.41 def. Bryan Warr, Chevy Camaro, 6.718, 203.98.
Top Dragster — Keith Winters, Dragster, 6.313, 214.66 def. Thomas Bayer, Dragster, 6.182, 226.89.
SONOMA, Calif. — Final round-by-round results from the 38th annual DENSO Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway, the 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Antron Brown, 3.739, 332.67 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.746, 336.99; Tony Stewart, 3.712, 336.91 def. Justin Ashley, 3.826, 320.74; Billy Torrence, 3.707, 338.00 def. Shawn Reed, 4.599, 163.85; Shawn Langdon, 3.725, 338.77 def. Will Smith, Broke – No Show; Doug Kalitta, 3.724, 336.91 def. Clay Millican, 7.078, 85.58; Leah Pruett, 3.744, 323.27 def. Maddi Gordon, 4.876, 148.09; Jasmine Salinas, 3.756, 319.90 def. Josh Hart, 4.430, 194.32;
FINAL — G. Stanfield, 6.551, 211.30 def. Enders, 6.550, 210.87.
SONOMA, Calif. — Point standings (top 10) following the 38th annual DENSO Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway, the 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series –
John Camp from Cannonburg, Pennsylvania USA (Comp Number: 1171) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: Radial Vs The World, Div: 1 "Summit Racing Equipment" Owned by Manny Buginga from Bridewatrer, Massachusetts USA 2022 Ford Mustang GT500 by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a Unknown cubic inch Hemi by ProLine Racing with automatic […]
Cory Reed from Kannapolis, North Carolina USA (Comp Number: 176M) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: Radial Vs The World, Div: 1 "J&A Service" Owned by Manny Buginga from Bridewatrer, Massachusetts USA 2022 Ford Mustang by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a Unknown cubic inch Hemi by ProLine Racing with automatic transmission […]
David Reese from Temple, Georgia USA 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: Radial Vs The World, Div: 2 "RB Race Cars" Owned by David Reese from Temple, Georgia USA 1969 Chevrolet Camaro by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a Unknown cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at Unknown […]
Justin Swanstrom from Zephyrhills, Florida USA (Comp Number: 69) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: Radial Vs The World, Div: 2 "Hormone Logistics" Owned by Justin Swanstrom from Zephyrhills, Florida USA 2025 Chevrolet Corvette by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 521 cubic inch BAE Hemi by Noonan with automatic transmission 1/4 […]
Joseph Guertin from Port St. Lucie, Florida USA (Comp Number: 2130) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: X255, Div: 2 "ProCharger/Guertin Motorsports" Owned by Joseph Guertin from Port St. Lucie, Florida USA 1985 Ford Mustang by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 427 cubic inch Ford with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: […]
Jimmy Harris from Cincinnati, Ohio USA (Comp Number: J316) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: X255, Div: 3 "Jimmy Harris" Owned by Jimmy Harris from Cincinnati, Ohio USA 1993 Ford Mustang by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a Unknown cubic inch Ford by BES with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at […]
Jason Riley from Estill Springs, Tennessee USA (Comp Number: 438) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: X255, Div: 5 "Jason Riley" Owned by Jason Riley from Estill Springs, Tennessee USA 1987 Ford Mustang by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 380 cubic inch Small Block Ford with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: […]
Gary Cromwell from Seattle, Washington USA (Comp Number: 633) 1971 - Category: TOPFUEL, Type: TN, Class: AA/FD, Div: 6 "Colello-Cromwell-Desimore" Owned by Colello, Gary Cromwell, Desimore from Seattle, Washington USA Dragster by Woody Gilmore | Powered by a 454 cubic inch Chevrolet by Gary Cromwell with 2 speed manual transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 6.637 at […]
Dan Moore from Middletown, Delaware USA (Comp Number: 1216) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: X255, Div: 1 "Dan Moore" Owned by Dan Moore from Middletown, Delaware USA 2005 Pontiac GTO by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 434 cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at Unknown | […]
Mike Jordan from Grand Bay, Alabama USA (Comp Number: 228) 2026 - Category: PROSTREET, Type: QN, Class: X255, Div: 2 "Mike Jordan" Owned by Mike Jordan from Grand Bay, Alabama USA 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 440 cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: Unknown […]