There is plenty of racing happening before then, but for NHRA national event followers, it’s just about time to shift gears and start thinking about the next stop on tour. But first! Let’s talk Sonoma and wrap up the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
For many, the highlight of the event boiled down to the Super Stock and Stock Eliminator final rounds, which were some of the most entertaining we’ve seen as-of-late. These matches were the kind of cool that make NHRA Sportsman racing so dang fun to watch!
Paul Calvert – Stock Eliminator
The Stock final was an outstanding match won by Lancaster, Calif., racer Paul Calvert over Modesto’s Jared Jordan. Calvert, younger brother to John Calvert of Calvert Racing Suspensions, was behind the wheel of a U/SA ’77 Mustang II that looks a lot like the one that once belonged to B.J. Graham and her husband, Mike, out of Tempe, Ariz. Just as Graham did a number of times, Calvert claimed the No. 1 qualifying position with a 13.76 on the 14.85 U/SA index (-1.08 under) and scored the first-round bye run.
Throughout eliminations, Calvert was steady at the tree with a series of .02-second reaction times no matter what was happening in the other lane. In his semifinals bye run, he clocked a .022-second light and raced to a 13.910 on his 13.90 target to enter his career-first final round nice and sharp.
Calvert needed to be operating at full song as he was about to square off with Jordan and his stunning ’64 Dodge 330. Jordan, who won half of the Phoenix double divisional in February, had been handily sending away the best of the best in Sonoma eliminations, starting with a first-round victory over Woodburn winner Jody Lang in which he recovered from a .072-second reaction time to run dead-on his 10.33 dial, plus .003. Big names fell at the hands of Jordan en route to the final, including Chad Langdon, Jeff Taylor, and reigning world champion Kyle Rizzoli.
After his round-one bye, Calvert got the nod when Pete Lanciers fouled out by -.050 in his ’73 Duster. Calvert then played the starting line better with a .025 to Jerry Stein’s .094 in a ’69 Dart to match with Joe Sorensen’s F/SA ’69 Camaro in the quarterfinals. With that bye run into the final on the line, the two left with reaction times just .002-second apart, and it was Calvert who got the nod, 13.978 (13.96) to 11.190 (11.16).
In the final, Jordan patiently waited for his side of the tree to come down after Calvert left on a .020 light, a 13.90 on the window of the Mustang compared to Jordan’s 10.39. He launched with a crisp .018 and started the chase, and as they approached the finish line stripe, both played it carefully, but it was Calvert with the win light with an on-the-money 13.902. Jordan broke out by just .012-second.
“That was pretty fricken amazing,” said a very pleased Calvert in his Parade of Champions interview with NHRA Announcer Jason Galvin. “It’s been a super-surprising, magical day, just a dream-come-true, with all of my favorite people with me.”
Super Stock – Jim Grossi
Justin Lamb put up an 8.595-second pass to go 1.005-second under the 9.60 SS/AS index to go to the No. 1 qualifying position at the Sonoma Nationals, a race he has won six times. Lamb’s RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet COPO Camaro was keyed up to play all the right tunes that weekend, but Jim Grossi Jr. and his strking orange FGT/B ’69 Corvette had other plans. His .004-second reaction time and perfect 8.500 on an 8.50 dial defeated a run that would have won almost any other time – Lamb clocked a .015 light and ran an 8.633 on his 8.63 target.
The win was the first for Grossi since he claimed the trophy at the NHRA Finals in Pomona in 1993 over Doug Lambeck. He also won Sonoma that year and in 1991, as well.
“It was Justin Lamb, I did what I had to do,” said Grossi with a grin, as he gripped the fourth national event Wally of his career. “Really, I just stayed focused on the car and the tree. I felt like I had spirits with me – my dad [Jim] and uncle [Frank] passed away in 2019, and this is our race. I love this track.”
Notable: Frank Grossi was a finalist in Super Stock at Sonoma Raceway in 2006. He reached the final round at four NHRA national events during his career and was the 1983 Super Stock winner at the 1983 World Finals at Orange County Raceway.
Josh Lee – Comp Eliminator
Citing the great mentors that have surrounded him his whole life, machinist-by-trade Josh Lee claimed the first national event win of his career when longtime Northern California racer Steve Graham went red in the Comp Eliminator final. Lee got it done in the unique H/EA Honda S2000 F20c-powered ’32 Bantam that he put together more than a decade ago. He dedicated the win to chassis builder Norm Porter, who passed away the week before the Sonoma national.
“I wanted to do something different [with this car], and I rev it to the moon and just have fun with it,” said Lee, who was No. 1 qualifier at the event with an 8.775 (-.705). “It likes to go.”
Ralph VanPaepeghem could not make the call in round one, which allowed Lee to advance to a second-round bye. In the semifinals, he squared off with Tom Mettler and his ’01 Dakota – Mettler with the better reaction time, .020 to .063, but Lee with the win, 8.857 (-.623) to 7.66 (-.414).
“[In the final], I was going through the gears, looked up, and didn’t see the win light on – so I was just going to run it through the finish line,” explained Lee. “[But] he wasn’t catching me, and I finally dumped it, went through the finish line, and saw the win light. I was ready to take more index and try to get that victory.”
Allison McKoane – Super Comp
Clovis, Calif., racer Allison McKoane earned the second national event win of her career with a final-round defeat of 2022 Division 7 Super Comp champion Jerron Settles. McKoane, who most recently won the 2022 Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, was strong during eliminations and had two 8.90 passes that were off the index by just thousandths of a second. After a semifinals bye run, she matched with 2022 NHRA Finals winner Settles, who was participating in the third national event final of his career. When Settles was -.001 red, McKoane’s win light flashed.
“It was a great weekend,” she said. “My dad, John, was runner-up in Super Gas – it was his first national event final round. It was cool to do it together, and we almost pulled it off, but I know we’ll do it one day.”
Ryan Giacone – Super Gas
The father-daughter double up was stopped by Ryan Giacone, who claimed the second win of his career with a .014-second reaction time and 9.870 on the 9.90 Super Gas index to defeat John McKoane’s .027 and 9.864. One of the most entertaining moments in Lucas Oil Series action in Sonoma was the two-minute burndown between Giacone and five-time national event winner Ken Mostowich in the semifinals.
“Ken doesn’t like to stage first, and you’re looking for every advantage you can – so I just told myself going up there he was going to have to stage first today, and he did,” said Giacone, whose first national event win came in Super Street in 2009.
After the impressively extended staging duel, Giacone got the reaction time advantage, .061 to .077, and was the survivor in the double-breakout match with Mostowich to gain access to take his ’88 Ford Thunderbird to a career-fifth final.
David Cook – Top Sportsman
A season that started with three consecutive runner-up performances followed by a trip to the semifinals at the Las Vegas four-wide event was complemented by a win at the Boise divisional and, finally, a first national event victory for Novato, Calif., racer David Cook in Sonoma. Cook claimed round wins over Richard Okerman and Dean Hall with a bye run between them, and in the semifinals, Joe Mellof’s red-light start sent him ahead to the final, where he would square off with multi-time division champion Jeff Gillette.
In the final, Gillette was more efficient at the starting line, .014 to Cook’s .031, but it was Cook who ran closer to the number in their double-breakout match with a 6.678 on his 6.68 dial to a 6.804 on a 6.81.
“This is an awesome day,” said Cook. “I have my family here, and I’m just feeling so blessed. It’s been a lot of hard work over the years, and I’ve raced with Jeff my whole career. He’s the best on the West Coast, and he’s a great friend. It was an honor to race him, but you really had to lay down a good run. The car is just so good, and that’s why we’re doing so well this season. I’m just trying to take it in.”
Thomas Bayer – Top Dragster
It was lucky win No. 13 for Thomas Bayer in Top Dragster, who was a brilliant .002 at the tree and a solid 6.130 on his 6.10 dial in the final. First-time finalist David Myhre – who played a good game at the finish line to defeat Macie Gordon in the semifinals – was .030 at the hit but broke out with a 7.476 on his 7.48 next to Bayer.
“It was a tough day, racing these guys – they’re so good out here,” said Bayer, a longtime drag racing instructor. “It’s a lot of fun coming out to the NHRA national and divisional events, but this is my favorite event. I look forward to it every year.”
It was the second national event win of the season for Bayer, the 13th of his career, and his third at Sonoma Raceway.
Divisional and regional Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events will run over the course of the next two weekends, with races in Indianapolis, Norwalk, and Seattle on the docket. The next national event will be the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, August 15-18, 2024. You betcha!
If you find an error in this story or have anything to add, please contact WinLight News editor Kelly Wade: kelly@winlightnews.com.
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