SONOMA, Calif. – Doug Kalitta appears to be in a solid position to end his 42-race winless streak.
The veteran Top Fuel driver wrapped up the No. 1 qualifier Saturday for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at the dragstrip at Sonoma with two more solid passes, and he'll go for his first victory since Denver 2010 during Sunday's eliminations.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow," Kalitta said. "I hope we can pull it off. The car's running good, so hopefully I won't screw it up. I'll do my best. It's been awhile, and it looks like a pretty good opportunity for us tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes."
All four provisional No. 1 qualifiers from Friday hung on to their poles: Kalitta, Cruz Pedregon in Funny Car, Allen Johnson in Pro Stock and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Kalitta, owner of 32 career Top Fuel wins, set the Sonoma track record with a lap 3.785 seconds at 321.65 mph to earn his first pole since Brainerd 2010. Kalitta Motorsports teammate David Grubnic qualified second at 3.790 seconds at 319.02 mph for the first Kalitta 1-2 since Gainesville in 2005.
The two were also Nos. 1 and 2 here in 2004, when Kalitta eventually beat Grubnic in the finals.
"That's cool seeing Dave and I toward the front of the pack here," said Kalitta, who has five wins in Sonoma. "There's definitely some tough competition out here this weekend with a lot of good times. We are going to have to be on our game tomorrow to get to the final and try to get the win.
"I'm real excited for (crew chief) Jim (Oberhofer) and all the guys. The Funny Car teams are running good, too. We'll do our best tomorrow.
"They're re all working real hard. This Western Swing is something we all look forward to every year so we'll hope for the best."
Pedregon does, too, of course. The 29-time winner is looking for his first victory of the season despite four No. 1 qualifiers. The Sonoma pole was the 49th of his long career after his pass of 4.028 seconds at 307.30 mph on Friday.
"I feel good about our chances tomorrow," Pedregon said. "That's a great accomplishment to get 49 No. 1s. I am proud of that. What I am not proud of is our record this season on race day. I am hoping we can get that turned around. I feel like tomorrow is going to be a crucial day to continue our march to lock up a spot in the Countdown. That's really our goal at this point."
Johnson already has three victories this season in Pro Stock and is coming off a win in Denver. Plus, Johnson has eight No. 1 qualifiers this year, including the last five.
"This feels awesome," said Johnson, who earned the No. 1 with a pass of 6.517 seconds at 212.09 mph. "I think we dialed it in better today. The Mopar Dodge Avenger ran great, and to qualify No. 1 for the fifth straight time is unbelievable. This morning's run we hit it pretty good but we still may have a left a little bit out there.
"We are so strong right now that we can make a mediocre run and still be right there at the top. When we make a really good run we've got a little bit of an advantage. That really gives us confidence going into tomorrow."
Krawiec should have plenty of confidence, too, as he and Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson teammate Andrew Hines have swept all seven races this year and have won nine in a row dating back to last year. Krawiec has four wins and three No. 1 qualifiers.
"I am glad we got it done on that first lap (on Friday)," Krawiec said. "We were too aggressive on that first session today and we shook. We were trying to go fast. We had a tailwind and everything was right to go fast. We had great conditions. Overall it was probably the best of the weekend. Unfortunately we missed the tune-up just a smidge. Our last run we just focused on race day tune-up."
Krawiec's best lap on Friday of 6.801 seconds at 198.35 mph was good enough for the pole.
SUNDAY'S PAIRINGS
Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.785 seconds, 324.12 mph vs. 16. Scott Palmer, 3.962, 302.89; 2. David Grubnic, 3.790, 318.02 vs. 15. Mike Strasburg, 3.960, 301.87; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.792, 322.50 vs. 14. Mike Salinas, 3.955, 309.91; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.793, 327.43 vs. 13. Terry McMillen, 3.855, 308.85; 5. Shawn Langdon, 3.796, 323.04 vs. 12. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.839, 318.24; 6. Antron Brown, 3.799, 322.27 vs. 11. Steve Torrence, 3.832, 320.20; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 3.806, 317.05 vs. 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.828, 320.66; 8. Morgan Lucas, 3.824, 322.11 vs. 9. Clay Millican, 3.826, 319.22. Did Not Qualify: 17. Troy Buff, 4.052, 301.40; 18. Steven Chrisman, 4.062, 287.96.
Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.028, 307.30 vs. 16. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.337, 285.83; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.042, 311.70 vs. 15. Dale Creasy Jr., Chevy Impala, 4.206, 290.63; 3. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.046, 317.57 vs. 14. Gary Densham, Charger, 4.185, 298.54; 4. Jeff Arend, Camry, 4.054, 314.24 vs. 13. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.168, 300.60; 5. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.059, 312.71 vs. 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.165, 301.40; 6. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.079, 311.20 vs. 11. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.106, 301.00; 7. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.083, 310.84 vs. 10. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.102, 307.72; 8. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.087, 309.98 vs. 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.090, 309.27. Did Not Qualify: 17. Joshua Crawford, 4.781, 221.31; 18. Tony Pedregon, 4.798, 254.14; 19. Todd Lesenko, broke.
Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.517, 212.09 vs. 16. Matt Hartford, Avenger, 6.908, 208.62; 2. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.527, 212.03 vs. 15. Gordie Rivera, GXP, 6.692, 206.42; 3. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.531, 211.39 vs. 14. JR Carr, Ford Mustang, 6.594, 209.39; 4. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.533, 211.93 vs. 13. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.575, 210.21; 5. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.538, 211.56 vs. 12. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.575, 210.57; 6. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.539, 212.29 vs. 11. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.572, 210.97; 7. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.554, 211.00 vs. 10. Larry Morgan, Mustang, 6.568, 210.64; 8. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.554, 210.60 vs. 9. Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.560, 211.36. Did Not Qualify: 17. Mark Wolfe, 7.156, 209.52.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.801, 198.35 vs. 16. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.010, 189.42; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.848, 195.28 vs. 15. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.007, 189.50; 3. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.850, 194.35 vs. 14. Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 6.997, 190.92; 4. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.879, 194.86 vs. 13. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.995, 192.38; 5. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.907, 192.47 vs. 12. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.981, 193.77; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.907, 193.02 vs. 11. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.964, 193.16; 7. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.925, 192.66 vs. 10. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.960, 189.28; 8. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.937, 193.32 vs. 9. John Hall, Buell, 6.959, 192.38. Did Not Qualify: 17. James Surber, 7.224, 185.08; 18. Charles Sullivan, 7.285, 179.59; 19. Freddie Camarena, broke.
