Vandergriff, Kalitta and G. Stanfield enjoy NHRA victories at Sonoma

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 3.900s at 330.72mph in his 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 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.