Raceway Rant
Friday, July 11, 2008
Dragsters Charge Into Sonoma
Lynne Tibbet
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series begins its West Coast Swing this weekend in Denver, culminating with the final leg of the swing in Sonoma for the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals, July 25-27.
It's amazing just how popular drag racing is becoming, not only in Sonoma, but all over the country. Attendance is up everywhere, including Sonoma. It's not hard to see why as the drivers are some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.
Whether it's a huge name like John Force, or someone that is not as recognizable, they always take time for race fans during the weekend, whether it's for an autograph or a snapshot. Great folks.
If you haven't been to a drag race and are interested, be sure and check out the Friday night qualifying under the lights. To see the flames burst from the headers on those machines is quite impressive. The 300 mph speeds are pretty impressive too.
One cool element of the weekend will be the induction of Doug Kalitta into our Wall of Fame. Doug is a pretty quiet guy, but he's assembled a pretty impressive resume in Sonoma. He is the winningest Top Fuel driver in history here with five victories, including three in a row at one point. He'll join Warren Johnson, John Force and Gary Scelzi as the only drag racers in our Wall of Fame.
That's it for now. See you next week!
