SONOMA, Calif. (Feb. 6, 2017) - The excitement heats up on Sonoma Raceway's drag strip with 46 days of drag racing slated for 2018.
The 31st annual Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals will once again highlight the schedule, as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series returns to wine country. The drag strip will also host the NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, presented by Korbel, Summit ET Bracket drag racing and the popular Wednesday Night Drags program.
The drag strip will entertain fans with the 10,000-horsepower machines of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, as the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals makes its only stop in Northern California at Sonoma Raceway, July 27-29. NHRA's best will go head-to-head in the world's fastest race cars with speeds over 330 mph. The weekend will feature racing in four categories, including Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Sonoma's drag strip has consistently posted some of the quickest and fastest runs of the year on the NHRA circuit. Funny Car driver Robert Hight powered to a national record speed in 2017 at 339.87 mph. Additionally, J.R. Todd secured his first career Funny Car victory, making him the first African-American to win in the NHRA Funny Car category and the second driver in NHRA history to win at Sonoma Raceway in both nitro categories. The 2018 national event will also feature the return of jet dragsters following Friday night qualifying, July 27.
The NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, presented by Korbel, sets the stage for back-to-back weekends of drag racing in Sonoma, July 21-22. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series returns to Sonoma where nearly 450 sportsman racers will vie for top titles in their respective classes during the fourth of seven races of the series' schedule. The weekend also features the return of the six-second door slammers of the West Coast Outlaw Pro Modified Series, as well as Team Boddie Presents Outlaw 1/8 Racing Association with its popular Big Tire/Small Tire shootout. Saturday's on-track activity will conclude with two fire-breathing jet dragsters.
The raceway's popular Wednesday Night Drags program enters its 30th season this year. Attracting more than 200 drivers nightly, Wednesday Night Drags is one of the most anticipated events among local racing enthusiasts. The amateur drag racing competition runs most Wednesday evenings from March 14-Nov.14 and gives anyone with a driver license and a car that passes a simple technical inspection a chance to race down the quarter-mile drag strip. The fan-favorite Top the Cops™ program, which gives teens the chance to race against law enforcement officers, who compete in full uniform in their official vehicles on the quarter-mile drag strip, will run from April through August in conjunction with Wednesday Night Drags.
Throughout 2018, the Summit ET Bracket Drag Racing Series will feature 12 races, including the popular Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day events. These events feature five classes of sportsman competition and generally attract more than 300 competitors.
For more information on these programs or for the complete drag strip schedule, visit www.sonomaraceway.com or call 800-870-RACE (7223).
