NEW MATH

NHRA at Sonoma

Words by Darr Hawthorne
Photos by Zak Hawthorne
8/5/04

New tire + 85% nitro + 2 degrees of wing + 7 pounds of air = The New Math Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

hen the NHRA tour hit Sonoma for the end of the Western swing, the teams were hit with yet another curve ball in the rules. Now, in addition to the new nitro percentage and tire specs, NHRA implemented a maximum wing angle for the remainder of the season, with additional modifications possible in the future. Even with the new tires and the less aggressive wing angle, Friday night qualifying had three drivers experience "chunking" of their Goodyear slick as Brady Kalivoda's tire did here.

Arriving at this beautiful venue it was assumed that it might take a few rounds of qualifying for crew chiefs to master the new configurations, but from the beginning John Force led all the funnies with his Friday night 4.823/318.84 pass followed closely by his former employee Tony Pedregon's 4.886. Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel with his 4.574/323.66 with teammate David Grubnic grabbing the #2 qualifying slot. Greg Anderson and Jason Line led all of Pro Stock running 6.693 and 6.719 respectively and the U.S. Army-sponsored Pro Stock Bikes ridden by Angelle Savoie and Antron Brown covered the field with 7.08s.

The crowds for all three days exceeded Infineon Raceway's greatest hopes, with an estimated 75,000 fans basking under beautiful Northern California skies. Whether it was from the recent crash and fire involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Sonoma road course or the media coverage of Darrell Russell's death there was a full house every day.

FORCE ON 85%

John Force grabbed the No.1 qualifying position on Friday night, but was quick to thank Bruton Smith, Infineon Raceway's owner for the excellent facility and surface, "because a couple of years ago it was painful to race here."

Thanks to Austin Coil's experience, Force said the 85% rule "hasn't hurt us a bit. When we heard rumors we went and tested with it (85%) right away. Like Coil said at Seattle, sometimes you just hit it. It's keeping a few bucks in our pocket and saving on our parts bill. If the motor isn't beating itself then you're not driving through your own oil."