Here come the hot rods: NHRA Sonoma Nationals

Like the roar of engines and the thrill of Funny Cars, Top Fuel and Nitro dragsters peeling out to reach speeds of 300 mph? Set aside time during the three-day weekend of July 23, 24 and 25 to visit Sonoma Raceway, and the annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

The 33rd NHRA Sonoma Nationals is the 12th race on the 22-race National Hot Rod Association’s schedule, and the series' only visit to Northern California. It will also be the second race of the series' famed Western Swing, a popular three-race summer tradition usually held on successive weekends in Denver, Sonoma and Seattle, though this year the final race will be held in Pomona, relocated due to the uncertainties of COVID.

Midway through the Swing is the Sonoma Raceway's drag strip, one of the quickest and fastest in the country. Robert Hight set the standing NHRA Funny Car national speed record in Sonoma at 339.87 mph in 2017. Hight won the last NHRA Sonoma Nationals held at the track, in 2019, his 50th career Funny Car victory.

The NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world, with over 40,000 drivers in its rosters. Among them is three-time world champion and four-time Sonoma Top Fuel winner Antron Brown, who was the first Black driver ever to win a major U.S. auto racing championship back in 2012.

Brown is currently second in the Top Fuel point standings, having won twice in the last eight events with his most recent win coming in Atlanta this spring. The win was his 52nd in Top Fuel competition, tying him for third all-time with the legendary Joe Amato.

The 2020 NHRA Nationals race weekend at Sonoma Raceway was among many canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, marking the first time the Northern California NHRA event had been canceled or delayed since its debut in 1988.

Tickets are now available, for single-day or weekend passes. Friday and Saturday tickets are $65, the Sunday finals comes with a $70 price tag. Weekend passes are $145; prices for kids 12 and under are less. More information and tickets at sonomaraceway.com.