July 26, 2025 | By NHRA

MATT SMITH GOES BACK-TO-BACK WITH VICTORY IN THE GETTRX PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALLOUT IN SONOMA

SONOMA, Calif.—Six-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith continued to enjoy success at Sonoma Raceway in specialty races, winning the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout for a second straight year on Saturday as part of this weekend’s Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.

Smith picked up the victory when Richard Gadson went red in the final round, claiming the $25,000 prize and winning the Callout in back-to-back years. He’s won a bonus race in Sonoma four times on his Denso/Matt Smith Racing Buell and continued to have the magic touch at the facility on Saturday.

Smith went 6.783-seconds at 199.76 mph against Gadson, who went red by .001, as the multi-time champion enjoyed another magical Saturday in Sonoma. Smith opened the Callout with a victory against Chase Van Sant and then beat teammate John Hall in the semifinals, setting up the marquee matchup with Gadson in the championship round.

“This is awesome. I love this track. I came here as a kid and watched my dad [Rickie] win in a Pro Stock car. It’s a long tow from North Carolina but it’s worth it. This is also Denso’s home race,” Smith said.

“The track was really good but we had a headwind. We’ve had a headwind all weekend. If we could get a tail wind, you might see our 205 mph record get hit. When we ran the semis, I made the decision to choose John, that way we were sure to have a Denso/MSR bike in the final. It was just a strategy call and it worked. It was also a way to make sure they [Vance & Hines] didn’t put both of their bikes in the final.”

Despite the loss in the final round, Gadson did get to enjoy qualifying No. 1 for the first time in his career, as Friday’s run of 6.702 at 200.77 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki held up.

He’ll take that top spot into raceday – as well as a first-round matchup against Brad Hawkes – as he looks to win for the second time this season.

“I’m glad we were able to hold on to No. 1,” Gadson said. “This is my first yellow hat and it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. That was a big run. We didn’t qualify No. 1 by a little bit. It was quite a bit.

“As for the [GETTRX Callout final], we’re running for a lot of money so I made the decision to let it all hang out. Going red by a thousandth of a second is just part of the deal. You’ve got to know how to shake it off.”

Smith qualified second with a 6.740 at 200.26 and John Hall is third with a 6.759 at 197.28.

Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.


GETTRX NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALLOUT RESULTS

ROUND ONE -- John Hall, 6.713, 201.52 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.795, 197.80; Richard Gadson, Suzuki,6.720, 192.08 def. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.729, 197.19; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.707, 202.55 def. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.791, 197.45; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.727, 199.91 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki,Broke - No Show;

SEMIFINALS -- R. Gadson, 6.749, 199.76 def. G. Herrera, 6.769, 199.14; M. Smith, 6.764, 200.83 def. J. Hall, 7.689, 124.14;

FINAL -- M. Smith, 6.783, 198.35 def. R. Gadson, Foul - Red Light.



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FORCE, CAPPS, GLENN WIN MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE AT PACKED SONOMA RACEWAY

SONOMA, Calif -- A day after making the fastest run in NHRA history, Top Fuel star Brittany Force won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the first time in 2025, defeating Justin Ashley in the final round of the bonus race on Saturday Sonoma Raceway as part of this weekend’s 37th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.

Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) both won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, while Force, Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Glenn and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) qualified No. 1 at the 12th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

In the finals of the specialty race, Force went 3.869-seconds at 324.75 mph in her 12,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster, easily holding off Ashley, who ran into tire smoke during the matchup. It’s the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the year for the two-time world champion, continuing what has already been a banner weekend for the world’s fastest driver.

Her incredible run of 3.645 at a world-record 343.16 easily held up on Saturday, giving Force her third No. 1 of the season as well. She’ll open raceday against Seattle winner and points leader Shawn Langdon, who struggled during qualifying, looking for a clean sweep of the weekend and another Sonoma victory.

“I’m excited to finally win one of these Mission #2Fast2tasty Challenge races. I was talking with David [Grubnic, crew chief] last night and we said that we were disappointed we didn’t have one. We turned on two win lights today to get the job done,” Force said.

“The fans have been awesome here. I think about Sonoma and I think it’s wine country and everyone is chill but they’re rowdy here. It’s still surreal to think that we went 343 mph. I write it on an autograph and it just doesn’t look right. We had fun last night. We had a great time with the fans but David went right back to work. He’s trying to figure out how to win tomorrow.”

Doug Kalitta took the second spot with Friday’s 3.661 at 332.84 and Clay Millican qualified third with a 3.699 at 335.15.

In Funny Car, Ron Capps got a chance to celebrate on Saturday at one of his favorite facilities, defeating No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 3.904 at 324.20 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Car Toyota GR Supra.

It’s the second bonus race win of the year for Capps, who put together a solid run to slip past Hagan’s run of 3.926, defeating Spencer Hyde earlier in the day. Capps has come on strong in recent weeks and will try to turn it into a stellar weekend with his fifth victory at Sonoma Raceway.

“I wasn’t sure it was going to cool off but it did and we thought there were some 3.8s out there for sure,” Capps said. “Before we ran, Guido [Dean Antonelli, crew chief] said he thought we could better our qualifying position. That’s a big deal, so I had to stage thin. I also had to be ready for Matt because we all know how good he is.

“It was just a really cool race and it was good to give Toyota a win. I grew up three hours South of here and this has always been a great place to race.”

Hagan stayed on top heading into raceday, earning his first No. 1 qualifier of the season thanks to Friday’s run of 3.861 at 332.59 in his 12,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. The four-time world champion, who also picked up his 53rd No. 1 qualifier, will open eliminations against Jeff Diehl as Hagan attempts to win at Sonoma Raceway for the first time in his standout career.

“That momentum, that chemistry, all the stuff we’re doing right now I feel like has carried into this weekend,” Hagan said. “We’ve got a lot of great things going for us right now and as a team, as a unit, we’re working really well together. I’m excited to get back into race mode. I just love racing and turning the win light on. It’s competitive out there and it’s exciting for me, always.”

Rookie Spencer Hyde used Friday’s 3.865 at 333.58 to qualify second and Paul Lee took third with a 3.890 at 299.00.

Dallas Glenn closed out Pro Stock qualifying in spectacular fashion on Saturday in Sonoma, winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, taking over the No. 1 qualifying spot and setting a new track record all in one remarkable run of 6.471 at 211.79 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.

Cody Coughlin left first in the bonus race and went 6.501, but Glenn tracked him down with the quickest Pro Stock run in Sonoma Raceway history, picking up his third – and second straight – victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this year. Glenn, who set track records galore last week en route to a win at his home track in Seattle, also qualified No. 1 for the fourth time this year. The points leader starts raceday against Kenny Delco as he attempts to keep on his torrid pace.

“This shows that we have a good car,” Glenn said. “We ran into a headwind, so I didn’t think we could [qualify No. 1], but we made a good run even though I messed up a bit. I guess I got a bit lucky since Cody was only seven thousandths away from stealing it from me.

“My car is great right now. This is the best car I’ve ever had and the only thing that keeps it from winning is me. I just need to do my job. There is always at least one thing we could do better, so I’m trying to make sure I find that and do it. I’m harder on myself than anyone else will ever be.”

Greg Anderson took second with a 6.472 at 210.14 and Greg Stanfield is third with a 6.480 at 211.66.

Matt Smith won the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle Callout over Richard Gadson, while Gadson finished as the No. 1 qualifier for the first time in his career.

Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.



MISSION FOODS #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE RESULTS

MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE -- Justin Ashley, 3.741, 332.43 def. Shawn Langdon, 4.970, 141.28; Brittany Force, 3.686, 324.20 def. Doug Kalitta, 6.607, 127.09;

FINAL -- B. Force, 3.869, 324.75 def. J. Ashley, 4.944, 142.07.


MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE

ROUND ONE -- Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.908, 330.31 def. Spencer Hyde, Ford Mustang, 3.902, 328.14; Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.913, 330.72 def. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 4.316, 211.00;

FINAL -- R. Capps, 3.904, 324.20 def. M. Hagan, 3.926, 330.07.


MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE -- Cody Coughlin, Chevy Camaro, 6.511, 209.85 def. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.524, 210.93; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.474, 211.10 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.516, 211.36;

FINAL -- D. Glenn, 6.471, 211.79 def. C. Coughlin, 6.501, 210.44.