Things Are Looking Up for U.S. Army Duo as They Head to NHRA Sonoma Nationals
TOYOTA AND SONOMA – Toyota is in its second year of its NHRA entitlement sponsorship with Sonoma Raceway. 
In addition, the manufacturer has served as co-title sponsor of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event since 2007, as well as the raceway’s official vehicle.
BROWN SETS SIGHTS ON SWEEPING WESTERN SWING – Antron Brown was the last Top Fuel driver to sweep the NHRA’s Western Swing back in 2009 and after a victory at Denver this past weekend, the three-time world champ is on pace to make a run at a second sweep. To complete the task, Brown will need victories at the Toyota Sonoma Nationals this weekend and at Pacific Raceways in Seattle next weekend. To date, he has won a combined total of nine races at the three tracks and is the defending champion in Seattle. Of course, Brown is generally a favorite at every stop on the NHRA circuit. His dominance over the past five and a half seasons extends to three world titles and 33 race wins – more than double the next highest driver.
PEDREGON TRENDING UP – Cruz Pedregon is coming off his best performance of the season with a semi-final round showing at Denver in the Snap-on Camry and looks to keep building on his strong run. He defeated Del Worsham and Matt Hagan before eventually falling to race winner Robert Hight in the semis. The two-time Funny Car world champion has held down the tenth and final spot in the Countdown since Bristol and has now closed to within 74 points of ninth-place J.R. Todd. Pedregon has consistently qualified in the top half of the field dating back to the beginning of June – averaging an eighth-place starting position.
TOYOTA DRIVERS LOOK TO CONTINUE SONOMA DOMINANCE – Toyota Top Fuel drivers enter this weekend’s action having won the last eight races at Sonoma Speedway. J.R. Todd won in northern California in 2016, Antron Brown took top honors in 2015, 2012, 2011 and 2009, Khalid alBalooshi was victorious in 2014, Shawn Langdon in 2013 and Larry Dixon in 2010. Ironically, fellow Toyota driver Doug Kalitta is the all-time leader in Top Fuel wins at the track with five – all prior to joining the Toyota team.
TALKING SONOMA:
Antron Brown: “When you go up to Sonoma, you’ve got some serious drag racing fans there. They are second to none. On-track, you have to be very versatile and be able to adapt to different situations. It’s always a challenge for our team to go there, but we enjoy heading to Sonoma and we do well because we feel that one of our strengths is that ability to adapt to any circumstances. It’s important to win at every race, but when we go to Sonoma, we know it’s a Toyota race and we always want to do well for one of the biggest partners on our car. There’s a lot of Toyota R&D support in this race car and that’s one track where it really shows out because of the way it changes – and without Toyota I don’t think we would have been as successful as we have been in years past.”
J.R. TODD: “Sonoma’s a big race for us as a Toyota-sponsored event. It’s a beautiful place to race. It’s one of my favorite tracks. I’ve won there a couple of times in the past, including last year in the Top Fuel car that Shawn Langdon will be in this year. It’s a special place. I got my first win there with my buddy Eric Medlen in 2006. It would be really awesome to go back and win there in a Funny Car where he had one of his last wins. It can be really hot in Sonoma at times, but give it to the crowd because they always pack the event. It’s a destination race like Las Vegas. Who doesn’t want to go to wine country and take in an NHRA drag race?”
