Sonoma Raceway notebook: Locals do well in weekly drags

SONOMA - This week's rendition of Wednesday Night Drags at Sonoma Raceway saw an all-Sonoma County high school final, a county resident take the street division crown and a runner-up finish by another local resident in the Super Jackpot division.

Petaluma's Jessica Rue Coulman defeated Rohnert Park's Ty Kumre in her 1996 Chevy by nearly four seconds in the high school final after Kumre jumped the start.

In the street division, Spencer Marcil took his 1967 Plymouth and cruised to an easy victory against San Francisco's Marty Fermer in a 2014 Ford.

Cotati's Nick Bubliz lost a neck-and-neck finish in a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette to Chris Burton of Fairfax in a 2013 Dodge Challenger after Bubliz jumped the start.

There will be no Wednesday Night Drags the following two weeks as the raceway prepares for back-to-back weekends of drag-racing action.

DRAG RACING

The NHRA's Division 7 series will be hosting drags at the track next weekend, July 20 to 22. Just a tier below the main NHRA racing series, the drags feature regional competitors from the western United States who will also run under the lights on Saturday night. Tickets for the weekend run from $5 for Friday admission to $45 for a full weekend ticket.

For more information, visit www.sonomaraceway.com or call 800-870-7223.

The track will be closed from Monday through Thursday to prep for the Division 7 races and then from July 23-26 to get ready for the Sonoma Nationals.

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AT THE TRACK

The Wednesday Night Drags program, although off the next two weeks, returns in August.

Currently in its 30th year, it runs most weeks from March 14 to Nov. 4.

Fans can race their vehicles down the quarter-mile drag strip in a controlled environment away from city streets. Gates open at 3:30 p.m. with racing from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Competitors must have a driver's license to compete, their car must pass a technical inspection and all vehicles must have mufflers. Up to 300 cars are allowed to enter.

Running alongside the drags will be Sonoma Drift, where pros and amateurs can swing wheels to perfect their drifting techniques. Speed is secondary as competitors are judged on the style and execution of their drift through a marked course in the raceway's paddock. Cars must pass a technical inspection before being allowed to drift. Drifting starts at 4 p.m. Drivers pay $25, high school students with ID can race for $15. Spectators can watch for $10.

The next Wednesday Night Drags is set for Aug. 1.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR MEDLEN NITRO DINNER

The Sonoma Raceway division of Speedway Children's Charities will be honoring Ron Capps during the Eric Medlen Nitro Dinner at Viansa Sonoma on the Thursday night before Sonoma Nationals.

“It's an unbelievable honor. Not just the fact that it's the inaugural Eric Medlen Spirit Award, but the fact that it came from Steve Page and his group in Sonoma, and I consider them family,” Capps said in a statement. “My dad took me there as a kid, and whenever someone asks me what my favorite race track is, it doesn't take long for me to say Sonoma.”

Medlen was an Oakdale native who won the Funny Car championship for the John Forcing Racing team at Sonoma in 2006 before dying during a testing accident in 2007.

Tickets start at $150 per person or $1,500 per table. For more information, visit sonomaraceway.com or contact Cheri Plattner at 707-933-3950 or cplattner@sonomaraceway.com.