JCM Racing Post-Race Recap: Sonoma

joec570
Aug 7
5 min read

Updated: Oct 17

DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge

Event 12 of 20

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, Calif.

July 25 – 27, 2025

Ida Zetterström Continues to Show Progress at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (July 27, 2025) – Ida Zetterström and the JCM Racing Top Fuel team made strides at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, posting solid runs in challenging conditions, but a first-round loss to the reigning world champ Sunday morning ended her chance at going rounds on race day.

Making her 16th NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series start and first appearance at Sonoma Raceway, the multi-time European drag racing champion opened the weekend with a strong run in the first qualifying session, taking her 12,000-horsepower machine straight down the groove in 3.754 seconds at 328.70 mph to place her fourth on the timing sheets. During Friday’s nighttime run, her dragster lost traction early, but she quickly rebounded, clocking another good, clean pass of 3.730 seconds at 331.45 mph on Saturday in Q3. A loss of traction followed in Q4 and once qualifying had wrapped, she settled into the No. 7 position on the Top Fuel elimination ladder.

Facing the category’s defending event champion, Zetterström lined up next to Antron Brown on Sunday morning, ready to add more round wins to her total. She took the JCM Racing dragster on a respectable 3.739-second at 323.12 mph ride but was outpaced by Brown’s 3.718-second pass.

“We want to turn on win lights on Sunday, so when we lose first round, it’s hard to say we’re happy with that, but during qualifying when conditions were especially tricky, we made it down the track twice,” explained Zetterström. “You saw a lot of teams struggling to get down in qualifying, so the fact that we were able to put together two good runs, one of which was when conditions were good and then we actually improved upon our time in worse conditions, is a testament to our team and makes us feel like we’re moving in the right direction. Seattle was kind of a test race for us, and we’re seeing that what we tested there we were able to apply here, and the car reacted well.

“First round today, we had a parts malfunction that caused us to slow. We ran what would have been a good tight race, but that issue slowed us down and we just missed it a little bit on both ends, but if it had held up, there’s a good chance we could’ve beat the champion.”

Zetterström, the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion, made her American Top Fuel debut nearly one year ago when she hit the gas in NHRA competition for the first time during the 2024 Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. Since that time, she has competed on a limited schedule as she works to find the funding needed to run on a full-time basis. Zetterström admits that the gaps in her schedule have made it challenging for her and her team to get into a rhythm but is grateful to have the opportunity to compete in back-to-back races as she prepares for the upcoming NHRA U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend. In addition to last weekend’s event near Seattle and her outing in Sonoma this weekend, JCM Racing recently announced that Zetterström would compete in Brainerd before making her second Top Fuel start in Indianapolis.

“I’m so happy we were able to add that to our schedule so that we’re not in a situation where we’re having to sit out for a long time,” said Zetterström. “Indy is of course the biggest race of the year, so Brainerd is going to be all about gaining that momentum we need to be able to qualify well in Indy. We keep talking about wanting to qualify higher. It’s incredibly tough when we come out to races like this here in Sonoma where there are fewer cars, because that means every car here on the property is a top 10, full-time touring car. The teams here are the best in the world. We qualified seventh and we want to keep improving on our qualifying position with each race.

“Overall, I’m happy we were able to race here in Sonoma. I had a great time, did a lot of media leading into the weekend, and the fans were fantastic. We would of course preferred to have made it out of first round, and I know I’ve shown some emotion in my top end interviews because we don’t want to lose, but we know we’re getting better. We’re continuing to chip away at it, and we know there’s more in the tank.”

Zetterström and the JCM Racing Top Fuel team, who advanced to the semifinals at their debut event, will return to the team’s headquarters in Brownsburg, Ind. ahead of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, August 15 – 17.

Qualified: No. 7 (3.730 E.T. at 331.45 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:

E1: 3.739 E.T. at 323.12 MPH defeated by Antron Brown 3.718 E.T. at 336.07 MPH

Despite Strong Run, Alexis DeJoria Exits Early at Sonoma Nationals

Fresh off an impressive performance at the NHRA Northwest Nationals where she won back-to-back rounds on holeshots to reach the semifinals for the fourth time in 2025, Alexis DeJoria rolled into Sonoma Raceway eager to keep the momentum building at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals but ultimately came up short on race day after a tough first-round match against the event’s No. 2 qualifier.

The weekend’s varying conditions challenged the Bandero Café Funny Car team throughout qualifying. In Friday’s opening session, DeJoria’s machine hazed the tires, and she finished the round sitting in 15th. In round two, she experienced severe tire shake as soon as she hit the throttle and went into Saturday occupying the No. 17 spot. Her Q3 run was off to a good start, but a dropped cylinder caused the car to slow, and she went into the final round not yet qualified. In their final attempt, crew chiefs Mike Neff and Todd Smith sent DeJoria down the track in 3.983 seconds at 326.16 mph to bump into the field.

Starting from 15th, DeJoria drew Spencer Hyde as her first-round competitor in what was billed as NHRA’s Funny Car Marquee Matchup of the race. Lining up opposite Hyde for the first time in his rookie season, DeJoria snagged the starting line advantage and took her Bandero Café Funny Car to the finish line stripe in 3.913 seconds but despite clocking her quickest pass of the weekend, it wasn’t enough to defeat Hyde’s 3.870-second E.T.

“We struggled in qualifying, but we made a good run in Q4 and managed to get in the show that very last round,” said DeJoria. “First round today, we were 15th and obviously that’s not ideal but as we all know, you can win from anywhere. That being said, we ran a great number today; good E.T., great speed, just came up a little bit short. Didn’t get the results we were hoping for this weekend, but we’re not deterred, and we’ll be ready to get back after it in Brainerd.”

DeJoria entered the race weekend ranked eighth in the Funny Car point standings but with the early exit, slipped two spots to 10th. With two races remaining before playoff positions are locked, the six-time Funny Car event champ and her Bandero Café team are looking for a strong finish to the regular season. The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads to Brainerd, Minn. next for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, August 15 – 17.

Qualified: No. 15 (3.983 E.T. at 326.16 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:

E1: 3.913 E.T. at 332.84 MPH defeated by Spencer Hyde 3.870 E.T. at 332.75 MPH

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings (Unofficial):

1 Austin Prock 1020

2 Jack Beckman 845

3 Matt Hagan 819

4 Ron Capps 782

5 Paul Lee 735

6 J.R. Todd 621

7 Dan Wilkerson 617

8 Spencer Hyde 568