ITA Sonoma Hot Pix

The NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Series heads into the final leg of the western swing for this weekend's Fram-Autolite Nationals in Sonoma, Calif. We take a look at who's hot going into this weekend's race.

TAD

1. Steve Federlin - Hot as a firecracker right now. Great leaver, has the consistency and performance to pull off another win.

2. Hillary Will - Has big time Bucky Austin HP, but needs consistency to get into the winner's circle like she did in Vegas.

3. Duane Shields - New Hadman car seems to be working well. Made the finals last week, should find the late rounds again.

4. Brandon Johnson - Looked very strong earlier in the season, stumbled the past few races, look for them to bounce back strong.

5. Joey Severance - Always in the thick of things, should give the leaders all they can handle.

6. Ashley Force - As long as the air stays good, the team is able to mix it up. Will mix up cylinders if air gets bad.

7. Aaron Olivarez - Gets the TAD 'Sybill' award, because you never know which personality of this team will show up. Last month here in Sonoma it was the 'I'm gonna run 5.30's and win' Olivarez. Last week in Seattle it was the DNQ Olivarez.

8. Joe Windham - This team could quickly proove to be the spoiler. This is the same car that won the World Championship last year with Rick Henkelman calling the tuning shots. Our TAD 'Dark Horse' pick of the week.

TAFC

1. Dennis Taylor - Tuner Ora Vasquez has this car running like a bracket car, and most of the time it's quicker than the other car. New Mickey Thompson tires seem to be working well.

2. Clint Thompson - Hot as a firecracker coming off a career performance last weekend in Seattle. Lets see, Miner's old car, Miner tuning, good driver...dangerous.

3. Brian Hough - Big numbers are cheap out of this team. Definitely should be a late round player.

4. Mark Woznichak - Ran very strong taking a win here at the divisional last month. Should make a rumble.

5. Steve Gasparrelli - Always a threat anywhere they show up. Will make an impact on the field, quite possibly in the winner's circle.

6. John Weaver - Another team that put up very strong numbers here last month. Don't look for another early exit out of this team.

7. Doug Gordon - Seems to be coming back after struggling for much of the year. Could spell trouble for the rest of the field.

8. Larry Miner - Our TAFC 'Dark Horse' pick of the week. Great driver in a proven 5.50 car. Look out.

Performances:
TAD: 5.30/274
TAFC: 5.57/258