Sonoma: Doug Herbert preview

Herbert sets his sights on Sonoma SONOMA, CA, pre-race: Doug Herbert heads to California's world famous wine country this weekend to battle it out with the stars of the POWERade Drag Racing Series at the 19th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals.

Herbert sets his sights on Sonoma

SONOMA, CA, pre-race: Doug Herbert heads to California's world famous wine country this weekend to battle it out with the stars of the POWERade Drag Racing Series at the 19th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals. The driver of the Snap-on Tools Top Fuel dragster will be looking for a strong performance at Infineon Raceway, the site of the final stop on the NHRA's crucial three-race Western swing.

The past several weeks have seen a whirlwind of activity within Herbert's Snap-on Tools Racing team. Wayne Dupuy's sudden departure following the race in Denver left Herbert without a crew chief in the middle of the NHRA's annual west coast jaunt. Herbert quickly found help from longtime friend and tuner Jim Brissette, who returned to the team in Seattle. Brissette was aided by veteran crew chief and driver John 'Bodie' Smith who lives within an hour of Herbert's North Carolina shop. Together with the work of the determined Snap-on crew they gave Herbert the power to qualify 11th in Seattle. Despite a first round loss, Herbert and the team established a baseline tune-up that they can work with when they get to Sonoma.

"We went into the Seattle race with no data and basically started from scratch," said Herbert. "Now that we have something to work with I think we'll be able to make some solid progress with our tune up. Sonoma is a great track and a good place to turn things around."

Herbert has enjoyed plenty of success at Infineon Raceway in the past. The 38-year-old private pilot won the event in 2002 and was a runner-up at last season's race.