Veteran nitro Funny Car driver Robert Hight’s incredible 2022 keeps picking up steam.

After winning the Mile-High Nationals in Denver Sunday, Hight rolled off the trailer and grabbed the top spot in Friday’s qualifying at the Denso Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals this weekend.

Hight, out of the John Force Racing stable, clocked his quickest pass of the season at 3.825 seconds at 332.75 mph.

“You have to have a game plan when you come into one of these races,” Hight said. “You can’t think of the end result. You can’t think of winning. You have to go one run at a time and really focus and job well done to the Auto Club team (Friday night). (Friday night) is for position, that’s where you are going to end up on Sunday. (Saturday) is going to be hotter and that’s when we really focus on trying to get a good race day setup. Unless a cold front comes in that will probably hold for No. 1. Good job to my team.

“(Saturday) is equally important if not more that you go out there and make two good runs that are respectable and consistent so that you’re ready for race day. (Saturday) will be very similar to the conditions we will face on Sunday.”

Hight arrived in Sonoma first in the point standings on the strength of five wins.  He is trying to collect the third No. 1 qualifier of the season to go along with Gainesville and Bristol. Hight has 73 No. 1 qualifying positions in his career and he’s aiming for his 59th career national event win in Sonoma.

Hight is trying to win his third race in a row and there’s no better place than Sonoma to find the winner’s circle.

Hight has won the last three NHRA Sonoma Nationals’ Funny Car Wallys (2018, 2019 and 2021) and he’s looking to become the first driver in NHRA history to win four straight times in Sonoma. The Sonoma event didn’t take place in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“I do love this racetrack,” Hight said. “I’ve been here every single year they have had a national event either as a fan, mechanic, or driver. When I came here as a fan, I kept standing at the ropes dreaming of being able to work on one of these cars. This is what I wanted to do. Years later, getting a chance to drive and win here makes it even more special. I have all my family and friends here and we want to do a a good job for them this year.”

Hight also is the track record holder for time and speed at 3.807 seconds and 339.87 mph in Sonoma, both set on July 28, 2017.  The speed mark is also the official NHRA National Funny Car record.

In addition to his three most recent victories, he also won at Sonoma in 2008 and started from the No. 1 qualifying position in 2006, 2017 and 2019.

“I think (Friday night) might have been my quickest run since the 2017 season when we set the record here and set the record in Brainerd,” Hight said. “Then, in 2018, they changed the rules and stood the headers up and gave us different rev limiters. It’s exciting and I hope we get a lot more chances later in the year when the cool conditions are there to do the same, if not better.

“You kind of have the luxury when you’re No. 1 in points to be clear at the back of the line on the first run (of qualifying). We saw what was out there. We saw cars running really well. There were a lot of cars in the 80s and (his crew chiefs) Jimmy (Prock) and Chris (Cunningham) have a really good handle on this tune-up. When (Ron) Capps ran right in front of me, Jimmy got in the box and made a couple quick changes and then we went 82. I was impressed. When it left the starting line, it really wanted to go to the right on me and at first when it normally does that you think it has a cylinder out. But I could tell right away it didn’t have a cylinder out this thing was trucking. I needed to get back in the groove and keep it straight the rest of the way. In the middle of the racetrack, it was pulling, and I knew it was going to be a good run.”

Although Hight’s track record in Sonoma lends itself to high expectations, that’s not a conversation he has with his team.

“Believe it or not, I don’t have to tell this team anything,” Hight said. “We are all on the same page. We know what our jobs are. We work together as a team. We work hard. You don’t have to tell these guys anything. They know what they have to do one run at a time. I know that’s boring, but from here on out the rest of the year we want to win the championship and it is one run at a time. You can’t think of the outcome or results. You do one run at a time, and you execute, the results will come.”