For Force, it was a terribly disappointing day climaxed by teammate Eric Medlen’s loss to Pedregon in the final round.

“They tried to give (the championship) to us but, bottom line, we couldn’t take advantage. We had a shot but the driver just didn’t get the job done,” Force said. “My guys are all trying to make me feel better, but it is what it is. We just got whupped. That’s all. 

“I’ll live with it over the winter – losing my championship. It’ll be a long off season, but I definitely want it back. The biggest thing I can take out of here, since we didn’t win the championship, is that my Next Generation drivers, Eric, Robert (Hight), Ashley, my youngest girls, Brittany and Courtney, they all made me proud this season. 

“Other than that, all I can say is that tomorrow we’ll go to work getting ready for next year. Our race cars are good. The stuff we’ve learned in the last two weeks since Vegas, I’m really excited about.  We’ve got a new Mustang coming. My sponsors have been rallying around me. We’ll be back.”

TOP FUEL

Tony Schumacher's US Army-backed entry set single-season records for five consecutive victories, seven consecutive finals, and 20 consecutive round wins. Schumacher also won the TF championship by the largest margin of victory in NHRA history, 415 points.

"With the mometun we have right now I really don't want to stop racing," said Schumacher, who clinched his third championship in Las Vegas. "At the same time I'm glad to have a break. I'm tired. I want to go home and play with my kids and watch them grow for a few months."

Melanie Troxel made the first final round of her career, meeting teammate Tony Schumacher. But she, too, took a trip to the sand in the semifinal round, which perhaps left the dragster and driver in less than optimal condition for the final match up. Troxel red-lit in the final.

"I think the beginning of us losing in the finals was when we blew it up going through the lights in the semifinal and ended up in the sand pit," Troxel explained. "We didn't hurt the car that much, and all the teams pitched in to get us ready. The Brut and Matco Tools guys were over here helping out, and the Army team gave us some parts to get the Skull Gear car back together," she said.

"I heard it blow up, but I didn't realize the fire was as bad as it was. I felt the parachutes hit and realized they weren't really doing as good of a job as they should have. I thought maybe only one 'chute had opened, which had happened to us earlier in the weekend. I got on the brakes and tried to stop it, but it became pretty clear that it wasn't going to stop. I figured the smartest thing would be to go ahead and go into the sand trap. I didn't think I was going fast enough to damage anything, and fortunately we didn't hurt the car too bad.

"We had a few little things that bugged us for the final. The injector wasn't quite right, the settings weren't right, and the idle wasn't right. Whether or not that made a difference with my red light, I don't know. Bottom line, it wasn't going to go down the track and run a 4.49 like the Army team did. They are tough and they didn't leave us any room for error. That's why they won the championship."