The victory at the high-altitude track marked another milestone in Johnson's 26-year career. Johnson, a five-time champion, was the first driver to break the 180 mph, 190 mph, and 200 mph barriers. He now leads the Pro Stock performance statistics in every category with the most victories (86), the most final rounds (134), the most No. 1 qualifiers (124), the most Low ETs (124), and the most Top Speeds (189). - Rick Voegelin

FORCE CLOSES IN ON 100 VICTORIES

John Force used his reputation as a 10-time Winston Champion to carry him when his race car couldn't and came away with an unexpected victory - the 97th of his career.

Force, whose Castrol GTX Ford owns the national record for quarter-mile performance at 4.763 seconds, was nowhere near that number at Denver. Force turned a 4.960 as his quickest time but ran 5.225, his slowest run of the weekend, in the final against Bob Gilbertson.

"Sometimes, when (the opposition) knows that you're capable of running a number, they'll push it," Force said. "I think that's what happened to Gilbertson because we didn't really run well enough to win."

In reaching the finals for the sixth time in the last seven races and for the ninth time this season, Force virtually put the 2001 Winston Championship out of reach. He is a full 20 rounds ahead of his nearest rival with only 40 total rounds of racing remaining. - Dave Densmore

DENSHAM BREAKS RECORDS
For the second straight race, Gary Densham, the "World's Fastest Schoolteacher" was the world's fastest, period. Densham, driving the third John Force Ford, shattered the Bandimere Speedway record for Funny Car speed by pushing his Auto Club of Southern California-affiliated entry to 312.78 mph, breaking Force's old record by more than six miles an hour. Densham also broke Force's record when he went 319.07 mph at the 50th Anniversary Nationals. - Dave Densmore

BOB 'PRIDE OF THE CAROLINAS' GILBERTSON GETS TO FINAL ROUND
The third time was indeed the charm for Bob Gilbertson as he raced fellow Carolinian, Scotty Cannon in the first round of Sunday's competition. Gilbertson, from Gastonia, NC, drove his Camaro to a 5.050/297.48 to defeat the Firebird of Cannon, from Lyman, SC, which ran a 5.023/285.95. It was the third time the pair had met in competition with Cannon taking the two previous contests.

"We owe Cannon big time because we're racing for the pride of the Carolinas," said Gilbertson.

The mile-high air conditions played havoc with all the teams and, combined with an ambient Denver temperature of 94 degrees, made the corrected altitude over 10,000 feet. Trying to make a Funny Car run 300 mph in the thin air is a difficult task.

The "Desert Storm" camouflage-painted team also defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. and Dean Skuza before losing to John Force in the final after smoking the tires.

"It's unfortunate we made some bad decisions in the finals," said Gilbertson. "We thought Force would run an elapsed time of 4.95 or quicker just like he did about the same time (Saturday) in qualifying. We set up our TEAM FMTV car to run a time to match him. It's one of those calls our team made. That's drag racing."- Jay Wells

Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source