Race Coverage - NHRA at Topeka

TOP FUEL

Kenny Bernstein

Usually, the competition in Top Fuel is the story. Not so at Topeka. As a result of son Brandon's crash at Englishtown, Kenny Bernstein was back in the saddle at Topeka. He had been planning a return to competition anyway, and was actively looking for funding to run a second car. The E-Town troubles simply moved the process along, albeit in a different manner than what the Bernsteins had in mind. And early on, it looked as if the return of the King would be the whole story. He qualified second best, right behind Larry Dixon Jr, with a 4.57. He had little trouble in the first two rounds, beating Melanie Troxel in a walkover and Doug Herbert in a squeaker. But the King's run ended in the semifinals as he fell off to a 5.18 run, not good enough to stop Doug Kalitta's winning 4.55.

Cory Mac

Kalitta (lead photo) had used a pair of 4.50's to get into the semis, beating John Smith and Cory Mac in the process. He would square off with Dixon in the money round. Dixon advanced to the final with winning runs of 4.55, 4.55 and 4.54 to take out Chris Karamasines, Paul Romine and Darell Russell.

For the gold, Dixon's 4.53 dealt out Kalitta's 4.57. Kalitta was one of many Nitro drivers to fall victim to Heartland Park's bumpy right lane, as he smoked the tires just enough to fall short against Dixon.

FUNNY CAR

Changing of the guard, anyone? After Topeka there can be little argument about who is on the upswing and who isn't. It's really this simple - Tony Pedregon kept on keeping on, and John Force, Whit Bazemore, Del Worsham, Ron Capps and all the others didn't. Force fouled out for the second race in a row, after looking good in qualifying. Team Worsham was gone after the opening round, as was Team Snake. Gary Scelzi and Bazemore did well for Team Shoe, with Whit losing in the final to Tony P. and Cruz and Frank Pedregon got further than usual. But in the end, the New Heir Apparent was alone at the top, having won his third straight event at Topeka. Don't expect the story line to change much the rest of the year.

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