record number of Top Fuel cars showed up in San Antonio to vie for a slot in the elite eight-car field at the second annual IHRA Amalie Oil Texas Nationals but Top Fuel -- as it has been for several years --continued to be a private playground for Peter Lehman's Top Fuel team, who won yet another IHRA national event.

The Pro Mod contingent (32 cars) was much larger than last year's with every hitter in Pro Mod, with the notable exceptions of Jim Oddy's 2002 'Vette and Mike Ashley's '67 GT500E Mustang, making the trip to Texas. As usual the Pro Mods put on a great show. Nineteen-year-old phenom Zach Barklage set both ends of the track record in getting the pole while Canadian Glen Kerunsky came from the 16th and last qualifying position to win the race.

The mountain-motored Pro Stock division featured a classic Ford vs. Chevy finale with John Montecalvo's "Stovebolt" Hemi-Chevy getting the nod over John Nobile's Ford.

Then there was the spectacular jet truck exhibition that closed the show in front of a packed 10,000-seat grandstand on Saturday night. In the words of a neophyte journalist, "A good time was had by all."

TOP FUEL

There were twenty Top Fuel cars entered at San Antonio, an IHRA record. To be sure, that number included four non-supercharged, injected cars, but nevertheless twenty cars were entered in Top Fuel. There were no surprises in qualifying or race day, though, as Clay Millican and crew chief Mike Kloeber picked up right where they ended the 2003 season -- winning. Millican qualified on the pole with a 5.63 and the Werner-sponsored team were the only ones that ran in the 4.50 zone.