Scali red-lit, and Showers knew it right away. "I knew it as soon as we left -- you can't miss it," the Philadelphia native said. "I thought, 'Oh, man!' I was ecstatic! But I had to finish my run." He did, with a 7.282-second elapsed time at 182.58 miles an hour.

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He isn't used to winning so easily. He said that while many of his competitors have taken advantage of opponents' fouls, that hasn't been the case for him.

"We've had to fight for each and every round we've won this year. I would have it no other way. I don't want gimmes," Showers said. "I'm used to the struggle. I'm used to the disappointments. I'm used to some of the setbacks."

Showers, a double amputee who uses separate sets of prosthetic legs for racing and walking, removed one of the legs after winning and joked, "This is the leg that kicked that ass." Explained Showers, "I like to be a little bit different."

He certainly is, not just as -- in his words -- "the poster child for disabled people" but also for his positive attitude and his unfailing enthusiasm for inspiring others.

"This is a testimony to the disabled community, a testimony to the human spirit," Showers said of his first K&N Klash victory in just his third try. "I'm no saint, but if I can use my life and my accomplishments to help others, I want to do that. I've finally found my mission in life."

Scali has lost by jumping the starting line too early four times (and won in Atlanta by fouling in the final round, after Antron Brown did it first). The rider from Palatine, Ill., advanced by beating Brown and Savoie, who red-lit.

DAY FOUR, ENTRY FOUR

Top Fuel driver David Baca said he and co-owner Rick Henkelman "wanted to do something for somebody." In the process, something extra pleasant happened to him.

Baca grabbed the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot with a track-record 4.504-second pass at 326.32 miles an hour. Both were career-best performances for the Brentwood, Calif. driver.

But Baca is involved in an endeavor that will last longer than the quest to be best at Indianapolis. He is teaming with Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly and Kelly's wife, Jill, in raising money and awareness for their Hunter's Hope project. Established in 1997, Hunter's Hope is a tribute to the Kellys' six-year-old son Hunter, who was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy.

The Kellys describe the foundation as their "lifelong commitment to increase public awareness of Krabbe and other leukodystrophies, so that other children may have early detection and treatment." They said their "ultimate goal is to help raise funds to support research efforts to find a cure" for the illnesses.

Baca said a mutual friend hooked him and Henkelman with the Kellys, who were on hand to see Baca announce the partnership, then earn the early No. 1 spot.

"People have told us we have a lot of angels riding with us. I'm getting chills just talking about it," Baca said. "Maybe things happen for a reason. If you do something good for the right reasons, maybe good things happen for you."

Baca's crew includes two or three of the workers who helped Cory McClenathan take the No.1 qualifying spot here last year.

Don Garlits, 22nd in the 25-car field, and Shirley Muldowney, 24th, have not made the Top Fuel field.