(Todd Dziadosz photo)

“We had a lot of good eliminations runs,” Tonglet said. “It would have been nice to win for (Nitro Fish owner) Kenny Koretsky at his hometown track.”

“I’ve been ecstatic with what LE and the Tonglet family have done,” commented Koretsky.  “It’s really hard to win four races in a row, especially against a driver like Andrew Hines.”

Tonglet began his march to the final round by watching Karen Stoffer and Hector Arana lose via red-light starts.  He had times of 6.860 and 6.884 seconds, respectively, before moving to the semifinals.  His 6.881 at 192.85 mph sent home Matt Smith (7.002 at 187.39) and set the stage for the finale.

“We’re going to go to our next race at Las Vegas (Oct. 29-31) and come out swinging,” Tonglet concluded.

POINT STANDINGS

Top Fuel

1.Larry Dixon, 2,544; 2. Cory McClenathan, 2,455; 3. Tony Schumacher, 2,390; 4. Doug Kalitta, 2,299; 5. Shawn Langdon, 2,281; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 2,280; 7. Antron Brown, 2,275; 8. Steve Torrence, 2,200; 9. David Grubnic, 2,178; 10. Morgan Lucas, 2,166.

Funny Car

1. Matt Hagan, 2,442; 2. John Force, 2,378; 3. Jack Beckman, 2,349; 4. Ashley Force Hood, 2,304; 5. Bob Tasca III, 2,248; 6. Robert Hight, 2,229; 7. Del Worsham, 2,221; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 2,199; 9. Ron Capps, 2,192; 10. Tony Pedregon, 2,167.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 2,438; 2. Mike Edwards, 2,402; 3. Greg Stanfield, 2,353; 4. Jason Line, 2,301; 5. Allen Johnson, 2,270; 6. Shane Gray, 2,251; 7. Jeg Coughlin, 2,246; 8. Ron Krisher, 2,205; 9. Johnny Gray, 2,159; 10. Rodger Brogdon, 2,152.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Andrew Hines, 2,566; 2. LE Tonglet, 2,494; 3. Eddie Krawiec, 2,351; 4. Matt Smith, 2,323; 5. Hector Arana, 2,266; 6. Steve Johnson, 2,249; 7. Michael Phillips, 2,242; 8. Karen Stoffer, 2,171; 9. Craig Treble, 2,151; 10. David Hope, 2,114.