Another thrilling moment during the opening night of the Maryland Nitro Jam came when Pro Fuel ace Bill Evans reset both ends of the world record in the new nitro-powered dragster class and also overtook the championship lead with only two races remaining.

In addition to beating friend and rival Mike Manners in the final, Evans ran a 5.309, 270.43 to back up the even better 5.302, 272.45 he ran in round one. The two quick laps gave Evans two shiny new records and his fifth win of the season.

“So far we have done nearly everything we talked about doing all on the first night. We wanted to come here and win at least once, make it to both finals, set a national record and take over the points lead,” Evans said. “We have already taken care of most of that list, now we just need to come back out tomorrow and do this all over again.”

Evans also got to debut his brand new finals pirate flag adorning the back of his “Black Pearl” Pro Fuel machine. With one flag for regular competition and another for final rounds only, Evans broke out the American flag tribute with the skull and crossbones as Manners, originally from England, flew the colors of his home country.

“We had a little thing going with Manners that was a lot of fun. We just bought this flag and he comes over and shows us his new flag so I said that if we ever meet in the finals we need to do our burnouts together and make it a battle of the Brits against the Americans,” Evans said. “It worked out pretty cool.”

In the battle Evans ran a 5.309, 270.43 to best Manners’ 5.435, 268.01 as both drivers came into the final with a completely different approach.

“Honestly we had that car tuned way back when we went to the line because everyone else was smoking the tires. When we finally got to the line I decided we are going to end it right here one way or the other,” Evans said. “They pooched their car up and we decided to do just the opposite and it was over in 60 feet. They were playing it safe and we were being on the edge and this time it paid off.”

In the consolation rounds Rich McPhillips drove around newcomer Karen Stalba, Dave Hill beat Robin Samsel and John Finke beat former points leader Jeff Hamelink.

Manners and Evans set up their epic final with a pair of record-shattering opening round passes. Manners had the best pass of the evening with a 5.293, 273.61, temporarily shattering the world record for the class in a win over Stalba, while Evans equaled his opponent with another pass under the previous record in a win over Hamelink. Evans ran a 5.302, 272.45 in the win, the new national record for the class.

Finally in Top Fuel Cox returned to victory lane for the first time since March in a win over Lagana, ending Lagana and Litton’s reign of terror of 10 wins over the past 11 races.