As soon as the LRS crew pulled the car into the pit and began another session of between-rounds servicing, a large concussive pop was heard, followed by the always-feared word "Fire!" The oil pan had exploded when the containment diaper was removed (adding air to a hot mix of oil and nitro), and fire was spreading quickly along the ground under the car. With crew members from a variety of other teams sprinting to the Team Wilk pit area, the fire was extinguished and the mess could then be cleaned up. Luckily, no one was injured.

"Too much drama, but stuff like this can happen when you're really thrashing and going a million miles a second," Wilk said. "We're lucky nobody got hurt at all, because it could've been really bad, and we're also lucky the Tasca guys, and a couple of Jim Head's guys, came over to help us clean it all up and swap motors. We'd just beaten Tasca, but his guys showed some real class and sportsmanship by diving in and going to work with us. I think it's safe to say we wouldn't have made the semifinal without those guys. They saved us."

With a new motor and a cleaned-up race car, Wilk towed his mount back to the line for the third time, and he again had lane choice, this time against Jack Beckman. Whether the massive service session and engine swap was responsible or not, the LRS Ford did drop a cylinder at nearly the hit of the throttle, and Beckman pulled away for the win.

"Once you get that far you want it all, believe me, but it's a huge step in the right direction," Wilk said. "When we get to Englishtown in two weeks, our attitudes will be fresh and our outlook will be way more positive. Winning a couple of rounds does wonders for a team that's been frustrated, and now we think we can take it to the next level. I don't see any reason why we can't.”

PRO STOCK

Allen Johnson earned his second win of the season, his 27th career final-round appearance, 11th career Pro Stock win and second career victory at Topeka.

Johnson, who opened the event as the No. 1 Qualifier in his Mopar Dodge Avenger, setting a new track speed record and new track elapsed-time record, was paired with four-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson in the final round. Johnson used a pass of 6.587-seconds at 210.54 mph, coupled with a reaction time of 0.014 to down Anderson, who ran a 6.696/210.21 with a reaction time of 0.004.

In the opening round of eliminations, Johnson used a 6.587/209.79 number to dispatch Ronnie Humphrey, who turned in a 6.628/209.01. Johnson recorded a pass of 6.570/210.31 in the quarterfinals to advance over No. 9 qualifier Ron Krisher, who ran a 6.609/209.59. The semifinals found Johnson facing off with Shane Gray. The J&J Racing owner/driver recorded a lap of 6.590/210.24 to his opponent’s 6.648/207.75, to punch his ticket to the final.