In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Foster qualified No. 2 in a field that featured five drivers in the 5.60s, including No. 1 qualifier and defending event champ Dale Brand, who ran low e.t. of all three qualifying sessions – 5.69, 5.63, and 5.61 – in his first appearance anywhere all season. "I saw Dale's trailer at the other end of the pits on Friday and thought, 'Oh boy. He's going to be trouble.' That car always runs good," Foster said.

Chris Foster

Foster was solidly in the 5.60s all weekend and eventually qualified No. 2 with a 5.64. "The car would get loose in high gear and fishtail, but it ran good every time," he said. "Everybody was. A lot of other cars were right there."

Especially Brand. The Iowa driver established low e.t. of the first two rounds of eliminations, with a 5.61 in the first round, matching his low qualifying time, to eliminate Wayne Butler, and a 5.62 in the semifinals against two-time Cordova winner Kirk Williams, who had an .011 light.

Foster was just a tick behind Brand, with a 5.66 in round one against Scott McVey and a 5.65 against rival Ray Drew's close 5.68 in the semifinals. What would have been a great final ended anticlimactically when Brand had to shut off after the burnout because of a fuel leak. Foster coasted to an 8.07 at 114 mph for his second regional victory of the year, including the Norwalk event in May.

"I heard over the radio that he had some kind of a problem, but the starter wasn't saying anything for a while," Foster said. "I sat back there waiting, and finally he walked over and held up one finger for a single."

With the victory, Foster passed Mickey Ferro, who won the Chicago and Columbus regionals, for the North Central Region lead. "Cordova's not too far from home, and I had aunts and uncles and people who've never seen us race before with us in the winner's circle," he said. "I try not to pay too much attention to the points because whenever you look too far ahead it messes you up, but it looks like it's all going to come down to the last race of the year, in Bowling Green."

In the first final of the day, defending event champion David Billingsley, Decatur, Ill., made it two in a row defeating Travis Gusso in Comp Eliminator.  Billingsley ran 8.738 seconds at 151 mph along with a starting line advantage for the win.

The Super Stock final was a heads up face off of Minnesota runners as Brett Speer, Little Falls, got the early lead only to watch Jason DeForrest, Andover, Minn., drive around him for the win in his ’87 Camaro at 138.94 mph.

Monte Green and J.R. Lobner grabbed the trophies in the division’s Jerry Haas Race Cars Top Sportsman and the Fineline/Madcap Top Dragster Series respectively.  Green, Haxtun, Colo., beat Rick Wilson, Independence, Mo., in his ’95 Probe crossing the finshline in just over seven seconds at 195 mph while Lobner, who won earlier this year in Great Bend, Kan., knocked out Phil Unruh.  The two had near identical reaction times with Lobner taking the win at the strip in 6.897 seconds, 193.77 mph.