Penland left first in the final, then posted his quickest and fastest run of eliminations at 4.087 and 177.86 mph, while Gahm slowed mid-track and coasted to a 4.989-seconds pass at just 117.64 mph.

Cary Goforth clinched the PDRA Extreme Pro Stock class championship in the opening round of qualifying on Friday (Oct. 10), before the rain started. Goforth, who was the number-one qualifier in Rockingham, needed only to make one pass for the Virginia event to wrap up the championship.

His off-the-pace 4.274 at 159.06 pass held up for the sixth-place position, but almost immediately after posting it he jetted off to the IHRA finale in Memphis, where the Holdensville, Oklahoma-based driver merely had to complete one qualifying pass that same night to also secure the 2014 mountain-motor Pro Stock championship in that series.

“It’s crazy but sometimes it takes crazy to get the job done,” Goforth said just before stepping aboard a waiting private jet with the engines running at nearby Dinwiddie County Airport.

“I know you’re not going to get a chance at winning two championships in one year very often, but in one day? That’s crazy! But crazy is what my dad (Dean Goforth, team owner and also an Extreme Pro Stock competitor), does best. This was all his idea and he set it all up and I am so thankful to him and my crew chief Jeff Dobbins and all of my team for all the hard work they put into this. I love them all.”

With three wins already heading into the weekend at VMP, Eric McKinney nearly had the PDRA Pro Extreme Motorcycle championship sewn up, with only teammate Ashley Owens having a slim mathematical chance to catch up. When both riders uncharacteristically fell in the second round of the delayed Rockingham event, however, McKinney knew the season title was secured.

Douglas, Georgia’s Travis Davis, who eliminated McKinney, went on to win his second race of the year, beating veteran Paul Gast in the Rockingham final.

With one more race to go, though, McKinney had an opportunity for redemption. He qualified his 2012 Hayabusa first for the Championship Finals with a 4.065-second pass at 176.42 mph, which turned out to be important as second-place starter Ron Procopio and third place Casey Stemper posted identical elapsed times so the top three were set by speed.

McKinney, from Hamersville, Ohio, made short work of David Rudd in the opening round of racing before earning a little payback with a close win over Davis in round two. He then made a solo pass in the semis when Gast was a no show to set up a race against first-time finalist Chris Garner.

Garner left with a great .016 reaction time that gave him a huge .090 lead off the start, but slowed to a 4.915 pass at just 98.23 mph while McKinney made a solid 4.078 at 176.63-mph run to his fourth win of the season.

“It’s a great way to end the year and I have to thank my dad (Scott), my Uncle Steve and Ashley (Owens) for getting us all here,” McKinney said. “We go out there alone as riders, but this is a team sport, there’s no doubt about that.”

The PDRA will crown its 2014 champions Dec. 13, at the inaugural PDRA Banquet and Awards Show at the JW Marriott hotel in downtown Indianapolis, held in conjunction with the annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show.