It was the Matco Tools team's third world championship in five seasons when the only driver who could catch them, Doug Kalitta, lost in the second round and Brown followed with a win in that round. He had defeated Wayne Newby in the quarterfinals. Brown lost in the semifinals to good friend Steve Torrence, who went on to win the event title and moved into the No. 2 spot in the standings.

The Matco Tools team will head to the season finale in Pomona, Calif., in two weeks with work to do still. Brown is seeking his eighth event title of the season, a career best.

A final round victory over J.R. Todd pushed Steve Torrence past Doug Kalitta and into second place in the Top Fuel points. It also enabled him to even his career record in Top Fuel to 153-153.

Torrence stopped Richie Crampton in round one and ran quick time of the round at 3.730. In round two, the margin over Kalitta was just .002. A .047 starting line advantage was the difference against Leah Pritchett in the semifinals, and Torrence’s Capco Contractors/Rio Ammunition dragster was off the line first in the final against Todd. It was Torrence’s first win at Las Vegas.

“It’s pretty gratifying to be a family race team out here running against the big dogs,” Torrence said. “Our goal when we formed this team in 2012 was to compete for the championship. The only thing left now is to come back and win the championship.”

But that will have to wait for next season.