"We really did struggle at the beginning of the year," said Langdon, the 2013 Top Fuel world champion. "Everybody at Don Schumacher Racing came together and everybody helped out; it's a big team. I have to thank all the other crews and our Red Fuel crew. This is a big win for us and we are excited."

Langdon edged teammate Tony Schumacher (U.S. Army) for the title that prevented Schumacher from extending his Bristol record of five titles.

Tony Schumacher’s 3.802/326.32 defeated Steve Torrence’s 3.835/320.97 in the second round. Schumacher then ran 3.840/325.61 to get past Antron Brown’s tire-shaking 8.399 at 84.20 mph. In the first round Torrence took out Terry Haddock and Schumacher ousted J.R. Todd.

Doug Kalitta's second starting position gave him the 15th qualified Kyle Wurtzel as his first opponent. Kalitta hit the throttle first and was able to guide his Mac Tools machine down the track to a 3.783-second pass that was low of the round, while his 329.34 MPH was a new Bristol Dragway track record.

The pass moved him to round two where he would come up against the upset-minded Pat Dakin. Dakin, who defeated Clay Millican in the first round, lit the tires almost instantly giving the round win to the Mac Tools driver.

Kalitta's eighth semi-final of the season dealt him a foe of Shawn Langdon. The Mac Tools dragster smoked the tires very quickly on the run. Kalitta pedaled, but could not catch back up to Langdon ending his Father's Day early.

Kalitta retains the top spot in the standings.