For the second time in three years Brittany Force raced to the final round at Maple Grove. Sunday she was facing the two-time world champion Antron Brown in a rematch of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. It was one of the closest final rounds so far in the Countdown as both dragsters ran identical elapsed times of 3.721 seconds. Force came up .003 of a second short to Brown after both drivers had nearly equal reaction times with Brown slightly edging Force, a three-time winner this season at the stripe.

It was a big first round for Force as the fourth year pro picked up her first career win over three-time world champion Larry Dixon in the first round. It was a close race with Force’s 3.728 second run prevailing over Dixon’s 3.760. Force got the win by a wing at the finish line. This was Force’s first win over Dixon in five previous races. Dixon was driving the Rapisarda Racing dragster, his first appearance on the circuit this season.

Force pulled up beside Mac Tools teammate Doug Kalitta in the second round and she was racing for her third consecutive semifinal appearance at the Dodge NHRA Nationals. When the Christmas Tree activated Kalitta was already in motion earning a disqualification and handing Force’s Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster the win. Force was so focused on her run that when her dragster shook she pedaled her race car leading to a massive motor explosion.

“When you are further down the track and you blow the tires off it is easier to handle. You know where you are at on the race track and you know what is happening.  When it happens instantly it just rattles your head and it is just hard to focus on what is going on,” explained Force. “I didn’t notice that he red-lit beside me because I am trying to get this Monster Energy dragster to hook back up and get down the track. When I felt it blow up and there was nothing happening I saw him out the window and I thought he was going to get the win. At the same time I saw our win light and all that was happening in two seconds. There was a lot going on and that was a lot to wrap your head around. I wish I would have seen my win light sooner and maybe I wouldn’t have blown it up but hey it was a show for the fans watching on Fox.”

Clay Millican (far lane) got a first-round win against Scott Palmer, but then met Brown in the second.