“That just means a lot. I finally got that double and we’re all really happy about it,” Force said. “With Courtney and Ashley, I never got the chance because they were always in Funny Car in the finals and usually beat me. So this was really special I just had a good day and I love racing. We had a great crowd here Saturday and today and that was great to see. When we see the crowd, we come alive.”
“Robert, was probably my toughest race because it’s hard to beat Robert. I just had a car that was pretty fast,” Force said. “J.R. Todd had the quickest car and I told him in the final year he was the baddest kid on the planet here in Topeka. The competition makes you better every time.”
In the first round, Force faced Paul Lee who he held an 8-3 record against in previous events. With Force winning 80% of his round one matchups when he has lane choice, there wasn't much doubt in the matchup. Force had the starting line advantage, but Lee had the lead at the Christmas Tree. Force chased him down by half track when Lee started to haze his tires. Force got the win but gave up lane choice to Hight in the second round.
Hight holds the advantage against Force with a record of 30-26. Force ran a 3.959 ET at 324.36 to defeat Hight by about 18 feet.
In the semi's, it was a battle of the veterans as Force faced Cruz Pedregon. With an overall advantage of 75-36 over Pedregon, Force looked confident in improving to 3-0 on the season against his competitor. Force had a slight starting line advantage and got the win with a 4.005 ET at 321.35 MPH.
With Force having lane choice in the final, his confidence continued to grow. Force advanced to his fourth final round this season and 260th final round of his career. JR Todd was the only person standing between Force and his 154th career win and at the end of the day, Todd was unable to get it done. Force took the win with a 4.019 ET at 321.04.
Check out the full event recap on NHRA.com by Josh Hachat: