NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Doug Kalitta put an end to Steve Torrence’s long win streak, winning a thrilling back and forth final-round battle with his third straight holeshot win to claim his second straight Winternationals Top Fuel title.

The win, the 45th of Kalitta’s career, started with a .025-second holeshot, but his Mac Tools dragster began to lose traction partway through the run, allowing Torrence to close the gap by halftrack to just .002-second. Torrence may well have gone on to win, but his Capco Contractors dragster experienced mechanical breakage nearing the finish line, allowing Kalitta to hit the win stripe first.

Kalitta is only the second driver, behind Larry Dixon, to win the Winternationals in back-to-back years.

[Round 1 recap | Round 2 recap | Semifinals recap]