It's a beautiful day for a drag race: Not too warm, not too sunny, and low humidity. The air is skipping back and forth from -130 to +27 feet (of corrected altitude). Unreal! Could we see even better performances than we witnessed yesterday? Possibly....

The first pair out of the lanes doesn't disappoint... unless you're a dyed in the wool blown alcohol fan. Both drivers run career bests, but the power of Brown's injected nitro car is just too much for Mike Johnson's best efforts. Driver Brian Hough is a car and a half behind at the finish line. What a start to the first round. The crowd (and it's a very healthy one today) is really buzzing.

This is the only mismatch -- on paper -- of the round. Ignore the reaction times and it looks like a runaway victory for Hentges. Factor them in, and Federlin's excellent holeshot makes it fairly close (just over a car length) at the finish line. Of course, it's a career best ET for Hentges, but that's almost the norm today.

Ho hum. Another pair of career bests: this time by Lawrence. But it's to no avail as Santos outruns him at both ends of the track to post a car length victory. It's a good thing Rick was on time at the starting line as Lawrence gave him quite a battle, especially after Santos shook the tires at the top of low gear. The racing just keeps getting better and better.

Unbelievable.... Part Two. The highest speed ever recorded by a supercharged methanol burning car and a career best ET for Shields is just not enough to overcome the gigantic holeshot Bernstein lays on him. Brandon deepstaged at the last second and that may have distracted Duane, as he's dead late on the lights, to the tune of nearly two tenths. The gap between the cars at the finish line is about a car length. Shields makes his mark in the history books, but for today, he's already history.

And that brings the first round of Federal-Mogul Dragster eliminations to a close. Everybody can start breathing again. The danger has passed. The all clear has been sounded. But remember: these monsters will be back among us in just two short hours.

The first round of Federal-Mogul Dragster was simply unbelievable. The greatest series of runs we've ever seen at Mission, in Division Six, and quite possibly, the sport of drag racing. How can the weaker Funny Car field come up with anything to top that show?

The first pair is unbelievable for a different reason. Austin hits the wall and Clough crosses the centerline. The instant replay (from the webcam mounted on the crossover bridge) in the tower apparently shows that Clough committed the first infraction, but trackside witnesses (mainly a bunch of ne'er do well photogs and scribes) feel the opposite. NHRA starter Ray Rice backs up the tower officials and the decision stands. We've got a five minute cleanup to round up errant bits of Pat's car.

We're back.... to racing, that is. It was fairly close until half track, but Parker gradually opened up what became a large gap at the finish line.

Can you believe it? We've got another wallbanger. Everything went wrong for Nemeth on this run as he red-lighted, then hit the wall. That's two for two for the Canuck racers in this round. Bateman's up next. Will he go for the hat-trick? In the left lane, Bucky cruises to another 5.7 at nearly 250 mph. That should be good enough for lane choice in the semi-finals.

We're down for nearly ten minutes while the track crew cleans up the bits Nemeth left on the surface. Oh, oh, it's looking even more serious as George comes out with VHT-spraying Golfcart. Oops, false alarm; looks like he was just bored and went for a quick cruise down the track. So what's next? How about Low ET and Top Speed of the meet? Bateman makes his best run in over two years. Icing on the cake is lane choice (over Bucky Austin) in the semi-finals. Bateman ran unopposed as Goss runs into trouble backing up from the burnout and goes right through the water and takes out a cone at the head of the staging lanes. The crew raises the body and gives him the kill sign.

The fourth consecutive 5.4 pass for Santos does the trick as the Bud King drops off a taste. Santos still can't seem to get the car into the .30's, as blown alcohol counterparts Hentges and Shields have. But he has been very consistent and is cutting good lights today. So who's he going to face in the final? The blown car of Hentges, or the injected car -- and potential national record holder -- of Brown? Let's see....

Hentges mindset is to not beat himself. He just wants to go out and cut a decent light and repeat the 5.37-5.38 series of runs he's been making this weekend. He does so, squeezing past the threat of Kevin Brown with ease, as Brown's "Jokers Wild" car drops a cylinder and slows more than a tenth from the first round. The margin of victory is nearly two car lengths. And Hentges has lane choice over Santos in the final. Where's that "I Beat Rick Santos Club" belt buckle, Mark?

Austin takes the early lead, helped by a healthy holeshot, and gradually outdistances Parker's very game effort. He almost matches Bateman's Low ET shot of the first round, but at least he's got a good shot at lane choice for the final today. His run wasn't perfect, as the car is still shaking hard and tending to skate around, but the power is definitely there. Parker can leave Mission tonight with his head up as he put his car into the 5.80's and over 240 mph twice and made the semifinals at his first race of the season.

Can Bateman back up his great run from the previous round and go to his first final round in more than a year? My guess (as requested by the trackside photographers) is NO, and he nearly matches my ET prediction too. The car is up in smoke immediately and shuts off. In the left lane, Bucky is long gone until the engine blows up at half track, and he coasts to an easy victory, but is facing a lot of work before a final round match with nephew Pat.

This should be the battle to end all battles, at least as far as Federal-Mogul Dragsters are concerned. It could even have a major bearing on the national championship this season. Santos leaves first by a very small margin, but Hentges has the performance and turns on the win light by the smallest of margins... just over one thousandth of a second. Unreal! What a way to end one of the greatest drag racing events in history. Oh, it's not quite over. We've still got the all-Austin final to run. Stay tuned.

Both cars take quite a while before moving into the stage lights. Then Pat leaves on Bucky, starts to pull away, despite fighting massive tire shake. Bucky comes on strong though, and as he passes Pat near half track, the younger Austin shuts off before the car gets completely out of control. It's not too often that Bucky wins these head-to-head matches, but today he's the champion in the family.