Tony Schumacher completed the biggest comeback in NHRA Drag Racing history and clinched the 2006 POWERade Top Fuel world championship with a national record final-round run that has to be considered the greatest quarter-mile pass of all time. Entering the final needing to win the race with a pass quicker than 4.437 seconds, Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson delivered with a stunning 4.428 at 327.98 mph to defeat Melanie Troxel and earn the championship by 14 points over a devastated Doug Kalitta.

In Funny Car, John Force used a giant holeshot to win his record 122nd victory just two rounds after clinching his 14th title. Force beat "Fast Jack" Beckman, who ran a national record elapsed time of 4.662. Former Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson bettered new champ and teammate Jason Line by three-hundredths of a second, and Craig Treble bagged his first Pro Stock Motorcycle win in more than two years on a day that featured Andrew Hines winning his third straight championship.

Tony Schumacher

It seems fitting that Schumacher's 35th win tied him with drag racing icon "Big Daddy" Don Garlits on the all-time win list because his march to his fourth series title was nothing short of legendary.

There was only one way for Schumacher to win this championship -- win two more rounds than Kalitta during the day and set a national elapsed time record, which is worth 20 bonus points. He pulled it off by beating teammate Troxel in the final to erase a deficit that was once 336 points.

"I probably felt better today than I ever had in my life because the pressure was so high that it was too much to even comprehend," Schumacher said. "I don't know that there's ever been a single pass in drag racing where so much was on the line in one round. To win it like this is unreal. It's beyond anything that you can ever dream up.

"The U.S. Army guys who are with us today told me before the final that all the troops are huddled around radios and Internet connections in Iraq waiting to hear what happened. It's so awesome that they supported us like this, and I'm happy to give them something to get excited about.

"What can you say about Alan Johnson? He's simply the best crew chief and tuning mind ever, period. No one comes close. To pull off what he just did should end all discussion on the subject. He's the best."

Kalitta had a chance to clinch it in the semi’s when he ran against Troxel. Despite posting a quicker time -- 4.500 to 4.502 -- Kalitta lost on a holeshot. In the final, Troxel left on Schumacher, but his U.S. Army dragster quickly made up the difference and took the win, the record, and the championship.

John Force

Force capped his championship day with an exciting vicory over Beckman that was the closest race of the day in all Pro categories. Although he often jokes about being old and having slower reaction times, he was absolutely up for the final with a .058 to .103 reaction-time advantage that translated to a .0108-second win. Beckman's 4.662 set a national record but wasn't enough to beat Force's 4.697.

"I've been so up and down emotionally all weekend, but this is a great way to end the year," Force said. "Our three Fords finished one, two, and four in the points, and that's flat-out awesome. For Castrol, Ford, and the Auto Club, and all the others, this is for you. The old man isn't done yet.

"It was really cool to race like that, and I see that Beckman set a record. That's great for that kid. He's worked very hard to get up to this level, and I'm happy for him. I hope that team comes at us next year. We'll be ready for them.

"Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, Jimmy Prock, John Medlen, all the guys, if we don't have the best team in motorsports, I don't know who does. I'm the lucky guy for all these years, but they're the brains and the guys who do the work. They deserve all the bonuses they're gonna get. This championship probably will cost me a fortune by the time I pay all the bonuses, but I don't care. They deserve it."

Force clinched his 14th POWERade world championship when he beat rival Ron Capps in the quarterfinals.

Greg Anderson

Anderson and Line put on a driving clinic in the final. Both champs left with identical .005 reaction times in their Summit Racing Pontiac GTOs, but Anderson worked the gears a little bit better and pulled away to win his 43rd national event with a 6.652 at 208.14 mph to Line's 6.691 at 208.46 mph.

"This has been a blast," Anderson said. "Jason won the championship last week in Vegas, so we were able to come in here and have fun and just race like weekend warriors with nothing to lose. It's cool that it came down to us in the final, and I'm glad the champ let me beat him. You don't get many chances to race like this at this level.

"I can't say enough about this team. Jason and I are so lucky to be driving for Ken Black and to have this group of people behind us. We're saying farewell to co-crew chief Jeff Perley this winter. He wants to go into his own business, and we wish him all the success in the world. He's been as much a part of our success as anyone."

Line set an Auto Club Raceway at Pomona e.t. record of 6.634 seconds in the first round. From that point, Anderson had the quickest car of each session.

Craig Treble

Treble broke a winless streak of 35 events dating back to the 2004 Brainerd event when he ran away from challenger Tom Bradford in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final and took the stripe with a 7.072 at 190.81 mph against Bradford's 7.301 at 182.06 mph. Riding for Harry Lartigue with a mostly unsponsored entry, Treble seemed destined to win this event, running 7.0-second passes in every round. He now has nine national event trophies.

"This is way overdue," Treble said. "What an unbelievable day and a great win. They just told me we're in the top 10 now. I didn't even know we had a chance to get there. I was planning on going home. I guess we're going to the banquet party now. I need a tuxedo, and my wife gets to go shopping.

"Harry and Joann Lartigue are so deserving of this trophy. They've kept this team together out of their own pocket. He's a racing junkie, and I'm the lucky guy who rides for him. I'd imagine I'll find him on top of the tower because I'm sure he jumped that high when the win light came on."

Hines secured his third straight Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship when his final challenger, Antron Brown, lost in the quarterfinals to Treble. Hines had to sweat out the results after losing on a red-light in the opening session, but he had enough of a cushion that Brown would have needed to win the race to take the title.

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