Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Steve Johnson made his 200th professional start memorable by claiming his second NHRA victory and assuming the POWERade points lead for the first time in his career. Johnson rode around Craig Treble to win in 7.139 seconds at 187.22 mph, joining Doug Kalitta, Whit Bazemore, and Jason Line in a wild Mac Tools Gatornationals Victory Circle.

Johnson claimed glory in his category's season opener, while his fellow trophy earners all revived their individual championship dreams after sluggish starts in the first two national events of the year. Bazemore's win was almost as big as Johnson's as it moved him around John Force and into the Funny Car lead. Kalitta was happy to give his title sponsor a big win at their race, while reigning Rookie of the Year Line came to life in Gainesville with career win No. 5.

Doug Kalitta

The final number weren't very pretty but Kalitta didn't seem to mind after surviving a crazy, back-and-forth pedaling duel with Larry Dixon to secure his 20th national event victory.

The Top Fuel final numbers showed Kalitta crossing with a 5.182 at 296.24 mph ahead of Dixon's 5.925 at 169.81 mph, but the real action came through the middle of the track when Dixon, who had gained a starting line edge, fought hard to regain control of his tire-smoking rail. He was on and off the throttle so many times his car turned nearly 40 degrees before he wisely abandoned the chase.

Kalitta also had his hands full but his specially-designed West Coast Customs car hooked up first and carried him to the win.

"That was certainly an exciting final," Kalitta said. "We started spinning at half-track and I could see Larry out there turning sideways and smoking, too, so I gave it a hit and it hooked back up. Obviously both teams were trying hard to run a number against the other guy knowing they'd be up for it and it got both of us.

"It's always an honor to be here at this race and to win it is phenomenal. There's so much history with this race. I came here just wondering what it would take to get back in the mix [of the championship chase] and I guess this will go a long way towards helping us out. We moved up to fifth today so that's a start."

It was a great weekend for Kalitta's Mac Tool bunch, regardless of the final outcome. After posting consecutive first-round losses to open the season, he came to life Sunday and beat a red-lighting Doug Herbert, Andrew Cowin, who led until the final timer, Cory McClenathan, and Dixon.

Showing the teamwork that helped their man win back-to-back championships, Dixon's Miller Lite crew tuned him to quicker passes as the day progressed, even though it got hotter in each of the first three rounds. He posted a 4.71 against David Baca, a 4.59 opposite points leader and current champ Tony Schumacher, who smoked his tires midway down the track, and a 4.54 versus Clay Millican to carry lane choice into his 64th career final round.

Whit Bazemore

The sentimental favorite going into the Funny Car final was Bazemore's opponent Bob Gilbertson, who was involved in a massive fire in the semi’s and needed the help of several crews to even make a run for the trophy. But Bazemore was not feeling charitable and he simply blazed to a 4.897 at 315.67 mph against a red-lighting Gilbertson to take 18th national event win and assume the POWERade lead for the third time in his career.

"This is huge," Bazemore said. "I remember our family driving to Orlando for Thanksgiving with my grandparents when I was 10 years old. On the way home I begged my parent to stop by Gainesville Raceway. I just had to see it. I remember thinking I'd come here and race one day. I took Frank Hawley's School in 1986, but to actually win a national event here, the Gatornationals, is incredible. This is a special place for drag racers. This is one of the classics, like Indy or Pomona.

"It was scary racing Bob because you saw what happened to him and you know it could just as easily happen to you. As much as they try to turn us into NASCAR, we're drag racing and anything can happen. I know some of the guys went over there to help him get ready and I think that's great because that's another thing about drag racing that sets us apart."

Gilbertson's heroic effort, which was aided by members of both CSK teams, Carrier Boyz Racing, Weis Racing, Baca Motorsports, and even Bazemore's teammate Ron Capps, who packed Gilbertson's parachutes, wasn't completely in vain as he moved from 12th to fourth in the POWERade points.

Aside from Gilbertson's fire, which happened during a huge upset win over John Force, Gilbertson looked sharp early on, running low 4.90s against Tony Pedregon and Eric Medlen. This was Gilby's fourth final. He has one national event win.

Bazemore was equally proficient in his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus R/T, scooting past Cruz Pedregon, low qualifier Robert Hight, teammate Gary Scelzi, and Gilbertson on the day. His best run came in the opening round where he posted a 4.86.

Jason Line

Pro Stock runner-up Dave Connolly did everything he could against Line, taking lane choice into the money round and jumping off the launch pad with a stellar .006-second reaction time. But Line calmly reeled Connolly in and passed him near half-track, logging his first win of the year and moving into a tie for fourth place in the points.

At the lights it was Line's KB Racing Pontiac Grand Am edging Connolly's Bullet Motorsports Chevrolet Cavalier by a 6.716 to 6.749-second margin. Connolly's runner-up finish and win earlier this year in Pomona helped him reassume the POWERade lead.

"It's a tough task to race Dave with a trophy on the line, trust me," Line said. "He's unbelievable on the Tree. I did about the best I can do with a .027 and I made some mistakes shifting but we ended up with the win. Credit the horsepower the guys gave me today.

"We haven't been happy with our performance this year on either car but we had a great rebound weekend for the whole team. With Greg [Anderson] setting all the records and being No. 1 and then me winning, the only thing that could have been better was if he was in the other lane in the final. I remember losing here in the semi’s in 1992 in my Stocker and I was bummed out for weeks. I never thought I'd get that close again."

Both Line and Connolly needed some fancy driving to get to the final, using a pair of holeshots over veteran champions, Jim Yates and Warren Johnson, respectively, to make the money round. Line also beat Richie Stevens and Ron Krisher, while Connolly started the day with wins over V. Gaines and Greg Stanfield.

Steve Johnson

Johnson saved his best run of the day for when he needed it the most, driving around Treble at the 1,000-foot marker to score the most surprising victory of the year. Treble had left first by .008-second and led at all the incremental timers on the racetrack until 1,000 feet, where he fell behind by three thousandths of a second. He finally took the stripe in 7.139 at 187.22 mph, one hundredth of a second ahead of Treble's 7.161 at 185.95 mph.

The popular rider claimed his first, long-awaited victory at last year's St. Louis event, but the celebration there was quieted by the untimely death of Darrell Russell. This time the fast-talking self-promoter was able to completely let loose in the winner's circle and the media room.

"I just found out the POWERade rules have changed; the Motorcycle season is now over and the champion will be crowned Monday," Johnson joked. "This is my first win, at least that's how I feel. This is the Gatornationals. It's our season opener and such a big race. The St. Louis win I was sky-high for about 20 seconds then they told me Darrell had died and I fell off the moon.

"Man, I was so stressed out before the final. I went up in my office and shut the door and looked at all these charts I don't understand. I knew we got lucky in the first two rounds when Chip [Ellis] and Andrew [Hines] red-lit but the Vance & Hines guys helped me in the semi’s and then I turned the rev-limiter knob to 'win' in the final and we actually outran him. How awesome is that?"

Starting mid-pack, Johnson rode his Snap-on Suzuki around Chip Ellis, low qualifier Andrew Hines, and Antron Brown to reach his eighth career final. Treble used his Matco Tools Suzuki to dust Matt Smith, GT Tonglet, and Karen Stoffer. He leaves Gainesville in second place.

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