Greg Anderson adds even more icing to his spectacular 2004 racing season when he records his 14th event win of the season in Pro Stock. That is a new all time NHRA win mark for a single season eclipsing the 13-event record previously set by John Force during the 1996 season. Anderson out runs his racing team mate Jason Line in the championship final winning a 6.796 secs 202.52 mph to 6.822 secs 201.85 mph decision. The win was Anderson’s fourth straight event win at Las Vegas, which is the hometown for his race team owner Ken Black.

John Force clinches a record 13th NHRA Fuel Funny Car crown at Las Vegas by just qualifying for eliminations. Force goes to the final round seeking his 114th career win but is denied when his superior 4.751 secs is beaten by a quicker leaving Gary Scelzi who runs a winning 4.790 secs at 326.32 mph. The win is Scelzi’s second straight NHRA event driving the Oakley/Hemi Dodge Stratus and moved him into a dead heat with Del Worsham for 2nd place in NHRA points with one event remaining.

Del Worsham runs both low ET and top speed in FC hitting a 4.751 secs at 328.22 mph to pace the FC program driving the C.S.K. Chevy MonteCarlo. Del runs to the semi finals before being eliminated by eventual winner Scelzi. A total of 25 nitro Funny Cars attend the event and they produce a quick 4.885 secs bump spot.

FC class racing includes special edition “Santana” cars for brothers Cruz and Tony Pedregon. The legendary guitarist himself, Carlos Santana, is in attendance at the event. Both uniquely painted machines however lose out in round two.

David Grubnic finally wins his first major title in Top Fuel, prevailing in the lucrative annual $100,000 Budweiser Shootout, which was run off during Saturday‘s schedule. Driving Connie Kalitta’s Zatrex-3 sponsored machine, Grubnic out runs Larry Dixon in the final round dash for cash, recording a winning 4.501 secs at 328.46 mph.

The 2004 Budweiser Shootout was of a unique format then in the past. No. 1 seed Doug Kalitta faced the “wildcard” #8 spot, which was in fact Larry Dixon, who got into the program based on a random drawing two nights before. Dixon then upset both Kalitta and Brandon Bernstein enroute to the final round. Grubnic’s Budweiser Shootout win also included round wins over teammate Scott Kalitta and newly crowned NHRA POWERade World Champion Tony Schumacher.

Sunday’s overall event Top Fuel title went to Mac Tools dragster driver Doug Kalitta who beat Morgan Lucas in the final round, 4.530 secs 329.02 mph to 4.612 secs 306.40 mph. The win for Kalitta, the 19th of his career, included round wins over Gary Ormsby Jr, Doug Herbert, and Rhonda Hartman-Smith. Lucas’s runner-up finish is his best placing since taking over from the late Darrell Russell as driver of Joe Amato’s dragster.

Doug Kalitta’s cousin Scott Kalitta set both low ET and top speed of the event riding the Jesse James/Mac Tools dragster to a thrilling 4.491 secs at 333.00 mph to take the pole. In fact the three Connie Kalitta owned dragsters sat 1-2-3 following the conclusion of time trials.

The Vegas event included two unique AMS Pro Mod features. Canada’s Al Billes won the season-climax 8-car AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge when he defeated Shannon Jenkins in the final round. Billes, who had also won the season-ending IHRA event at Rockingham the weekend before, powered to a winning 6.233 secs 226.96 mph to Jenkins’s 6.249 secs 225.45 mph. The win was Billes’s 4th AMS eliminator win of the season.

The event’s overall AMS Pro Mod program featured for the first time in NHRA history a 16-car field. Shannon Jenkins shrugged off his final round loss to Billes the day before by winning that, stopping a red-lighting Scott Cannon Jr. (son to Scotty Cannon) in the final round. Jenkins, driving his nitrous-injected Chevy Camaro, won with a 6.271 secs 222.44 mph as Cannon Jr, who was participating in only his second career NHRA Pro Mod event, had a red-light foul start. The win for Jenkins was his 8th career NHRA AMS event title but his first since Memphis in 2003.

New York’s Mike Ashley wrapped up the overall 2004 AMS Pro Mod series title during the event. Ashley’s first round win combined with Billes’s first round loss to Ashley’s racing teammate Danny Rowe, assured him the season points championship. Ashley did pace the AMS Pro Mod show at Las Vegas with a 6.210 secs (low ET).

Pro Stock Bike action produced a first time career NHRA win for Chip Ellis who drove George Bryce’s G-Squared/S&S Racing Buell V-Twin to victory. The win was also the first in history for the Buell brand in NHRA class competition. Ellis, who was formally a AMA Prostar World Champion, easily beat Angelle Savoie in the final round, 7.191 secs at 179.92 mph to 7.255 secs at 177.49 mph.

The NHRA Pro Stock Bike Championship title remains the only undecided Pro category in NHRA racing this season. Points leader Andrew Hines, who qualified on the pole at Las Vegas with a 7.130 secs, was upset in round one of competition. However Hines needs only to qualify at the season-ending event at Pomona in two weeks to lock up the title. Hines, at only 21 years old, is poised to become the youngest Pro champion in NHRA drag racing history and to give the Harley Davidson brand it‘s first NHRA World title.