US NATIONALS WINNER!

In Top Fuel, Clay Millican was a first-time winner at the prestigious U.S. Nationals, defeating four-time world champion Steve Torrence in the final round with a run of 3.792 at 327.82 in his 11,000-horsepower Arby’s/Parts Plus dragster. Millican struggled in qualifying, entering raceday in the No. 13 spot, but made major improvements when it counted, including a 3.695 at 333.74 to defeat Antron Brown in the first round.

He followed with round wins against Josh Hart and Brittany Force to reach the final round, driving past Torrence with his third straight run in the 3.70s to reach Indy glory. It’s Millican’s first victory of the season and the seventh in his career, and the veteran will move to sixth in points to start the Countdown to the Championship. For now, though, Millican is only thinking about his incredible Monday on drag racing’s biggest stage.

“I’ve definitely been the underdog my entire life. I promise you that, but I have a lot of fight in me,” Millican said. “Nothing will ever top [my first win in] Bristol, including the U.S. Nationals, but this is like winning the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the World Series. This is career-defining stuff.
 
“To win with [team owner] Rick Ware here was cool. I won three times last year and he wasn’t at any of them. He came on Friday, he has two NASCAR teams racing in Darlington, but he was here. It was cool to call him last year and say we won, but there is nothing like being here.”

- NHRA.com