The Ford Performance NHRA Nationals is always a pivotal event on the schedule, and even though it's the 19th race of the year, we're still learning something. Here are our five big takeaways from the race.

THE POWER IS STRONG

We can't emphasize enough how great it was to see GOAT John Force back on track for the first time since his devastating accident in Richmond in June. Every time the commentators noticed his presence on the starting line and cheered on his three riders, he received thunderous applause. And the inspiration it gave to all three teams was palpable and obvious, and the fact that Brittany Force and Austin Prock won Nitro honors for the first time this season and that Brittany was back in the fold for the first time in two years Winner returned speaks volumes. as well as Brittany's feelings in the media center.

“When I had my father here for the first time since his accident, there was no pressure, it was more passion behind every single person in the team. We always want to come out here and win, but with him being here this weekend, after that. “With everything he's been through, there was definitely more heart behind it. We wanted to bring him into the winner's circle.

No matter what happens to John Force in the future, if he never spins another tire at the dragstrip again, he will always be everyone's hero.

DRAG RACERS HAVE GOOD POKER FACES

Since this is Las Vegas, where keeping the emotions at the gaming tables is paramount, we got a taste of it.

Austin Prock and his team boss father Jimmy are just four points away from winning the Funny Car championship, which means all they have to do is get the car ready for the first qualifying session at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA finale The 15 “show-up” points up for grabs will be awarded to all participants.

However, when asked about it, father and son refused to rejoice in the impending coronation, as if they were speaking from the same mind.

Seconds after his son cruised to victory, Jimmy was asked about it and said, “The job isn't over,” a sentiment Austin repeated a half-hour later in the media center.

It's hard to believe that they're just saying this to be modest, because they certainly have every reason not to be modest, or because they're afraid that their opponents will use it as inspiration for their bulletin board, for that matter Because teammate Jack Beckman lures Austin into an elevator and somehow deactivates it, this is over.

“The job isn't done until the (championship) trophy is in our hands, and when it goes into my hands it goes straight into my dad's hands, but we're really close,” Austin explained. “We still don't have that.” I won the championship and that's our main goal this year. When I got in the race car at the beginning of the year my dad said he wanted to win a world championship and this team just gave it their all this year, excellent work from each and every one of them.

Gaige Herrera was only slightly more forward-looking toward his final showdown with Matt Smith in Pomona, but when I pushed him harder to imagine how he would feel if he won the championship, his mood brightened a little.

“If I manage to win the second championship – and anything can happen – it would mean a lot more than the first,” he said. “I had to earn it a lot more this season. We kind of ran away with that last year, but this year the racing was definitely a lot closer and there wasn't a lot of room for error, so just showing that last year wasn't a fluke or something will certainly mean a lot more a one time thing, and that's pretty amazing.

PRESSURE? WHICH PRESSURE?

Speaking of Prock, whose eight wins on the season rival those of Ron Capps and the man Prock is replacing this year, Robert Hight, for the most wins in a season since John Force's 10 in 2000, we have to keep up with that The result of the season falls a little short of relief.

Eventually, he jumped into a car and team that had won three world championships with one of the sport's greatest tuners – who happens to be his father. It's almost a no-win situation, right? He's in a car that's expected to win, and if not, he's the only real change.

If they were in trouble, all fingers would be pointing at him, and if he was successful, why shouldn't he be? He has the best car.

“It was a lot of pressure having big shoes to fill,” he admitted. “I mean, Robert Hight is one of the greatest Funny Car drivers of all time, and I'm getting into arguably the best car of the last decade. So, yeah, definitely, a lot of pressure. But you know, I want to drive race cars for a living, and the only way to make a living driving race cars is to do great work. I wouldn't say I did an outstanding job, but I did a good enough job to get those wins. I want to get better at every run, and that's what it takes to follow in Robert Hight's footsteps. I’m not saying I’m there yet, but I hope I have a long career in this sport and we get off to a good start.”

GOOD JOB X2, SHAWN

It's hard to have a microphone in your face at the height of one of the worst moments of your racing career, but Shawn Langdon's coolness was admired, as was his insanely good job keeping the Kalitta Air Dragster off the wall after it flew left with rear tires 330 mph after devastatingly crossing the center line en route to a seemingly easy semifinal victory over broken teammate Doug Kalitta, a win that would have put him right on the heels of championship leader Justin Ashley with one race to go. to be just five points behind when he could have won the final.

Langdon is known for extreme candor on the microphone – anyone who heard him go off after the strangely long Christmas tree in round one in Dallas will know this – but he kept his cool in the face of the devastating turn of events and delivered one of the best ones great interviews of the season.

“The car was running well and I felt it pulling me to the left,” Langdon said. “I tried to cheat it a little bit to the right, run over the frayed edge and bring it back in, but it kept pulling me to the left. I kept contributing, but it just wasn't coming back. Next thing I know there's a block and the tire blows out and I'm just trying to salvage what I can. This is the first time in my career that I've hit something. I feel bad for my boys; They worked their asses off. We have a championship team.”

If Langdon does indeed win the championship, everyone will quickly note that Kalitta also won his championship last year, after a similar puncture at Reading, from which he not only recovered, but shined. (Pro tip for future wannabe world champions.)

DESTROY THEIR BACKS

It was a long and tiring weekend for everyone, and racing in the sometimes harsh climes of the Nevada desert has its own challenges – particularly cold or hot weather, strong winds and dust storms – but the Simpson NHRA Safety Safari had a real challenge Training after Billy Torrence destroyed the back ends on Saturday and Doug Kalitta on Sunday has created something of a mini-epidemic in the Nitro ranks.

Cleaning the engine oil is one thing – these guys and cockheads do it all the time – but lubricating the rear end is a whole other challenge.

After Billy-Billy fired a shot in the fourth quarter, it took 80 minutes for the left lane to become passable, and what happened? Clay Millican comes in at 3.70 and Steve Torrence and Brittany Force both come in at 3.67. You can't say enough good things about this team.

And while Kalitta's slime job late Sunday was so tremendous and the weather was so chilly that we had to call it a day and come back Monday, the left lane performance was good again with Paul Lee in the Funny Car semifinals and Austin Prock in the Semi-finals Both achieved a score of 3.83 in the final.