Hight continued his love affair with Pomona 's pavement, winning his second straight race and third overall at his hometown facility. This time it was Pedregon on the losing end in the final as Hight's 4.861 at a blower-belt-tossing 284.39 mph in the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang defeated Pedregon's 4.879 at 322.50 mph in his Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala SS.

"After the first two rounds I didn't give us a chance," said Hight, who opened the day with a 5.52 and a 5.29. "We didn't do well in qualifying and we didn't get to test in the off-season because we got these cars so late. Jimmy [Prock, crew chief] told me earlier this weekend that we're still testing to a large extent and that's what it was like. 

"I can see so well in this car. I had to pedal in the first two rounds and I was able to see where I was and when I could get back on it so much quicker. I'm giving this trophy to Niranjan Singh, the Ford engineer who worked night and day to build this new car. He came over from Formula 1 and he's been relentless working on this thing to get it ready in time."

Three of the four Team Force Mustangs made it to the semifinals with Pedregon the lone interloper. On one side of the ladder Hight beat John Force with a 4.842 when Force went up in smoke, while Pedregon and Ashley Force raced hard to the 1,000-foot marker before her engine went silent. This was Pedregon's 56th career final. He has 23 victories.