John Force won his 125th Funny Car event Sunday by beating Kenny Bernstein by about 2 feet in a meeting of drag-racing legends in Brainerd, Minn.
In the two legends’ first meeting in 18 years, Force’s 4.794-second run at 316.60 m.p.h. was faster by .0048 seconds.
Bernstein, 62, is 13-8 against Force, 58, including a 6-2 record in finals.
“This race took me back to 1978 when Kenny Bernstein was the king and he beat me and I told myself that one day I’d beat him,” Force said. “But then he left the class and I never got my chance.”
Force and Bernstein last faced each other in 1989 at the Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J., which Bernstein went on to win for his last Funny Car victory.
Bernstein’s son, Brandon, beat Larry Dixon in Sunday’s Top Fuel final with a run of 4.525 seconds.
In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin became just the 11th racer in the NHRA’s 56-year history with 50 wins when he beat Greg Anderson.
