DeJoria and Head had never raced before this round. Head was runner up here in 2003 in Top Fuel. His best finish here in a Funny Car was a semi-final loss to Matt Hagan in 2010. This is DeJoria's first time here at Maple Grove in Funny Car competition. Her best finish to date was a final round loss to Ron Capps at Bristol this year.

This one was ugly. Both cars launched and both shook the tires hard and stopped. Head got back on the throttle first, DeJoria did the same just a bit later. They both struck the tires again, both pedaled again. Repeat. Repeat. Head moved hard toward the center line, DeJoria moved toward the center line too. Finally, Head got his car straightened out and pedaled his way to the win.