Stivers qualified No. 3 with a 5.940 at 240.85 mph and then ran like a bracket car at 5.927, 5.913, 5.919 and 5.908-seconds to earn his second-ever trip to the Pro Mod Challenge winners circle and first of the season.

After being sidelined by a crash in early May, Stivers attempted a comeback at the U.S. Nationals earlier this month, but was unsuccessful because of setup issues with his new car. This event is the first time the car has made consistent passes, and for Stivers, the wait was excruciating - but well worth it.

In round one, Stivers dispatched Dennis Radford, and then moved on to take out No. 2 in the points Roger Burgess followed by points-leader Burton Auxier.

In the final, Stivers rode his Trane past Melanie Troxel in a thrilling side-by-side drag race by running a 5.908 at 241.89 to Troxel's 5.946 at 242.36.

Stivers said, "That was a great final round, Melanie is an awesome competitor, and I think the fans got a great show all day long. We were on a tear, all weekend long. Brad Anderson had this car hopped up, and we had the car to beat.

"This weekend has been some of the best racing anytime, anywhere, and I have to thank my entire team, Brad, my wife Jill, and my son Rick Jr., who couldn't be here this weekend but who I know was listening on the Internet and was screaming with us as I took the stripe.

"We've got this Trane back on track, and all I have to say is, boys, don't count your points just yet. We've still got a chance to make the Matco Clash - and that's what we're going to try to do," Stivers said.

Stivers has one race remaining, October 9-11 at the NHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Va., to earn qualifying points for the $35,000 Matco Tools Pro Mod Clash to be contested in Las Vegas at the final race of the season. With his win in Charlotte, he is 59 points or less than three round-wins out of the eighth and last qualifying place.

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer