NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs was a sweltering affair for racers and fans, but the result was one of the more entertaining events there. Here's our five big takeaways from the race.

SHAWN LANGDON REALLY LOVES PHOENIX

With his third straight win at the event, Shawn Langdon joined some very rare company among Top Fuel drivers who have won the same race three years running. Eleven drivers have pulled off the hat trick, and it’s the biggest names in the class like Don Garlits, Joe Amato, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Steve Torrence, and more, including two drivers that connect to Langdon: current teammate Doug Kakutta and the late, great Scott Kalitta.

“Just being mentioned with those names is amazing; I don't feel like I fit in that, but somehow I'm in there. It’s a credit to my team, just they've done such a great job over the last couple of years, and the guys have done a great job here. So it's just been one of those tracks. It’s kind of cool to be able to have a track like that, where you feel like you can come and have a lot of confidence. That's a pretty cool feeling.”

Langdon’s hat trick is the 21st time a Top Fuel driver has dominated an event over a three-year stretch, and Schumacher has done it six times, including twice when he did it four years in a row (Indy, 2006-09, and the NHRA Finals, 2004-07).

RON CAPPS’ LOVE-HATE-LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH PHOENIX

Ron Capps made his NHRA Pro debut in Top Fuel here in 1995 (he beat Joe Amato in round one; how’s that for a career opener?) and won the race three times in Funny Car (2003, 2009, and 2013), but the last two years at Firebird Motorsports Park have been rough ones for Capps.

Last year, he absolutely grenaded the engine and then smashed hard into the left-side guardwall in losing to Blake Alexander. This year, he got through round one unscathed, only to blow it up in round two and end up in the right-side wall. This time, Capps’ savvy driving limited damage to the chassis, and he was able to make the semifinal call.

"It's a tough track,” he said after the incident. “Everybody's spinning down there. You don't have time to say, 'Oh, should I lift?' " he said. "It's Sunday, when a round-win is pretty important, but I don't think that’s worth a round-win, unless we go on to win the race, then we're gonna look back at this and know it did.”

After winning, Capps’ tune changed a little bit. “At the time it happened, we weren't sure the win light was going to be worth it, but it wouldn't have been worth it had it been a runner-up. I look over my pit area, and there's a block, there's heads, and manifolds. It's a pretty ugly picture.

"Listen, I know everybody is saying this place hates me after what happened last year, but oh my god, I love this place. It's been great. I've got a lot of wins here, a lot of success. It's always a family trip. We love coming here.”

WHEN DRIVERS ARE FANS OF THE FANS

With triple-digit temperatures every day and track temps that were routinely in the 140-degree range, to say that the event was inhospitable to race cars would be a great understatement, and the drivers all baked in their firesuits but gamely soldiered on.

But it was the fans who wowed everyone, especially the drivers, who at least had the chance to sit in air-conditioned lounges between rounds and maybe were strapped in for 5-10 minutes at a time.

In almost every interview that was conducted, the drivers thanked the fans for sitting all day in the heat to watch them do their things. The Phoenix racing community has always shown up for this event with many sold-out days, and they were back in huge numbers despite the record-breaking heat.

“Look how the fans showed up with the heat. I talked to people, and they're like, ‘It’s gonna be 104 degrees,’ and then every morning you come out of the trailer, and it's packed with people everywhere. It was very cool. It was heartbreaking to hear that we weren't going to be here a few years back, but the fans helped save it. This place deserves to have at least this event, but I think we need two races here. I think we need to honestly begin the year and have one, and then have one in the fall in the Countdown [to the Championship]. These fans deserve that.”

I’m sure Shawn Langdon would not disagree.

NEXT FIRST-TIME WINNER IS COMING SOON

Last year at this event, it was Paul Lee in Funny Car winning his first Pro Wally and Shawn Reed scoring in Top Fuel in Reading, and this year, we had two chances in the Phoenix final round, in Spencer Hyde in Funny Car and Cody Coughlin in Pro Stock.

Coughlin was aiming to be just the 74th winner in Pro Stock history, but got done in by world champ Dallas Glenn, while Hyde had a tough draw in four-time world champ Ron Capps and finished second in his bid to be the 97th winner in Funny Car.

Toss in rookie Maddi Gordon, who went to the second straight semifinal of her initial Top Fuel campaign, and strong contenders like Jordan Vandergriff, Jasmine Salinas, Dan Mercier, Daniel Wilkerson, Hunter Green, Matt Latino, Cody Anderson, and more all capable of winning a cool diamond Wally this year.

THAT'S WHY WE DON'T RUN THEM ON PAPER

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest upsets of the event (and of the season so far, and maybe a couple of other seasons) was Chris McGaha’s shocking takedown of six-time world champ Greg Anderson in round one.

It’s no secret that the McGaha family has struggled to match horsepower with KB Titan and Elite Motorsports, and even sat out races last year to try to improve from home. The senior McGaha won just one round of all last year — at the spring four-wide race in Charlotte — and failed to qualify seven times.

But the scrappy Texans don’t quit, even after Mason failed to qualify at this event. Less than 1% of fans weighing in on Drag Race Bracket Bonanza’s online bracket-creation game thought that McGaha could take down Anderson.

But McGaha and the Silver Bullet Camaro were ready, firing off a .023 light to Anderson’s .071 and took out the defending event champ by just .0008-second (eight ten-thousandths) with a 6.625 to defeat Anderson's low e.t. of the round pass of 6.577.

"It's no secret that we don't have a lot of smoke [power], so the only way to win is with my left foot," McGaha admitted. Good on you, Chris. Way to go.