Kalitta Motorsports personnel watch Robert Hight idle down the track in Round 1 eliminations. Scott Kalitta would have been racing against Hight, but he was killed in a qualifying accident the day before. (NHRA photo) » More Photos

Anderson grabbed his first win since Houston as he defeated Dave Connolly in a bizarre final. Both competitors ran into problems just off the starting line but Anderson was able to recover, winning with a 7.57 elapsed time as Connolly coasted. Anderson did just that as he drove to his 53rd career win when he defeated Connolly in a wild final round. The side-by-side 6.6s that most expected never materialized as both drivers ran into problems as soon as they let the clutch out. Anderson recovered, and collected the win, his third of the season.

"We had a great hot rod all weekend long, but everything changed Saturday afternoon when we lost Scott," said Anderson. "After something like that, I don’t know how you can focus on your own project but somehow we managed to get through it. I had one missions today and that was to find a way to get that trophy and present it to Connie and Scott’s family. It might not mean a lot to them right now but it was the only thing that I could do. I know that whole team well and my heart aches for them. I’m sure they will go on but it will be a struggle. It was a great day for us but it really means nothing.

In the final, I think I felt like Scott Kalitta, pedaling a Funny Car. I’ve never had to experience that before. I still don’t know what went wrong but somehow I got through it. Somewhere up there, Scott is probably chuckling. All I know is that somebody guided that car down the tack and I don’t think it was me."

The low qualifier, Anderson drove his Summit Pontiac to wins against Johnny Gray, Larry Morgan, and Mike Edwards to advance to the final. Connolly, who missed the first five races of the season, is now just 73 points behind 10th place Warren Johnson.

Ellis, who reached the semifinals in four of the first five events this season, cashed in for the first time since the 2005 season when after Joliet champ Chris Rivas fouled in the final.

Ellis, who has admittedly given away his share of wins on the starting line, was the beneficiary of some good fortune when Joliet winner Rivas fouled by a hundredth of a second on his Drag Specialties/S&S Buell. Ellis, who was winless in 2007 despite a third place finish in the points, would have been a worthy opponent with a 7.040 on his Schumacher Electric Suzuki.

“I have a lot of bad memories from last year, but I’m moving forwards," said Ellis. "I should have won a race or two this year, but we’ve come up a little short but we got it done today.

To be perfectly honest with you, I know what [G-Squared crew chief] George Smith is capable of. He is a great tuner and Chris [Rivas] is doing a great job for him. Still, I believe that I’ve got the best tuner in Steve Tartaglia. He’s working with a bike that everyone says can’t be competitive but we’re right in it. If you knew how hard that man worked, you’d understand why our bike is so fast. He’s not afraid to work and I’m proud to be working with him and the Schumacher Team."

On a day when six-second runs were a rarity, Ellis set the pace with a 6.923 in his round one win over Joe DeSantis. He also posted a 6.97 in round two against Steve Johnson and beat reigning POWERade champ Matt Smith in the semifinals, 7.0 to 7.09, to reach his ninth career final.