Top Fuel sophomore J.R. Todd and veteran Funny Car racer Ron Capps dedicated their victories at the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil to close friend Eric Medlen, who lost his life March 23 after a testing accident.

The duo joined Pro Stock victor Jason Line and Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Angelle Sampey in an emotional winner's circle Sunday evening at Houston Raceway Park.

Todd's second Top Fuel win of the year and fifth of his 23 NHRA races lifted him to within 16 points of the POWERade lead, still held by "Hot Rod" Fuller, who lost in Round 1. This was his first win with new crew chief Johnny West, who joined the Skull Shine team two races ago.

Racing against an opponent who had never won more than a single round in a day, Todd stayed focused on his goal and got the win with a 4.603 at 313.80 mph over Hartley's 4.645 at 307.79 mph. Hartley's unsponsored car is now 10th in the championship rankings.

"I'm so glad March is over because it was the worst month of my life," Todd said. "I lost my crew chief (Jimmy Walsh) and I lost one of my best friends but at least I have this trophy to give to his family. I want to win every race I'm in but this one more than ever. I was wondering how long it would take me to win a trophy and give it to his family. I guess Eric was watching over me today."

Winning his second straight race, Capps powered into the points lead with tears in his eyes as his Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T carried him to his 24th career victory, this one over Cruz Pedregon, who had engine trouble during his pass. Capps might have been tough to beat anyway as he posted his third 4.86 of the day (he also had a 4.87), winning with a 4.868 at 307.93 mph to Pedregon's 5.025 at 270.97 mph in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

"We're not mourning Eric's loss, we're celebrating his life today," Capps said as he choked back tears. "I miss him so badly. I didn't even want to race this weekend but Eric wouldn't have wanted it any other way. This trophy is going straight to John Medlen and I'm gonna have another one made for his mom."

Line's win gave KB Racing three victories in the first four events, stamping their dominance on the Pro Stock class once again at this early juncture of the season. Line is now second to his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO teammate Greg Anderson -- who won in Pomona and at Gainesville -- by 45 points.

This one was a nail-biter as Line gave up a huge .010 to .055 to Johnson's Mopar Dodge Stratus and chased him all the way down the track, passing him after the last timing cone to take the win by just 23 inches, or .0063 seconds, winning with a 6.661 at 207.75 mph to Johnson's 6.712 at 206.26 mph.

"That was close," Line said. "I saw him ahead of me at half-track and I thought we might be able to catch him because our cars make good speed, but it was so close at the finish line I didn't know if I had run out of track or not. I admit that I was concerned because I knew he treed me."

Overcoming a regrettable holeshot loss after qualifying No. 1 at the season opener in Gainesville, U.S. Army rider Sampey looked like her three-time champion self Sunday, racing past Shawn Gann, Peggy Llewellyn, Tom Bradford, and Treble to win for the 41st time.

Treble gave her a scare, leaving with a .015-second reaction time to Sampey's dead-late .084, but he soon encountered some sort of engine trouble, which allowed her to zoom by for the 7.046 at 188.91 mph victory.

"I knew my light was bad," Sampey said, "I just wanted to make sure it was green. There were what, nine red lights today, and I sure didn't want to give it up like that. I wore green underwear today and now I guess I better wear them every race because it looks like they worked."

After aborting his first run, Bazemore ran first in the evening session and quickly moved to the top slot with his 4.514 at 326.87 mph in the Matco Tools rail. Interestingly, no one else in the field managed to go any quicker, leaving him on top for the first time in his brief Top Fuel career.

"I'm surprised to be No. 1 to be honest," Bazemore said, "especially after struggling in Round 1 and being the first pair out. After we put that up there I was sure someone would step it up, especially my teammate Rod Fuller since they knew our tune-up, but it didn't happen."

Melanie Troxel placed her Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA dragster in between Bazemore and his David Powers Motorsports teammate Rod Fuller with a second-best 4.530 at 323.89 mph. Fuller's Caterpillar rail dropped to third on the grid with a best of 4.533.

Pedregon lived out the zero-to-hero drag racing axiom in one day, going from out of the field to the No. 1 spot with a 4.796 at 300.20 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Round 2 after failing to get down the track under power in the opening session.

"Being No. 1 is great and it would be good to keep it through tomorrow but I'd trade it right now for some consistency," Pedregon said. "If we can run another 4.79 in the morning and then step it up and go a little quicker after that I'd be happy, no matter where we end up on the ladder. I just want to get down the track and pull the 'chutes a few times."

Pedregon's brother Tony Pedregon was just a few ticks back with a 4.798 at 291.26 mph in his identical Chevrolet, despite losing his blower belt at 1,100 feet.

For the second race in a row, Coughlin is the provisional qualifying leader in Pro Stock. This time he used an opening-round pass of 6.649 at 208.17 mph to put his Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt on the Day 1 pole. The elapsed time set an HRP track mark.

"To have the quickest car of both sessions is pretty darn impressive," Coughlin said. "As a driver, it gives you a lot of confidence knowing that your crew has such a great handle on the car and the track that you can be quick no matter what lane you're in. That's pretty powerful knowledge to have heading into race day. It gives you confidence."

Points leader Greg Anderson was next in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, running a 6.665 at 208.36 mph, a track record speed. Allen Johnson had the quickest with a third-best 6.675 at 206.89 mph.

Smith was the only frontrunner to make a big move in the second Pro Stock Motorcycle session, jumping from third to first with a track-record 6.968 at 191.76 mph on his Buell V-Twin. Earlier in the day, Angelle Sampey and Andrew Hines each ran six-second passes of their own, a 6.973 and a 6.995, that left them in second and third, respectively.

"We hurt one of our motors so we're down to just one," said Smith, who recorded a runner-up finish in Gainesville, Fla. "It would be alright with me if it just rained all day long tomorrow and they set the field. If not, we'll just fine-tune off that run and just be careful with this motor. We want to make sure we're ready for Sunday. I'd be great to get back to the finals and win it this time."

Points leader Karen Stoffer is fourth after a 7.025 at 191.02 mph on her Geico Suzuki.