When Bob Tasca III has been good this season, he has been great.

That was definitely the case for the veteran driver/team owner at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor in Topeka, Kan., Sunday.

Tasca capped a long day full of rain delays to take the win at the final NHRA national event at Heartland Motorsports Park, which is closing at season’s end.

Tasca clocked a stout 3.885-second lap at 332.26 mph to defeat Matt Hagan’s 3.965-second effort at 329.18 mph in the final round.

“Hey, listen, so many great memories here. Chris Payne, his family, his wife, Todd Crossley, my partner, and Gary Crossley Ford in Kansas City,” Tasca said. “They saved this race a few years back, and it was just something special, and then a lot of great memories here, winning last year. And then to hear that this, potentially .. is the last race that we ever run here, it's bittersweet. You want to win it and be the defending champion in perpetuity.

“But at the same time, we want to come back next year. So, it was a hard-fought day, I tell you. I give all the credit to the guys, I tell you. I don't know. Every time we warmed up the car, there was something wrong, like from a fuel leak to couldn't get the diaper on one run. It's like, ‘Oh my God, we're going to miss the race because we can't get the diaper on.’ And they just fought through it.”

This was Tasca’s second win of the season to go along with the New England Nationals, and the 14th of his nitro Funny Car career.

On Sunday, Tasca ousted Blake Alexander, Alexis DeJoria, Robert Hight and then Hagan.

“The car shut off in the first round, car shut off in the second round, car shut off in the third round,” Tasca said. “We were struggling with putting cylinders out and having the safety box shut the car off. I just said to these guys, ‘I mean, look at the incrementals.’ You could see the car was trying to run ridiculous ETs. And I said, ‘We need all eight (cylinders) this run to beat Hagan,’ and we had all eight. That run was a monster run.”

Tasca was quick to credit his team for his success.

“I think that's what is different about this team from any team I've been on. I've never been able to do that. I've never had the car that could just step up and say, ‘Sorry. See you next race,’ when the conditions are like what we saw,” Tasca said. “This team, led by Aaron Brooks and Todd Okuhara, there's a different attitude from anything I've been around, and you've seen it all year long. We're one of the quickest-qualifying cars year to date. I think Robert (Hight) and I are tied. Hot tracks, cold tracks, anything in between, we can go out and run low ET.

“When you see what the car ran, it probably ran 86. I was in a little. Hagan was in more than me, Matt, and I noticed that because you put the top bulb out, but that's okay, Matt. It was a big-time run, and I think it's a statement run for this team. We're going into Brainerd (next weekend) and going into Indy my goal was to be in the top five. I think everyone wants to be No. 1 leaving Indy. But the truth be told, if you're in the top five leaving Indy, you got a really good chance to win the championship. I think we're fourth or fifth leaving here. We get two big races to go before the point reset, and this car can go in any race and win, and I don't know if I've ever been able to say that before.”

Tasca was fifth in the unofficial points standings after Topeka.

“Last year, we had a great car when it was hot out,” Tasca said. “As soon as the conditions got good, we weren't even in the conversation, quite frankly. These guys came in (Brooks and Okuhara) and, maybe even against my initial wishes, they changed everything. They just didn't like my car. And you got to let your crew chiefs be the crew chiefs, right? That's what you're paying for. I'm just so proud of the effort that they have put in. It's an incredible amount of effort that goes in to win one of these races. And Todd and Aaron are tremendous leaders. They are on the car, assembling it in between rounds, and they're just leading by example, and you're seeing how this car runs, right? It goes up and down the racetrack — hot track, cold track — and I just can't wait to see what we can do. I truly believe the best is yet to come for this team.”

Tasca – the driver and owner – realizes crew chiefs are a vital part of his team’s success.

“I can tell you this. You need a crew chief when it's hot and cold and what people don't realize is the difference between running a 3.92 and a 3.84, that is monumentally different,” Tasca said. “We're chasing thousands of a second. When you can pick up four or five hundredths and the horsepower that you need to make, when it's real hot out, you don't need a lot of horsepower. You need less horsepower, really. When it gets good, 332 mph in air that you can feel the moisture in the air, that's horsepower right there; like, serious horsepower. And that's what you need on the cold track.

“I'm excited. I told Todd I haven't ever had this much fun. I think I've been around a lot of crew chiefs and co-crew chiefs. The chemistry isn't always right, and you can get really smart people together and not have a great result. The chemistry that I have with Todd and Aaron and the guys is really special and the race car is showing it. So, when is Brainerd? When do we get to Brainerd? Is it Friday? I can't get there fast enough. You get a car like this you just want to get in there right now and race it again.”

The victory celebration was even more meaningful since he was able to spend it with his family.

“I love having my family here. My wife was here this weekend, and they were actually booking tickets to fly home this morning, and then the sun came out and they're like, ‘We're not leaving. We're staying.’ I'm glad they did.”