For the second consecutive year, Tyler Hilton reigned supreme in Top Fuel in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series as he held off Jim Murphy on the final day of the season to capture his second Top Fuel crown. 

"It feels real good," Hilton admitted. "Just to be able to do so well this year. We won three races in a row. We were on a pretty good streak right there. So, to be able to finish it off with that championship really made it worth it.

"We work so hard. All those wins. It's just so much work on these nitro cars, and it's nice to have it pay off for you in the end." 

Last year at the then-called California Hot Rod Reunion, now Wally Parks NHRA Nostalgia Nationals, Hilton pulled off an incredible come-from-behind win on the season's final day to capture his first series crown. 
However, this year, Hilton wasn't the one doing the chasing but rather the one being chased, as he entered Bakersfield this time in the points lead, 82 markers ahead of the legend Jim Murphy, who was breathing down his neck. 

While Hilton was the favorite coming in, his Great Expectations team did not put together the dominant type of performance it has shown in the past in qualifying. Hilton struggled, only getting down the track cleanly under power once out of three runs. 

Murphy, who announced his retirement at the conclusion of the season, took advantage and helped out his chances immensely when he defeated Hilton in the opening round of the rain-delayed March Meet on Friday afternoon. He closed the gap even more when he went on to win the continuation of the March Meet race on Saturday, cutting Hilton's lead down to just 31 points going into championship Sunday. 

Hilton still controlled his own destiny. With Murphy needing to go two rounds further than Hilton in eliminations if the reigning champ made it to the final round, then he automatically clinched his second title no matter what Murphy did. 

However, in the first round on Sunday morning, Hilton's championship mettle was certainly tested, as his opponent Adam Sorokin, known for his amazing starting line prowess stayed true to his name, and cut a lightning-quick (.012) reaction time against Hilton and lead most of the way down the track. However, Hilton used a huge top-end charge to drive around Sorokin just before the finish line and score the round win, running a strong 5.696 at 262.85 to Sorokin's 5.766 at 244.78 and keeping the pressure on Jim Murphy. 

All eyes were now on Murphy to see if the retiring driver could put the pressure back on Hilton going into the semi-finals. Unfortunately for the WW2 driver, the battle for the championship ended after just one round as Murphy had a good starting line advantage over Frank McBee but couldn't sustain it as Murphy's car started to eat itself up at the top end and it allowed McBee to drive around for the win, handing the championship to Hilton for the second year in a row. 

Although it wasn't that long ago, Hilton became the first driver to win back-to-back titles in Top Fuel since Mendy Fry did it in 2018 and 2019. However, the young Hilton is not satisfied with just two and has his eyes set on a three-peat in 2024. 

"I'd love to get three in a row," Hilton admitted. "I think (Tony) Bartone is the only one that done it. I was actually talking with Tom Shelor's brother, Rick, today. We were talking about that after we got done today, so yeah, three in a row would be pretty cool, so that's what we're going to shoot for."