Coming into the weekend everyone knew that the Pro Modified final at the Rocky Mountain Nationals would probably consist of Ed Hoover and Kenny Lang.

What they didn’t know was who was going to come out on top this time.

Hoover (Gilbert, S.C.) and Lang (Grande Pointe, Manitoba), meeting for the fourth time in five races this season, continued their grudge match in the battle of the United States versus Canada as this time Hoover got the best of Lang, breaking up a string of three-straight elimination losses to the Canadian to take home his first win of the year.

"It has been a tough road. We have been to five races and have made just one final. It was our turn to win," Hoover said. "Kenny Lang beat us and shut us down three times this year and it was nice to get one back. It is just satisfying to win one for Paul Trussell. He has been behind me 13 years now and we needed to get one. The car was just phenomenal this weekend."

Hoover ran a 6.127 elapsed time at 235.23 miles per hour to get around Lang (Grande Pointe, Manitoba) who smoked the tires on his way to a disappointing 13.265 second lap in the finals.

"It is a tribute to my team, my crew and to our new deal – Gilbert Powerhouse. That is the name of my new engine company," Hoover said. "I took over tuning this car this year and we like to tune it aggressive. This is Ed Hoover power, not Al Billes power. I wanted to do something different and that is what I did. We qualified No. 1, set both ends of the track record and got the win.

"That is a good day for Ed Hoover Powerhouse."

Hoover picked up his 14th career victory.

Hoover, traveling nearly 3,000 miles to be at Castrol Raceway for this weekend’s event, set up his dominance early by claiming the Last Man Standing award on Friday on his way to taking the No. 1 qualifying position, a number that would hold as the weekend advanced.

"I have to keep talking about the Canadian fans. Last night we had a tent full drinking beer and having a great time. They are great people," Hoover said. "It may be a long haul, but these fans make it worth the trip."

Lang got a bit of revenge on Saturday, stealing the five points back, but Hoover was able to get it done when it mattered most. Hoover claimed wins over Wade Sjostrom, Wayne Hofer and Lang to take the victory.

With the win Hoover closed the gap to just eight points in the Pro Mod points chase.

Hoover and Lang set up their epic second straight final with a few interesting afternoon runs.

Hoover, who was almost eliminated in the first round, rebounded nicely with a big win in the quarterfinals to receive a bye in the semis via his No. 1 qualifying position. It was in that bye run that Hoover claimed lane choice, running a solid 6.10 elapsed time at 236.17 miles per hour.

Lang’s journey went a little smoother in the early morning, but really picked up in the afternoon session when Lang went head to head with Rick Distefano in the semis in a battle of the ’53 Corvettes.

Despite the super semifinal matchup, Distefano took all the guess work out of the win when he went red, giving the free pass to Lang who ran a 6.706 E.T. at 227.46 miles per hour, setting up the battle of the best in IHRA Pro Modified competition.

Hoover survived a scary first round, stumbling twice before powering his way to a win. He didn’t have nearly as much of a challenge in the quarters with an easy win over Wayne Hofer. In the other quarterfinal matchups Distefano got a free pass when Joe Delehay failed to show and Lang smoked Ross Hogenson.