Championship Drag Racing

O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals
Topeka, Kan.
(May 27-30)

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Larry Dixon Miller Lite Top Fueler

Reports: Sunday Saturday Friday Pre-race

Topeka, Sunday: Two-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon did not make it back to the winner's circle at Heartland Park Topeka for the second consecutive season Sunday as he was defeated in round two of Top Fuel eliminations at the Kansas facility.

Dixon powered his Dick LaHaie-tuned Miller Lite rail to its quickest run of the weekend, recording a run of 4.582 seconds at 326.00 mph in a first round victory over David Grubnic, whose dragster lost traction and slowed to a run of 5.311 at 209.62.

In round two, Dixon's Miller-backed rail lost traction near half track and the 33-time NHRA winner slowed to a run of 7.628 at 99.25, allowing rival Brandon Bernstein to score the victory after recording a pass of 4.493 at 328.14.

"I think the more opportunities we have to run the car, the better we'll get," Dixon said. "It's kind of trial and error. Some things we learn are beneficial and other things aren't and you can pretty much scratch them off the to-do list.

"We went down the track in the first round and it was good, and then the crew made an adjustment to pick up the performance of the car and the car didn't like it and it spun the tires. That'll be something that we won't try again."

Topeka, Saturday: Two-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon drove his 'Vote Miller for President of Beers' dragster to the No. 7 qualifying position Saturday after racing to a run of 4.615 seconds at 320.51 mph.

The defending event champion clocked the 4.615, 320.51 effort on Saturday's first qualifying attempt. On his fourth and final run of the weekend, Dixon's Dick LaHaie-tuned rail spun the tires near half track and Dixon coasted to a run of 6.510 at 126.62. This was Dixon's best qualifying outing since mid-April.

"After the mechanical troubles we had Friday, we came out and made a clean run in the first session on Saturday," Dixon said. "On the second run, we tried to pick it up and the car spun the tires. So, now we know what not to do on race day."

Dixon aims to return to the money round at Heartland Park for the fourth consecutive season when he battles No. 10 qualifier David Grubnic in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday. Dixon has recorded a 10-2 career record against Grubnic.

Topeka, Friday: Two-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon qualified his 'Vote Miller for President of Beers' dragster in the No. 14 position Friday at Heartland Park Topeka.

On his opening qualifying attempt of the weekend, Dixon clocked a performance of 4.882 seconds at 268.06 mph despite dropping a cylinder early in the run. Dixon's Miller-backed dragster lost a crankshaft bolt on its second pass and slowed to a run of 5.603 at 162.12.

"The more runs we make with the car, the better we'll get," Dixon said. "Whether they're good or bad, they're all informational runs and we'll get better."

Dixon, who won the O'Reilly Summer Nationals last Memorial Day Weekend, looks to move into the top half of the Top Fuel order on Saturday when nitro qualifying continues at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. (CT).

Topeka, pre-race: You never forget your first, and Larry Dixon has had many firsts in his nine plus seasons of driving for Don Prudhomme Racing. From his first career NHRA victory at Phoenix in 1995 to his first NHRA Top Fuel championship in 2002, the 33-time NHRA winner has driven his Miller-backed dragster to wins at 18 of 20 active NHRA tracks, and later this year has a chance to become just the second NHRA driver to have earned a "Wally" trophy from each track.

Last Memorial Day weekend, Dixon accomplished another first after defeating rival Doug Kalitta in the final round at Heartland Park Topeka. After posting runner-up finishes at the Kansas facility the two previous seasons, the third time in the money round was the charm for the Miller Lite driver as he claimed his 29th career Top Fuel victory.

"Seeing the win light in the final round was great last year," Dixon said. "We had gone to the final round at Heartland Park a few times before so it was great to finally get the win there."

Dixon has raced to victories in consecutive seasons at seven events and will look to up that mark to eight when the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series makes its annual stop in the Sunflower State for the 16th annual O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

"I've been going to Topeka since the first race was held back in 1989 when I was still working on Snake's (Don Prudhomme) Funny Car," Dixon said. "My crew chief Dick LaHaie has been to the winner's circle a bunch of times at Topeka. He's always been really strong there. It was nice to see some of that success carry over to our team after he came aboard late in 1999 because I hadn't been to the final round there before he joined our team and since LaHaie's been aboard, we've gone to the final round three straight years at Topeka."

The Topeka track has long been known as one of the quickest and fastest drag strips on the NHRA circuit, and this Memorial Day weekend's masses of drag racing fans will have the chance to see track records fall under the warm Midwestern sun at Heartland Park Topeka.

"It's a good facility to race at," Dixon said. "There's always a chance to see records broken at Heartland Park, so the fans should be ready to watch some fast cars this weekend."