Larry Dixon drives in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series behind the wheel of a Top Fuel Dragster. (The Spokesman-Review)
Larry Dixon is second in the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel points standings; he is 53 points out of first place. Dixon has advanced to at least the semifinals in seven of the 12 races this season, including the last four.
Courtesy: NHRA Media Relations
Denver, Colo.-Larry Dixon won the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk on June 28. It was his third win the last four races and his fourth of the season. He was the No. 1 qualifier and defeated Steve Chrisman, Clay McMillan, Antron Brown, and Brandon Bernstein on his way to victory circle. Dixon also won in Gainesville, Topeka, and Englishtown earlier this season.
“It was really nice to win at Norwalk,” said Dixon. “I know it’s only been on the tour for a few years, but before my career ends, it would be really nice to win at all of the tracks. There’s only a few left where I haven’t won. There’s some great history at Norwalk, and I’m very happy to have won there.”
Dixon is second in the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel points standings; he is 53 points out of first place. Dixon has advanced to at least the semifinals in seven of the 12 races this season, including the last four.
One year ago in Denver, Dixon was the No. 3 qualifier. He defeated Steve Torrence and Morgan Lucas before losing to Tony Schumacher in the semifinals. Dixon won the 2001 and ’03 races at Bandimere Speedway.
“With the elevation at Denver, it’s hard to make good power and have good downforce because the air is so thin,” said Dixon. “We’ve raced there before when the air is corrected to what you’d find at 10,000 feet, so that makes it tough to make power and build downforce. It’s challenging to win in Denver, but that’s what makes it cool to win there.
“From where we were when we left Bristol in May, these last four events have been really nice; a very stark contrast. I am not too caught up on streaks or anything like that; I’m just enjoying the moment. What we’re doing right now is what exactly what Jason [McCulloch, crew chief] talked about after we left Bristol to go to Atlanta and test for two days. He said we would make a bunch of runs and we’d ‘get our groove on. You’re gonna start driving the car well, and we’re gonna start making the right calls. We’re gonna make a bunch of runs and go from there.’ The more information they get, the more chances they have to make better calls and be better. Collectively, that’s exactly what has happened, and Jason made the call back in May.”
Motorsports correspondent Doug Pace keeps up with motorsports news and notes from around the region.
