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CHANDLER, Ariz., February 24, 2008 - Team Chevy's Larry Dixon recorded his first career NHRA Top Fuel win at Phoenix in his 1995 rookie season, and today the two-time NHRA POWERade champ returned to the winner's circle for career win No. 2 at Firebird International Raceway by winning today's 24th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals.
Dixon qualified his Chevy-sponsored U.S. Smokeless Tobacco dragster eighth for today's eliminations and then defeated Morgan Lucas in Round 1, Brandon Bernstein in Round 2, and Tony Schumacher on a holeshot in the semifinals to reach the 78th final round of his career. In the final round Dixon had an elapsed time of 4.532 seconds at 327.19 mph to defeat Dave Grubnic with a 5.002 e.t. at 259.26 mph. It was his 42nd career Top Fuel victory and he is now tied with Schumacher for second in career Top Fuel wins.
"It's awesome," Dixon said. "Every time you go into an event, obviously you want to qualify and you always try and win, but it's so hard to win one of these events. When you do, even though we've won a lot of races, I still cherish it. You never know, this one might be the last, you just never know. You just have to enjoy the moment. (Crew chiefs) Donnie Bender and Todd Smith and the whole crew, they all worked their tails off this weekend. This is also the first win for U.S. Smokeless in the dragster colors, so we're pretty jacked up about that. I'm living the dream right now.
"All you can do when you go out there is to try and win events. Like I said, they're really, really hard to win and when you do, we just appreciate it so much. We've got crew guys on our team that have never won before or won here. Donnie Bender, he's never won at this track even with as many team's as he's been with and as many championships he's won, he still hasn't, so I'm dedicating this win to him."
Dixon's first win at Phoenix helped propel him to NHRA Rookie of the Year honors and the Avon, Ind., resident went on to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship in back-to-back years in 2002-03. With a win today at Phoenix and a semifinal round appearance at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Pomona two weeks ago, Dixon is off to a fast start to the season in his quest for a third championship.
In Pro Stock, 2006 NHRA champ Jason Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac to the 29th final round of his career before losing to V. Gaines. In the final round Gaines drove his Dodge to a winning elapsed time of 6.702 seconds at 205.38 mph as Line had a mechanical failure and slowed to a 20.239 e.t. at 39.18 mph.
"We broke something in the engine," Line said. "It broke when I started it and I knew we were in trouble. I tried to do the burnout but it didn't even have enough power to get to the starting line, and it wouldn't stay idling. I had to hold my foot on the gas the whole time. It was just one of those deals. But (Gaines) drove great all day long and he deserved to win.
"Other than your teammate, he is the one I'd choose to lose to. He's a great guy, not that I didn't want to beat him because I did. It's not the way we wanted to send this GTO out, but all in all we had a pretty good day. I've certainly had worse days."
Line's KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson drove his new Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to the victory in the season-opening race at Pomona two weeks ago, so the team is two for two in final-round appearances in 2008.
"That's two final rounds for KB Racing cars, so not all bad," Line said. "It's unfortunate to break in the final round, but we can take a little bit of momentum into Gainesville anyway. I drove pretty good today and I was happy about that, so all in all, not a bad weekend."
Mike Edwards and Jeg Coughlin both drove GM-backed cars to the semifinals, Edwards losing to Line in an all-Pontiac semifinal clash, and Coughlin in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt losing to eventual event-winner Gaines in the other semifinal round.
"I tell you what, it's a blessing to come out here and (make it to the semis) this early in the season," Edwards said. "We've got a lot of new things going on and a lot of things we don't exactly know what to do with, but we just keep working on them and see if we can pick it up. We're not where we want to be by any means, but it's a good day and hopefully we can build on this and get better.
"I want to say thanks to all of my guys; they just did an awesome job today. Our whole team, I'm just really proud of them. We brought Terry (Adams) on this year and he's just really taken a load off of me. We can bounce things off of each other and he's really helped me. And my guys have been with me, I guess, it's been about six or seven years and they're just steady as clockwork. I have no doubt whatsoever with what they are doing, so I have a lot of confidence in my team."
Edwards took the ambitious step in the off-season of developing an in-house engine program and is pleased with the progress the team is making.
"Just from the first race to here, the engine program has already made a giant leap," Edwards said. "It showed with us doing better on race day. When you don't have to fight other issues, when you can just race the track and adjust your car to the track, it makes it a whole lot easier."
In the Sportsman classes there were several other Team Chevy drivers looking to join Larry Dixon in the winner's circle. In Super Stock, Jimmy DeFrank of Chatsworth, Calif., in an '08 Chevy Cobalt defeated the '69 Camaro driven by Gary McGlasson, Brad Pierce of Riverside, Calif., won the all-Corvette final in Super Gas as he drove his '58 Corvette past Tommy Turner's '63 Corvette, and in Stock Eliminator Toby Lang of Auburn, Wash., in a '69 Chevelle defeated the '69 Camaro driven by Bobby DeArmond. Lastly, even the Ryan Smith won Super Street in a '63 Falcon, he was powered to the title by a Chevy engine.
The next stop on the 24-race NHRA POWERade circuit is the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., on March 13-16, 2008.
PRO STOCK
Winner - V. Gaines (Dodge), 6.702ET/205.38MPH
Runner-up - Jason Line (Pontiac), 20.239ET/39.18MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Allen Johnson (Dodge), 6.631ET/208.01MPH
Low elapsed time - Allen Johnson (Dodge), 6.629 seconds (track record)
Top 10 - 1, Greg Anderson (Pontiac GXP), 175; 2. Jeg Coughlin (Chevy Cobalt), 171; 3. Jason Line (Pontiac), 148; 4. V. Gaines (Dodge), 144; 5. Allen Johnson (Dodge), 132; 6. Kurt Johnson (Chevy Cobalt), 131; 7. Warren Johnson (Pontiac), 111; 8. Mike Edwards (Pontiac), 104; 9. Greg Stanfield (Pontiac GXP), 86; 10. Justin Humphreys (Pontiac), 85.
FUNNY CAR
Winner - Jack Beckman (Dodge), 4.868ET/320.20MPH
Runner-up - Robert Hight (Ford), 8.030ET/105.28MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Tim Wilkerson (Chevy Impala SS), 4.775ET/327.03MPH
Top 10 - 1. Robert Hight (Ford), 189; 2. Jack Beckman (Dodge), 162; 3. Cruz Pedregon (Chevy Impala SS), 147; 4. John Force (Ford), 110; 5. Gary Scelzi (Dodge), 104; 6. Scott Kalitta (Toyota), 86; 7. Tommy Johnson (Dodge), 85; 8. (tie) Gary Densham (Chevy Impala SS), Ashley Force (Ford), 84; 10. Bob Bode (Chevrolet), 83.
TOP FUEL
Winner - Larry Dixon, 4.532ET/327.19MPH
Runner-up - Dave Grubnic, 5.002ET/259.26MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Brandon Bernstein, 4.515ET/330.31MPH
Top 10 - 1. Tony Schumacher, 191; 2. Larry Dixon, 190; 3. Dave Grubnic, 130; 4. Cory McClenathan, 125; 5. Rod Fuller, 124; 6. Antron Brown, 112; 7. Morgan Lucas, 107; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 90; 9. Hillary Will, 90; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 84.
Team Chevy's Larry Dixon Takes Top Fuel Title at Phoenix
CHANDLER, Ariz., February 24, 2008 - Team Chevy's Larry Dixon recorded his first career NHRA Top Fuel win at Phoenix in his 1995 rookie season, and today the two-time NHRA POWERade champ returned to the winner's circle for career win No. 2 at Firebird International Raceway by winning today's 24th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals.
Dixon qualified his Chevy-sponsored U.S. Smokeless Tobacco dragster eighth for today's eliminations and then defeated Morgan Lucas in Round 1, Brandon Bernstein in Round 2, and Tony Schumacher on a holeshot in the semifinals to reach the 78th final round of his career. In the final round Dixon had an elapsed time of 4.532 seconds at 327.19 mph to defeat Dave Grubnic with a 5.002 e.t. at 259.26 mph. It was his 42nd career Top Fuel victory and he is now tied with Schumacher for second in career Top Fuel wins.
"It's awesome," Dixon said. "Every time you go into an event, obviously you want to qualify and you always try and win, but it's so hard to win one of these events. When you do, even though we've won a lot of races, I still cherish it. You never know, this one might be the last, you just never know. You just have to enjoy the moment. (Crew chiefs) Donnie Bender and Todd Smith and the whole crew, they all worked their tails off this weekend. This is also the first win for U.S. Smokeless in the dragster colors, so we're pretty jacked up about that. I'm living the dream right now.
"All you can do when you go out there is to try and win events. Like I said, they're really, really hard to win and when you do, we just appreciate it so much. We've got crew guys on our team that have never won before or won here. Donnie Bender, he's never won at this track even with as many team's as he's been with and as many championships he's won, he still hasn't, so I'm dedicating this win to him."
Dixon's first win at Phoenix helped propel him to NHRA Rookie of the Year honors and the Avon, Ind., resident went on to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship in back-to-back years in 2002-03. With a win today at Phoenix and a semifinal round appearance at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Pomona two weeks ago, Dixon is off to a fast start to the season in his quest for a third championship.
In Pro Stock, 2006 NHRA champ Jason Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac to the 29th final round of his career before losing to V. Gaines. In the final round Gaines drove his Dodge to a winning elapsed time of 6.702 seconds at 205.38 mph as Line had a mechanical failure and slowed to a 20.239 e.t. at 39.18 mph.
"We broke something in the engine," Line said. "It broke when I started it and I knew we were in trouble. I tried to do the burnout but it didn't even have enough power to get to the starting line, and it wouldn't stay idling. I had to hold my foot on the gas the whole time. It was just one of those deals. But (Gaines) drove great all day long and he deserved to win.
"Other than your teammate, he is the one I'd choose to lose to. He's a great guy, not that I didn't want to beat him because I did. It's not the way we wanted to send this GTO out, but all in all we had a pretty good day. I've certainly had worse days."
Line's KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson drove his new Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to the victory in the season-opening race at Pomona two weeks ago, so the team is two for two in final-round appearances in 2008.
"That's two final rounds for KB Racing cars, so not all bad," Line said. "It's unfortunate to break in the final round, but we can take a little bit of momentum into Gainesville anyway. I drove pretty good today and I was happy about that, so all in all, not a bad weekend."
Mike Edwards and Jeg Coughlin both drove GM-backed cars to the semifinals, Edwards losing to Line in an all-Pontiac semifinal clash, and Coughlin in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt losing to eventual event-winner Gaines in the other semifinal round.
"I tell you what, it's a blessing to come out here and (make it to the semis) this early in the season," Edwards said. "We've got a lot of new things going on and a lot of things we don't exactly know what to do with, but we just keep working on them and see if we can pick it up. We're not where we want to be by any means, but it's a good day and hopefully we can build on this and get better.
"I want to say thanks to all of my guys; they just did an awesome job today. Our whole team, I'm just really proud of them. We brought Terry (Adams) on this year and he's just really taken a load off of me. We can bounce things off of each other and he's really helped me. And my guys have been with me, I guess, it's been about six or seven years and they're just steady as clockwork. I have no doubt whatsoever with what they are doing, so I have a lot of confidence in my team."
Edwards took the ambitious step in the off-season of developing an in-house engine program and is pleased with the progress the team is making.
"Just from the first race to here, the engine program has already made a giant leap," Edwards said. "It showed with us doing better on race day. When you don't have to fight other issues, when you can just race the track and adjust your car to the track, it makes it a whole lot easier."
In the Sportsman classes there were several other Team Chevy drivers looking to join Larry Dixon in the winner's circle. In Super Stock, Jimmy DeFrank of Chatsworth, Calif., in an '08 Chevy Cobalt defeated the '69 Camaro driven by Gary McGlasson, Brad Pierce of Riverside, Calif., won the all-Corvette final in Super Gas as he drove his '58 Corvette past Tommy Turner's '63 Corvette, and in Stock Eliminator Toby Lang of Auburn, Wash., in a '69 Chevelle defeated the '69 Camaro driven by Bobby DeArmond. Lastly, even the Ryan Smith won Super Street in a '63 Falcon, he was powered to the title by a Chevy engine.
The next stop on the 24-race NHRA POWERade circuit is the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., on March 13-16, 2008.
PRO STOCK
Winner - V. Gaines (Dodge), 6.702ET/205.38MPH
Runner-up - Jason Line (Pontiac), 20.239ET/39.18MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Allen Johnson (Dodge), 6.631ET/208.01MPH
Low elapsed time - Allen Johnson (Dodge), 6.629 seconds (track record)
Top 10 - 1, Greg Anderson (Pontiac GXP), 175; 2. Jeg Coughlin (Chevy Cobalt), 171; 3. Jason Line (Pontiac), 148; 4. V. Gaines (Dodge), 144; 5. Allen Johnson (Dodge), 132; 6. Kurt Johnson (Chevy Cobalt), 131; 7. Warren Johnson (Pontiac), 111; 8. Mike Edwards (Pontiac), 104; 9. Greg Stanfield (Pontiac GXP), 86; 10. Justin Humphreys (Pontiac), 85.
FUNNY CAR
Winner - Jack Beckman (Dodge), 4.868ET/320.20MPH
Runner-up - Robert Hight (Ford), 8.030ET/105.28MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Tim Wilkerson (Chevy Impala SS), 4.775ET/327.03MPH
Top 10 - 1. Robert Hight (Ford), 189; 2. Jack Beckman (Dodge), 162; 3. Cruz Pedregon (Chevy Impala SS), 147; 4. John Force (Ford), 110; 5. Gary Scelzi (Dodge), 104; 6. Scott Kalitta (Toyota), 86; 7. Tommy Johnson (Dodge), 85; 8. (tie) Gary Densham (Chevy Impala SS), Ashley Force (Ford), 84; 10. Bob Bode (Chevrolet), 83.
TOP FUEL
Winner - Larry Dixon, 4.532ET/327.19MPH
Runner-up - Dave Grubnic, 5.002ET/259.26MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Brandon Bernstein, 4.515ET/330.31MPH
Top 10 - 1. Tony Schumacher, 191; 2. Larry Dixon, 190; 3. Dave Grubnic, 130; 4. Cory McClenathan, 125; 5. Rod Fuller, 124; 6. Antron Brown, 112; 7. Morgan Lucas, 107; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 90; 9. Hillary Will, 90; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 84.
