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VISTA, Calif. --
"To do this for as long as I have, you have to be addicted to this sport," LaHaie said. "I have no other explanation. It's in your blood. It's like the worst of drugs, but I've finally kicked the habit. Everything revolves around time. Whether it's getting the car down the race track or when you have to leave for the airport, it's all about time, and the time has come for me to do something else."
"I will absolutely miss it," LaHaie said. "Will I go through withdrawal? There's no doubt in my mind. This is like your extended family. I'll miss the closeness with the crew; it's going to be hard. The amount of people that have told me that they wished I wouldn't retire is overwhelming. "I'm ok with my career. From winning at Englishtown in 1980 to ending my career by winning the U.S. Nationals, it's been pretty filling. I haven't won as much as some, but I've had a good life."
"I'm disappointed he's retiring, but for selfish reasons," Dixon said. "We've done a lot together. He's spent his entire life in this sport. I love and care about Dick (LaHaie) and he deserves to enjoy the things in life away from the race track. I'm thrilled that he gets to do it on his terms. He's given so much to the sport and the Top Fuel class. I feel honored to have been able to race with him. "He's brought up some very capable people in this sport, his daughter, Kim, the Oberhofer brothers (Jim and Jon) and Jimmy Prock," Dixon said. "I think Dick is very excited to see Donnie (Bender) get his shot. If he's half as good as Dicko, then we might just surprise a few people next year."
"Dick (LaHaie) has contributed a ton to our race team and the sport of drag racing," Prudhomme said. "He's one of the best ever and it's very well deserved. It didn't come as a complete shock to me because I work closely with him and I see what he goes through. It's a grueling pace to run at this level, so I wasn't that surprised. "Dick LaHaie is a class act. He's made sure that we're in good hands once he leaves with Donnie Bender taking over and John Collins working as his assistant. I'm sure he'll be there for those late night phone calls if we need to talk to him about the race car, and I'm sure he'll be calling us. He's got nitro in his veins. He'll miss it as much as we'll miss him." Bender, 45, joined Don Prudhomme Racing in December 1999 and has served as LaHaie's assistant crew chief since the 2000 NHRA season. Prior to joining the Snake Racing stable, Bender, an Ohio native, spent 10 years at Kalitta Motorsports working with drivers Scott and Doug Kalitta. Bender got his start in the sport working on Jim Head's race team in the mid-1980s. "When you get into the business, you work to get this opportunity," Bender said. "Needless to say, I'm very excited to have the chance to work with Larry (Dixon) and the team next year. I'm well aware that it's a performance-related job and I know that we have to produce positive results. I've learned a lot working with Dick (LaHaie) over the years, so hopefully I can use what I learned from him to help benefit our team."
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