Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing Topeka Larry Dixon Preview
| Larry Dixon is sixth in the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel point standings; he is 32 points
behind fifth place. Dixon won the AC Delco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. earlier this
season. He was the No. 4 qualifier at Bristol, and defeated Pat Dakin before losing to Shawn
Langdon in the second round of eliminations.
| When Dixon defeated Pat Dakin in the first round of eliminations at Bristol, he became
just the seventh driver in NHRA history to reach the 500-round-win plateau. The other six are: John
Force, 1,021; Warren Johnson, 854; Kenny Bernstein, 681; Bob Glidden, 597; Joe Amato, 527; and Kurt
Johnson, 509.
| One year ago at Topeka, Dixon was the No. 1 qualifier; after a first-round bye, he
defeated Brandon Bernstein and Antron Brown before losing to Hillary Will in the final round of
eliminations. He won at Topeka in 2003; team owner Alan Johnson has one win at Topeka as a crew
chief.
| Dixon won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 2002 and '03. He is currently third on the
NHRA's all-time Top Fuel winner's list with 44 victories. Joe Amato is in second place with 52
wins; Tony Schumacher tops the list with 59 wins. Dixon is tied with Jeg Coughlin for 10th on the
NHRA's all-time professional victories list. He trails ninth-place Dave Schultz by two wins.
Dixon was the 1995 NHRA Rookie of the Year.
Dixon prior to Topeka:
"We spent two days testing in Atlanta right after Bristol, and the test went really well. We have
a great race car, and I can't wait to get to Topeka to drive it again. The car is making great
runs, but it can make better runs and be more consistent. Everyone wants the car to go down the
track every single time it goes up to the starting line. Testing allowed us to try some new
things; some worked, some didn't, but the test allowed us to identify the things that will allow
the car to go quicker and faster on a more regular basis.
"We are already a third of the way through the season, and when we leave Topeka, we'll be halfway
through our regular season. The key to the season is being in the top 10 in points after
Indianapolis; where we're seeded leaving Indy is very important. The top-10 teams make the
countdown, but we want to be in the top three by then so that they reset the points, we'll be in
position to make a strong run at the Full Throttle championship."
For additional information on Larry Dixon, please visit http://www.alanjohnsonracing.comto
view his full bio.
