TOP FUEL
* Larry Dixon, from Indianapolis, won his seventh event of the 2003 season by defeating
points-rival Doug Kalitta in the final round. It was the second consecutive week these
rivals have met in the final round (Denver). Dixon, who lost lane choice in the
semifinals, blasted the Miller Lite dragster down the quarter-mile track in 4.672 seconds
at 316.82 mph to outrun Kalitta's Mac Tools dragster, which shut the clocks off at 4.739
at 306.95. It was the 32nd career win for Dixon, and the first of his career at Pacific
Raceways. There are three facilities where Dixon has yet to win at during his nine-year
career (St. Louis, Sonoma, Calif., and Reading, Pa.). It was the fifth time this season
that Dixon and Kalitta have met in the final round, with Dixon winning four times.
* It was Dixon's 10th final round appearance of the season. Dating back to the
season-opener of the 2002 season, Dixon has appeared in the final round at 24 of the last
37 races, and has accumulated a 99-20 won-loss record in eliminations during that span for
a winning percentage of .832.
* With the victory, Dixon extended his lead in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel standings to 251
points over Kalitta with nine events remaining in the 2003 season.
* Dixon's 32 career victories places him fourth on the all-time win list, three wins shy
of tying 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits and Kenny Bernstein for second place. Joe Amato holds the
Top Fuel record with 52 victories.
* En route to the win, Dixon completed the 'sweep' at Pacific Raceways. He was the No. 1
qualifier at the event, driving to the top spot with a time of 4.676 at 317.27 to pace the
16-car field in qualifying. During eliminations he established low E.T. (4.662) and top
speed (318.39) of the event.
FUNNY CAR
* John Force, from Yorba Linda, Calif., earned his second victory of the year and the
108th of his career. Force drove his familiar green-and-white Castrol GTX High Mileage
Ford Mustang to the finish line in 5.036 seconds at 300.80 mph, beating rival Whit
Bazemore and the Matco Tools Dodge, which recorded a slower run of 5.215 at 272.28. It was
Force's fourth consecutive final round appearance of the season and the 167th of his
career.
* With the victory, Force moved up to the No. 3 spot in the NHRA POWERade Funny Car
standings. In addition to the No. 3 position, Force Racing also occupies the No. 1 (Tony
Pedregon) and No. 5 (Gary Densham) spots in the POWERade top 10.
* Gary Scelzi, from Fresno, Calif., earned his first career No. 1 qualifying position in
the Funny Car category. The three-time Top Fuel champion earned the top spot when his
Oakley Dodge Stratus covered the distance in 4.964 at 299.33 to lead the field.
* For the second consecutive event, NHRA POWERade Funny Car points leader Tony Pedregon
was eliminated in the first round of competition. Pedregon remained the leader in the
standings despite the loss. However, after having a 143-pouint lead following St. Louis,
Pedregon now leads Bazemore in the standings by 63 points.
PRO STOCK
* Greg Anderson continued to improve on his career-best season, winning for the sixth time
in 2003. Anderson steered his Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am down the track
in 6.l858 seconds at 202.09 mph, just beating surprise finalist Larry Morgan to the finish
line. Morgan jumped out ahead with an advantage at the starting line in his Team Mopar
Dodge Stratus R/T, but his numbers of 6.910 at 200.14 fell just short of Anderson's
performance.
* Anderson earned the No. 1 qualifying position for the eighth time this season. He
established the track record for time and speed when his Vegas General Construction
Pontiac Grand Am he was driving shut the clocks off in 6.754 at 205.19 to pace the 16-car
field. Like Larry Dixon in Top Fuel, Anderson earned the event 'sweep' which is earning
the event victory, being the No. 1 qualifier, and setting low E.T. and top speed of the
event.
* Morgan earned a $1,000 bonus from the Motel 6 'Who Got the Light' award when he defeated
Kurt Johnson by 0.0075 of-a-second margin of victory in the semifinals of Pro Stock
eliminations.
* Anderson's victory increased his lead in the NHRA POWERade standing to 112 points over
Kurt Johnson.
* Notable DNQ's: Jim Yates, Mark Whisnant, Ron Krisher, Troy Coughlin, Darrell Alderman
and Bruce Allen.
