TOP FUEL
* Larry Dixon, from Indianapolis, won his sixth event of the 2003 season by
defeating Doug Kalitta in the final round. Dixon powered his Miller Lite
dragster to the finish line in 4.737-seconds at 313.15 mph to beat Kalitta's Mac
Tools dragster, which smoked the tires early and slowed to 5.135 at 228.69. It
was the 31st career win for Dixon, moving him four wins shy of joining Don
Garlits and Kenny Bernstein for No. 2 on the all-time Top Fuel win list.
* With the victory, Dixon remained No. 1 in the POWERade Top Fuel point
standings, extending his lead over Kalitta to 229 points.
* Dixon was also the No. 1 qualifier at Bandimere Speedway driving to a time of
4.790 at 308.64 to pace the 16-car field in qualifying.
* Hometown favorite Melanie Troxel, formerly from Littleton, Colo., advanced to
the semifinals before falling to Kalitta. Troxel beat Mike Strasburg and Cory
McClenathan in the Western Rock dragster en route to her best finish in 2003.
* Over the last two seasons, Dixon has owned the Top Fuel points lead following
35 of 36 races.
FUNNY CAR
* John Force, from Yorba Linda, Calif., earned his first win of the year in his
Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang. Force's 107th career victory came with a
5.044 pass at 289.45, beating Cruz Pedregon's 5.060 at 302.55 in his Advance
Auto Parts Pontiac Firebird. The win breaks the longest losing streak for Force
since 1989 when he started the season winless for 14 races.
* With the victory, Force moved up two spots to the No. 4 position in the Funny
Car standings, behind leader and teammate Tony Pedregon, second place Whit
Bazemore and third place Del Worsham.
* Force advanced to his third consecutive final round before winning at the 13th
race of the season. Force was the runner-up in Columbus, Ohio and St. Louis in
the two previous events before posting the victory at Bandimere Speedway.
* Tim Wilkerson earned the No. 1 qualifying position for the second time this
season and sixth time of his career. He drove his Levi, Ray & Shoup Pontiac
Firebird to a run of 5.007 at 297.16 to take the top spot. It is the second time
Wilkerson has qualified No. 1 at Bandimere Speedway, the last time coming in
1999.
* For the first time in a calendar year, Tony Pedregon was defeated in the first
round. Scotty Cannon pulled off the upset from the 15th qualifying position for
his third round win of the season. Pedregon lost traction early and could not
catch Cannon's run of 5.207 at 291.32. Pedregon's previous first round loss came
at the 2002 Sears Craftsman Nationals in St. Louis.
* Tony Pedregon still holds the top spot in the Funny Car standings. Pedregon
has been No. 1 following 11 of the 13 NHRA events this season. Bazemore occupies
the No. 2 spot, 124 points out of first. Worsham is third, 311 points from
Pedregon.
PRO STOCK
* Warren Johnson, from Buford, Ga., scored his third victory of the season and
91st of his career by beating Jeg Coughlin in the final round. Johnson drove his
GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand Am to a run of 7.225 at 191.05 to beat
Coughlin's 7.250 at 190.75 in his Jeg's Mail Order Chevy Cavalier.
* Greg Anderson earned the No. 1 qualifying position for the seventh time this
season. He drove his Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am to pace the
field at 7.205 at 191.38 for the No. 1 spot setting the track record for elapsed
time.
* Mike Edwards earned a $1,000 bonus by earning the Motel 6 'Who Got the Light'
award when he defeated V. Gaines by 0.0026 of-a-second margin of victory in the
first round of Pro Stock eliminations.
* With the win, Johnson remained in the No. 3 spot in the POWERade Pro Stock
standings.
* Anderson has the lead in the POWERade standings. He leads Kurt Johnson by 71
points, and he has a 250-point lead over Warren Johnson.
* Notable DNQ's: Scott Geoffrion, Barry Grant, Mark Whisnant, Gene Wilson, and
Mark Pawuk.
PRO STOCK BIKE
* Blaine Hale, from Midland, Texas, scored his first career victory by beating
local Colorado native Mike Berry in the final round. Hale rode his Cornwell
Tools Suzuki to a run of 7.623 at 176.03 to beat Berry's 7.591 at 176.24 on his
MB Precision Suzuki. Hale qualified in the No. 16 slot and became just the
second Pro Stock Bike rider to win an event from the No. 16 position since the
1987 Baton Rouge national event.
* Geno Scali remained in the No. 1 spot in the POWERade point standings holding
a 109-point advantage over second place Angelle Savoie. Scali extended his
points lead with help from a first-round loss by Savoie. Scali advanced to the
semifinals, losing to Hale while Savoie lost to Michael Phillips. Since 1997,
Savoie has earned six first round losses prior to the start of the 2003 NHRA
POWERade season.
* GT Tonglet made history earned the No. 1 qualifying position for the first
time for a Harley-Davidson. Tonglet established the Bandimere Speedway elapsed
time track record with pass of 7.534 at 178.33 aboard his Vance & Hines
Screamin' Eagle Harley Davidson V-Rod. Teammate and fellow Harley rider Andrew
Hines qualified No. 2 also on board a V-Rod.
