Sun, 18 May 2003, 04:57 PM Top Fuel Final, Round 4 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 34th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Pep Boys:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Larry Dixon                             4 Doug Kalitta
E4                   0.045  4.554 326.40     ****WINNER****  0.058  4.494 328.54
 Prior rounds:
E3    (J Head      ) 0.085  4.559 316.38      (P Romine    ) 0.064  4.481 328.62
E2    (C Millican  ) 0.021  4.537 327.74      (D Russell   ) 0.058  4.544 321.50
E1    (C Mc Clenath) 0.036 11.726  78.95      (R Pustari   ) 0.081  4.526 330.63
 Qualified:             #7  4.580 326.95                        #1  4.511 327.59

4:49 PM The Sun came out just a few minutes ago, so the track is still relatively cool, 76 degrees, almost perfect for these cars. It's not often that Dixon comes into a final round the underdog, but Kalitta has dominated Top Fuel this weekend, his worst run an early-shutoff 4.696 in qualifying. It was a good race, Dixon with a small starting line edge, both cars running almost the same numbers they posted in the semifinals. Once again, Dixon had the wheels up, carrying them past the 60-foot timer before they came down. They were dead-even at 330 feet, then Kalitta started to pull ahead for the win. Doug Kalitta's MOV: 0.0478 seconds (approximately 23 feet).

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink