Mon, 21 Oct 2002, 05:01 PM Dixon Looking to Seal First NHRA POWERade Championship

By Norm Froscher Photo copyright 2002 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Bernstein vs Dixon

The pressure is on.

A 108-point lead with just two races left for Larry Dixon and his Don Prudhomme/Miller Lite Top Fueler.

If this scenario was a horse race, Dixon and his mount would have about a neck lead on the outside with just a 16th of a mile to run to the finish line.

Or if it was the NFL and Dixon -- 36 this Wednesday -- was a defensive coordinator. His opponent -- in this case defending NHRA/Powerade Bud Top Fueler and retiring Kenny Bernstein -- is like in the "red zone" with a third down and fairly short yardage coming up.

Or if it was the seventh game of the World Series, and...oh well, you get the idea.

One hundred and eight points going into Las Vegas, where Dixon was low qualifier in this race last year, but lost in the second round, but won earlier this year.

Barely two weeks ago, Bernstein beat Dixon at Texas in the O'Reilly Nationals second round to reduce the lead to those 108 points, about 5.4 rounds of racing.

Yes, the pressure is on in this 2002 version of the "Beer Wars" in which Dixon was runner-up last year. This year, thanks largely to a sterling second quarter which saw him win balloting for the Driver of the Year for that period against competitors from all forms of motorsports.

Dixon took time from his preparation to participate in a question and answer session -- including one on that challenge from IHRA's Bill Bader for a $100,000 match race with that sanctioning body's Clay Millican -- for Summit Drag Race Central's writer Norm Froscher.

Here are his responses:

Dixon celebrates one of his wins.

DRC: You're down to two races left in which you have to protect your lead. You've been in tight situations like this before, so basically, what is your focus going to be on these last two?

Dixon: "I'm not even going as far as two races. I'm thinking about, at this point, Las Vegas and trying to win. If we win, I don't have to worry about protecting a lead, or anything like that. The past couple of times we've been to Las Vegas, we sat on the pole there and won this year's earlier race.

I have a lot of confidence going in that we can do well. It's a matter of getting there and doing it."

DRC: Snake and Dick LaHaie have been there many, many times. What advice do they impart to you?

Dixon: "For me, just keep doing the things that got us in this position. You know, last year we were in a points battle right to the very end of the year and it's probably going to end up being the same thing this year.

"Just keep doing the same thing you did at the start of the year, the middle of the year and towards the end of the year. Stay focused on the task at hand."

DRC: You suffered a clutch problem in your quarterfinal run against Kenny last weekend. Basically, in layman's terms, what do you think Dick LaHaie will do to remedy that?

Dixon: "I think had we continued racing at that track, we could have remedied the problem. For us though, the track and weather conditions are going to be so much different at Las Vegas than at Dallas, I think if we stayed and ran on Monday, I have all the confidence in the world that we could have had our car run in the fifties.

"But we're going to entirely different conditions, so you kinda have to put down in the log book, file it, so when we go back there or get in those types of conditions again that we're more prepared for it."

DRC: You spoke of LaHaie being "mad" after your second round loss at Sears Point last year (and needing to rearrange the clutch and motor combination) He did, then you went to Brainerd and dominated. Is he "mad" again or is it too late in the season for that?

Dixon: "I think...no, I think last season we weren't taking a conservative approach, but we certainly weren't taking an aggressive approach. We were down to the middle of the season and we weren't progressing at the pace he wanted, so he had to get a lot more aggressive with the car in his decisions.

"And I think from that point on we went into every race. I believe, with a car that could contend for a win. What we had happen over (last) weekend, I would say, was a lot different from Sears Point of last year to Dallas with the points and everything of this year. We've been out in front the entire season. You're trying to win races, but you're not trying to do anything to throw away races.

"What would I even call that? What happened in the second round. We made some calls on the car (Dallas) and they were in the right direction, but we just got behind and lost. When you go up against anybody, whether it's Kenny or whoever, you're going to have one winner and one loser. We were just on the wrong side of a good race."

DRC: Las Vegas has not been all that kind to you in four races before. You were the low qualifier in this race there last year, but lost in the second round. Then you came back and won this year. Briefly, what are your feelings about returning to Vegas?

Dixon: "I'm very excited about racing there. I think that the altitude conditions are kinda in the mix, in the middle, between sea level and Denver, so it's a challenge for the crew chiefs. We haven't raced there for a long time, but I certainly enjoy going there. I think our team enjoys going there, because we have had some success at that race track.

"I really look forward to going there. It's a beautiful facility and I'm glad we're racing there."

DRC: You said the one most important thing you learned after being in the championship hunt last season was just how important is every single round. Anything else, this late in the year?

Dixon: "Not really, because I still truly believe that and that statement is coming into play. I mean every round, you know, whether you're racing Kenny or the No. 16 qualifier, each round pays 20 points. It isn't like you get to race Kenny (and) because he's a stronger car. points against him are worth more. They're not. They're all worth the same amount.

"For me, I have to race everybody as hard as I can and I think we're proving that this year. We learned, no, I, not 'we', learned from that last year and I think we're proving that this year."

DRC: You were on a real tear earlier in the season, even winning the second quarter vote for Driver of the Year from all forms of motorsports. What do you think contributed to that success, what brought it to a halt and do you feel you can regain that consistency?

Dixon: "I certainly have faith in my guys and Dick LaHaie that we can get back that consistency. I mean, there have been a few races we've lost in the last half of the season which were close drag races. We lost to Cory (McClenathan) at Chicago by 13/1000ths, lost to Doug Kalitta at Reading by 24/1000ths, so it isn't like we've had a bad car. You know, or that it's been inconsistent.

"It's just, I think, the competition has gotten better, their cars are stronger now. Cory's running better, Doug Kalitta's running better and Doug Herbert's running better...(Tony) Schmucher's running better. At the start of the season, it was almost like the two best running cars were Kenny's and ours, but as the season progressed, there are more cars running good. You know, you're going to a race not having to beat just one car, you're having to beat six or eight or eight different cars.

"I don't think we've gotten worse, I think the other teams have gotten better. Probably the only guy who feels he can go on like that is Michael Schumacher (Formula 1 champion), but the rest of the world, for me, I knew it wasn't going to last and I was enjoying it while it did. That second quarter win was real nice for drag racing against open wheel and NASCAR. But we're no Michael Schumacher."

DRC: Larry, is there anything I haven't asked you that you think should be in this update? Perhaps that challenge from IHRA's Bill Bader?

Dixon: "I never really know how to talk about that $100,000 challenge from the president of IHRA. He challenged us to meet his champion, Clay Millican, in an exhibition match race for that purse.

"Snake says we have bigger fish to fry. We're battling for this NHRA/Powerade championship for $400,000. My wish was that if he believes in Clay Millican -- and I think they're a really good team -- I wish he would give that $100.000 to Millican to have him come over and race our series. Then if he gets to beat us, great, but if he doesn't make it that far, let the chips fall..."