Wed, 9 Oct 2002, 02:09 PM Dixon's Plan Includes a Repeat Performance at the Motorplex

Courtesy of NHRA Communications Photo copyright 2002 Auto Imagery, Inc.

ENNIS, Texas -- Larry Dixon is in an enviable position these days. He has been the Top Fuel points leader from the first day of racing back in February. He just became a father for the second time. Last, but certainly not least, he is in a position to capture the 2002 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel championship.

If Dixon can hang on to the points lead, he will earn the first title of his young career behind the wheel of the Miller Lite Dragster. Dixon, 35, has thought about how he can earn the title and he is aiming for another great performance at the Texas Motorplex. The NHRA will be back in the Dallas area for the 17th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec, Oct. 10-13, at the all-concrete quarter-mile.

Dixon, Gary Densham and V. Gaines are the defending champions for the $1.9 million race, the 21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Larry Dixon

"We need to go to the final round in two of the last three races," said Dixon, who leads championship rival Kenny Bernstein by 127 points. "If we don't, (Bernstein's Budweiser King team) will. This has been the best year of racing in my life. I am a dad again, we've won more races than ever and we are leading in the points. I don't think about the pressure of leading the (category) because that is what every racer dreams about.

"At the beginning of the season, that is what everyone's game plan is, to lead the points from start to finish."

Oddly enough, one of the more compelling motivating factors behind the team's rise to the top was the way the season ended last year. The Top Fuel championship came down to the final few rounds of the season. Bernstein came out on top of the point standings, winning eight races en route to his sixth career championship. Dixon wasn't too far behind with six wins, but he was still left in second place.

The off-season was a busy time for Dixon and the Don Prudhomme-owned team. They spent all of their time trying to fine-tune the car and preparing it for battle against Bernstein and the rest of the Top Fuel category. The tuning worked, as proven by the team's early performance. Dixon took seven wins out of the first 11 races of the season.

"We've done better than anybody else, so far," said Dixon, who has set a record for most Top Fuel finals (13) and is working on claiming records for most wins in a season (9, by Gary Scelzi) and most round wins in a season (61, by Bernstein). "The season we had last year was great, but we came up short on the championship. We did an awful lot, but Kenny's team did more. We knew we had to be better."

One person who can identify with Dixon's position is Cory McClenathan. The Top Fuel pilot has finished second in the championship order four times (1992, 1995, 1997-98) and is still seeking his first POWERade championship.

"Being in the position to compete for the title is half the battle," McClenathan said. "The other half is how you handle it. I think Larry and Kenny are both making it a little bit harder on themselves lately. They are out there, paying more attention to everything and watching every run. They need to back off a bit and worry about just their team.

"I have been the runner-up four times and I know what these guys are all going through. It's a tough position to be in, but I think Larry is doing a good job right now as the points leader. He is driving good, the car is running good and he just needs to keep doing what he did to get into this position in the first place."

Dixon may be going for his first championship, but he has experience on the team to support him. Prudhomme has four titles as a driver and crew chief Dick LaHaie has one as a driver and two as a tuner. Dixon likes having that kind of knowledge in his corner.

"We have LaHaie working on this car and he is one of the best guys in the history of tuning engines," Dixon said. "Throughout his career he has always been one of the best. He brings that competitive spirit to everyone on the team, including myself.

"I knew in Brainerd last year when we were the No. 1 qualifier and won the race that we could win a championship. We may have not won it last year, but that is when I knew that this team had all of the tools to compete for the title. Our team can get it done."