Championship Drag Racing

Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Clermont, IN
(August 30-September 4)

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Larry Dixon Rapisarda Racing dragster

Indianapolis, Saturday:   Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon powered his Miller Lite dragster to its quickest pass of the 2006 NHRA season (4.492 seconds) Saturday at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis as the 38-time NHRA winner claimed the provisional No. 2 qualifying position.

Dixon opened qualifying at the 52^nd running of the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals on Friday evening with his quickest elapsed time since the Joliet, Ill. race in June (4.540 seconds) when he cruised the ORP quarter mile in 4.546 seconds to earn the sixth quickest pass of the first of five scheduled qualifying sessions.

On Saturday, the Miller Lite rail lost traction on its first qualifying attempt as Dixon slowed to a six-second elapsed time. The 1995 NHRA Rookie of the Year then used a tune-up from crew chiefs Don Bender and Todd Smith to blister the ORP quarter mile in 4.492 seconds at 328.38 mph to card the second quickest run of the weekend. It was Dixon's first 4.4-second pass of the season and first since the Seattle race in July 2005 (4.490 seconds) where Dixon last qualified No. 1. Dixon qualified sixth at the U.S. Nationals last season.

"It was a nice run," Dixon said. "Before the run, I was talking with John Kernan of ESPN and I told him that we were trying to run between a 4.49 and 4.51, and if it didn't run that, we'd be disappointed. It did what they wanted it to, and that was great.

"On the first run, we had an issue with the engine. We found it, repaired it and made a good run on Saturday night."

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