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If there was an NHRA race that Larry Dixon was almost guaranteed to win, it would be the race that lands on Father’s Day.
Dixon put the Al-Anabi Racing Top Fueler into victory circle at the Ford Thunder Valley NHRA National, the sixth time in the 10 years since becoming a daddy that Dixon has won on Father’s Day.
“It’s unbelievable,” Dixon said. “It’s been so long since I’ve won at Bristol. I’m elated.”
The other winners on Sunday were Robert Hight in Funny Car and Mike Edwards in Pro Stock.
Dixon was winless on the season heading into Bristol Dragway and it was his longest dry spell to start the year since 2007. But the car has been running well all season, just not quite enough to win.
“I think we’ve had a great car,” Dixon said. “I was won the winning side of a few tight races today, which hasn’t happened for me this year.”
Dixon faced Antron Brown in the final on Sunday – a final round that was pushed late in the day due to a five-hour rain delay. Brown and the Matco Tools dragster had a slight edge at the starting line, but the Al-Anabi horsepower took over from there. Radioactive Drag Racing News
Robert Hight raced to his fourth Funny Car victory of the season Sunday, breaking the national speed record with a 316.45 mph run in the Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals.
“We finally got Bristol. How about that?” Hight about his 22nd career victory. “I’ve had trouble with all the races that start with “B’’ like Bristol or Brainerd, but we got this one. There’s nothing better than to win this race since it’s now Ford sponsored. We made eight great runs, and when we needed it the most, Jimmy (Prock, crew chief) pulled it off. I’ve never set any kind of a record before so that’s pretty cool, too. I know there are no points for a speed record, but it’s still cool to have.” The Associated Press
Edwards claimed his third consecutive Bristol Dragway win and 30th of his career and in the process denied Erica Enders a milestone victory as she tried to become the first woman to win in the history of the 41-year-old factory hot rod category. Enders left the starting line first in her ZaZa Energy Chevy Cobalt, but the car lost power near midtrack while Edwards sped down the track to finish in 6.685 at 205.79 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP.
“We made some ugly runs, and somehow we were able to turn the win light on,” said Edwards of his second win of the season. “Some days, no matter how bad you do, you still win. That’s the kind of day we had today. Congrats to my team. They fought hard. This car has given us so many headaches. I hope we can build on this. We have the K&N Horsepower Challenge next week, so hopefully we can build off of this and something good will happen.”
Edwards moved to second in the series standings with the victory and trails Jason Line by 24 points. NHRA.com
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