Brainerd: Larry Dixon Friday summary

From the Snake Pit
Snake Racing dragster qualifies no. 1 at Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals

BRAINERD, MINN. (AUG. 15) -- Reining POWERade NHRA Champion Larry Dixon earned the No. 1 qualifying position Friday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (Aug.15-17). Dixon drove the Miller Lite dragster to a 4.665-second run at a speed of 319.90 mph after the second qualifying session of the day.

Heat, humidity and 700 feet of new concrete were just a few of the challenges faced by Dixon and the Snake Racing crew. For the first qualifying run the Don Prudhomme owned dragster posted a time of 6.135 (ET) at 138.74 mph. "We had a lot of clutch troubles that first run," said Dixon. "We were lucky to even get down the track at all."

Opting for strategy over luck, crew chief Dick LaHaie made the necessary changes prior to the second qualifying attempt. "The second run we put down a soft engine and soft clutch," said Dixon. "We tried not to spin the tires and hoped to run somewhere between a 4.67 to 4.70."

The Snake Racing/Miller Lite dragster tried and succeeded, nabbing the No. 1 qualifying spot in the process. The third session of qualifying begins tomorrow at 12:15 PM (ET) followed by the final session at 3:15 PM (ET).

Watch ESPN2 Saturday for qualifying coverage from 9:00-10:00 PM (ET). Tune in Sunday for "NHRA-2-Day" at 11:00 AM then flip to ESPN at 5:00 PM for early round eliminations followed by final eliminations on ESPN2 at 10:00 PM.

-www.snakeracing.com