NHRA
Pomona: Larry Dixon Thursday summary
NHRA Champ No. 1 after Thursday at Winternationals. POMONA, CA (Feb. 6) -- Defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon couldn't have hoped for a better start to kick off his 2003 title defense as he drove his Miller Lite Dragster to a ...
Published: Feb 8, 2003, 5:15 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
NHRA Champ No. 1 after Thursday at Winternationals.
POMONA, CA (Feb. 6) -- Defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon couldn't have hoped for a better start to kick off his 2003 title defense as he drove his Miller Lite Dragster to a lap of 4.586 seconds (313.88 mph) and earned the No. 1 spot after the first of three days of qualifying at this weekend's K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona Raceway.
Unveiling beautifully re-vamped paint schemes on his Miller Lite Dragster, as well as in the new-look pit hospitality area, team owner Don "the Snake" Prudhomme looked as his team patiently waited its turn to make the first pass of the season with the champion's No. 1 on the rear wing of the car. Dixon left the starting line with his typical, front-wheel carrying launch and sailed down the right lane, bettering No. 2 qualifier Tony Schumacher's run of 4.59 seconds.
"I just wanted to make a good run down the racetrack to get a baseline (tune-up) to start the season," said Dixon. "The fact that the run was a .58 and the fact that we were low today, that was icing on the cake. We weren't looking to get on the pole. It was just a nice run and a good way to start off the weekend."
Friday marks the second day of qualifying with Top Fuel and Funny Car sessions scheduled for 3:00 PM PT. It is also the final opportunity for the eight Top Fuel cars competing in Saturday's $100,000 Shootout to hone their skills before making a run at the big payday.
Dixon is also quick to try and quash any pre-season predictions that have the Miller Lite Dragster repeating as the NHRA POWERade champ. "They made pre-season predictions that the Oakland Raiders were going to win the Super Bowl," said Dixon. "It doesn't really mean anything because if we are not running good week in and week out, it doesn't matter what anyone predicts unless we go out there and get it done. What does today mean? It means we will run last during the session tomorrow. I think it's great that the people who are in the position to make predictions feel that way about us, but that doesn't guarantee us anything."
Television coverage of this weekend's qualifying will be seen on ESPN 2 on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10:00 PM - Midnight (ET). Race day coverage will be shown Sunday, Feb. 9 from 6:30 - 9:00 PM (PT).
-www.snakeracing.com
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Pomona: Don Schumacher Racing Thursday summary
Next article Pomona: Bruce Sarver preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tony Schumacher
Capps, Schumacher score their first wins of 2018
NHRA
NHRA
Bristol
Capps, Schumacher score their first wins of 2018
Schumacher unconcerned by new crew chief’s lack of Top Fuel experience
NHRA
NHRA
Schumacher unconcerned by new crew chief’s lack of Top Fuel experience
Hagan, Brown, Enders lead first day of NHRA Spring Training
NHRA
NHRA
Hagan, Brown, Enders lead first day of NHRA Spring Training
Latest news
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
4 h
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
6 h
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 6 h
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
6 h
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe