Topeka: Larry Dixon Friday summary

Dixon 14th After First Day of Qualifying at Topeka TOPEKA, Kan. (May 28, 2004) - Two-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon qualified his 'Vote Miller for President of Beers' dragster in the No. 14 position Friday at Heartland ...

Dixon 14th After First Day of Qualifying at Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 28, 2004) - Two-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon qualified his 'Vote Miller for President of Beers' dragster in the No. 14 position Friday at Heartland Park Topeka.

On his opening qualifying attempt of the weekend, Dixon clocked a performance of 4.882 seconds at 268.06 mph despite dropping a cylinder early in the run. Dixon's Miller-backed dragster lost a crankshaft bolt on its second pass and slowed to a run of 5.603 at 162.12.

"The more runs we make with the car, the better we'll get," Dixon said. "Whether they're good or bad, they're all informational runs and we'll get better."

Dixon, who won the O'Reilly Summer Nationals last Memorial Day Weekend, looks to move into the top half of the Top Fuel order on Saturday when nitro qualifying continues at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. (CT).

ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from the O'Reilly Summer Nationals beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 29 and show two hours of final eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 30.