National Hot Rod Association

The victory is the ninth of the season for Dixon and gives him the momentum as he heads into the Countdown to the Championship playoffs as the number one seed.

In what may have been the most competitive Top Fuel event of the season, Dixon was challenged throughout the day, but once again came away dominant. Each of his last three opponents made a 3.874-second or better pass only to see Dixon make runs of 3.823, 3.794 and a 3.786 – the quickest pass of the day – in the final three rounds to come away victorious. The two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion defeated the number one, three and five qualifiers during the event

Two other Toyota-sponsored drivers advanced to the second. Shawn Langdon had one of his best qualifying runs of the season with a fifth and then registered his best reaction time and top run of the weekend only to fall just short of Dixon in round two. Antron Brown had the fastest pass in the first round in defeating fellow Toyota driver Morgan Lucas, but failed to make a clean run in round two and was eliminated.

Each of the four Toyota Top Fuel drivers have qualified for the Countdown, with Brown seeded fifth, Langdon seventh and Lucas eighth all joining Dixon in the title hunt.

In Funny Cars, both Cruz Pedregon and Del Worsham were eliminated in the first round. With his loss, Pedregon was officially eliminated from the chase for the final Countdown position in Funny Cars. Worsham had already qualified and will begin the playoffs from the ninth seed.

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns with the opening of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs at the U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Sept. 3-6.

Toyota Drivers, Results -- Lucas Oil Nationals -- Qual./Finish

Top Fuel
Larry Dixon -- Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster -- Winner
Shawn Langdon -- Lucas Oil/Speedco Top Fuel Dragster -- Second-round
Antron Brown -- Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster -- Second-round
Morgan Lucas -- GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster -- First-round

Funny Car
Cruz Pedregon -- Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry Solara -- First-round
Del Worsham -- Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Camry Solara -- Funny Car -- First-round

NOTES:

• Larry Dixon is now a perfect nine for nine in finals appearances this season. Overall, he has made the semi-finals or finals in 13 of 17 races – including 11 of the last 13.
• Larry Dixon’s nine victories matches a career single-season best established on his way to winning the Top Fuel championship in 2002. His nine victories surpassed the rest of the Top Fuel field during the regular season. The win is the 57th of his Top Fuel career – good for second best all-time.
• Larry Dixon now boasts a series-best 46-8 record in elimination rounds this season.

Wins (9)
Larry Dixon, Pomona, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Englishtown, Norwalk, Sonoma, Brainerd

Poles (11)
Antron Brown: Gainesville, Las Vegas, Topeka, Bristol; Denver
Worsham: Las Vegas;
Larry Dixon: Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Norwalk, Sonoma

Quotes:

Larry Dixon, Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: “I feel fortunate. When I lifted (in hitting the finish line in the finals) it popped, but I saw the win light and the 78 on the board and so I knew they weren’t taking Cory (McClenathan) and the Schumacher team lightly. We’ve won finals so many different ways this year and there are so many variables that if you have just one hiccup someone else wins. I’ve had seasons where I haven’t won one race so to win nine is overwhelming. These races are hard to win – to win nine period let alone to win nine straight finals is something.”

Shawn Langdon, Lucas Oil/Speedco Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: "I had my best light (reaction time) of the weekend and the car posted its best elapsed time of the weekend so there's nothing more we could have done. That team (Al-Anabi Racing) is number one for a reason. We stepped up to the plate, tried our best, and just came up a little short. They're getting ready for the playoffs and they aren't leaving anything on the plate. It was just a good drag race that Larry won."

Morgan Lucas, GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: "We have a test session planned before Indy and we've got a lot of things we're anxious to try. It's a frustrating time right but the guys are working hard to fix all our issues. Hopefully the test will help us find a tune-up that agrees with this racecar. There's no giving up for us. We'll keep plugging away until we get the job done."