| | Associated Press
Results
DINWIDDIE, Va. -- Larry Dixon raced to his second straight Top Fuel victory Sunday, beating Kenny Bernstein in the final of the Moto1.net NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Dixon had a quarter-mile run of 4.674 seconds with a top speed of 314.53 mph in his Miller Lite dragster. Bernstein finished in 4.692 seconds at 306.12 mph.
John Force, Jeg Coughlin and Randy Daniels also won their divisions in the $1.8 million competition, the sixth of 23 events in the $45 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
"What a win," said Dixon, who defeated Jim Bailey, Doug Kalitta and
Doug Herbert to advance to his 19th career final. "Let me tell you
something, racing Bernstein in the final -- especially with the way he's
been running -- is major-league pressure.
"We were so close that I could hear him all the way down the track. At about
the three-quarter mark, I just started looking for the win-light bulb. We
got it and I pulled the chutes and he went flying by. I thought, 'We must
have been mighty close,' and we were."
With the win, Dixon moved to second in the Winston points standings, 24 behind points leader Tony Schumacher, who lost to Bernstein in the second round.
"This is our first win over (Bernstein) in the finals and the first time in my career that we've won two races in a row," Dixon added. "The points are so tight now that if I had lost, I'd be in fourth instead of second. That's pretty close."
Force raced to his second victory of the season and 83rd overall in a tire-smoking Funny Car battle with Ron Capps.
Force's Castrol GTX Ford Mustang lost traction at the start, but he recovered to finish with a run of 5.913 seconds at 236.01 mph. Capps had similar traction problems in his U.S. Tobacco Chevy Camaro, finishing in 6.165 seconds at 233.76 mph.
"That just shows what luck can do," said Force, who is closing in on Bob
Glidden's all-time win record (85 victories). "The car was rattling me so
hard in the seat that I lost my vision. When it came around all I could see
was U.S. Tobacco (Capps' sponsor). I actually thought he lifted because I
had crossed the centerline. But I didn't, and it turns out he was having the
same trouble I was."
"I didn't see him when I left the line, but then my tires started shaking
tremendously hard," Capps said. "I
pulled up on him, and I could see his car smoke the tires, but then he
started to pull away."
Just as Force did from familiar first round foe Bob Gilbertson, archrival Al
Hofmann and Scotty Cannon in earlier rounds. With the victory, Force moved
from fourth to second in the Winston points standings, and now trails leader
Jerry Toliver by 69.
Coughlin beat Jim Yates in the Pro Stock final. Coughlin finished in 6.861 seconds at 199.73 mph in an Oldsmobile Cutlass to earn his fifth victory of the season and 15th overall. Yates finished in 6.904 seconds at 199.73 mph.
Daniels outran Mike Coughlin in a battle of Chevy S-10s for his
third Pro Stock Truck victory of the season. Daniels finished in
7.497 seconds at 179.90 mph, while Coughlin had a run of 7.503
seconds at 179.37 mph.
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