Throughout the 2010 Top Fuel season, Larry Dixon has been dominant. This weekend at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals, things were no different.

Dixon qualified on the pole and then won the event in convincing fashion at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
In the finals, Dixon beat rival Tony Schumacher, clocking a 3.879-second pass at 317.12 mph. Schumacher came across in 4.006 seconds at 300.73 mph.

“I’m trying to beat whomever I’m lined up against,” said Dixon, who has beat Schumacher six of the nine times they have raced this season. “You’re racing a car (in Schumacher) that has won six championships in a row, and you better bring your ‘A’ game when you race them. They didn’t win that many races and championships by being lucky, they’ve been good. You go up there and race them and do  the best job you can and hope that it is enough.”

With the win, Dixon remains in the season points lead with 1,444 points. Schumacher is now second at 1,233 followed by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Cory McClenathan at 1,227.

After crunching the numbers from Sunday, it appears Dixon also has clinched the No. 1 seed for the Countdown to 1 playoffs. The 17-race regular season of the Countdown to the Championship runs through the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 12-15 in Brainerd, Minn.

Throughout the 2010 Top Fuel season, Larry Dixon has been dominant. This weekend at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals, things were no different.

Dixon qualified on the pole and then won the event in convincing fashion at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
In the finals, Dixon beat rival Tony Schumacher, clocking a 3.879-second pass at 317.12 mph. Schumacher came across in 4.006 seconds at 300.73 mph.

“I’m trying to beat whomever I’m lined up against,” said Dixon, who has beat Schumacher six of the nine times they have raced this season. “You’re racing a car (in Schumacher) that has won six championships in a row, and you better bring your ‘A’ game when you race them. They didn’t win that many races and championships by being lucky, they’ve been good. You go up there and race them and do  the best job you can and hope that it is enough.”

With the win, Dixon remains in the season points lead with 1,444 points. Schumacher is now second at 1,233 followed by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Cory McClenathan at 1,227.

After crunching the numbers from Sunday, it appears Dixon also has clinched the No. 1 seed for the Countdown to 1 playoffs. The 17-race regular season of the Countdown to the Championship runs through the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 12-15 in Brainerd, Minn.

“Our biggest thing right now is to get ourselves in position to lock up the No. 1 seed,” Dixon said. “That means you get 30 more points over second place, and I think I could have used 30 more points last year. For us that has been the biggest goal, and I believe we have done that now. There are only eight rounds of racing left (before the Countdown to 1 begins) and we have a 10 and a half round lead, so I like my chances.”

A year ago, Dixon lost the world title to Schumacher by a mere two points.

Dixon also improved to 8-0 in final rounds this year. Dixon’s other victories came at Pomona, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Englishtown, N.J., and Norwalk, Ohio.

“I think it is called balance,” said Dixon when asked about his unbeaten record in the finals this season. “I’ve probably had seasons where I went 0-8, and I think if you do it long enough hopefully it comes back to you. We’re obviously always racing good cars and you’re certainly not taking any chances. You go up there and race hard and hope to finish the deal, and so far this season, we have been able to do that.”

This weekend, Dixon and the Al-Anabi Racing dragster had no equal.

Crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Jason McCulloch made all the right calls as evident by the fact Dixon had the low elapsed time of the event at 3.839 seconds, which came in qualifying and he also registered the top speed of the weekend at 319.75 mph in his first round win over Steven Chrisman. In the win over Chrisman, Dixon also recorded the best reaction time for his class at Sonoma with a .060.

In addition to Chrisman, Dixon also defeated Steve Torrence and Cory McClenathan to set up his match-up with Schumacher.
 
“This was a great weekend all the way round,” Dixon said. “Give credit to Jason (McCulloch) and Alan (Johnson) both. They just had us set up. We made seven runs, and we never spun the tires. They were on their game.”

This was Dixon’s 56th career Top Fuel national event victory in 100 final-round appearances. Schumacher has the NHRA Top Fuel record for most final round appearances at 101, and Dixon is second. Joe Amato is third with 99 final-round appearances.

“When I hear 100 final rounds, it means I lost 44, that’s what I think about,” Dixon said. “Really that’s it. The final round number doesn’t really mean anything to me. Wins mean something to me. We will just try and enjoy ourselves tonight and Monday and then get ready for Denver.”

The Mopar Mile-High Nationals are Friday through Sunday at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, near Denver.

“Our biggest thing right now is to get ourselves in position to lock up the No. 1 seed,” Dixon said. “That means you get 30 more points over second place, and I think I could have used 30 more points last year. For us that has been the biggest goal, and I believe we have done that now. There are only eight rounds of racing left (before the Countdown to 1 begins) and we have a 10 and a half round lead, so I like my chances.”

A year ago, Dixon lost the world title to Schumacher by a mere two points.

Dixon also improved to 8-0 in final rounds this year. Dixon’s other victories came at Pomona, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Englishtown, N.J., and Norwalk, Ohio.

“I think it is called balance,” said Dixon when asked about his unbeaten record in the finals this season. “I’ve probably had seasons where I went 0-8, and I think if you do it long enough hopefully it comes back to you. We’re obviously always racing good cars and you’re certainly not taking any chances. You go up there and race hard and hope to finish the deal, and so far this season, we have been able to do that.”

This weekend, Dixon and the Al-Anabi Racing dragster had no equal.

Crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Jason McCulloch made all the right calls as evident by the fact Dixon had the low elapsed time of the event at 3.839 seconds, which came in qualifying and he also registered the top speed of the weekend at 319.75 mph in his first round win over Steven Chrisman. In the win over Chrisman, Dixon also recorded the best reaction time for his class at Sonoma with a .060.

In addition to Chrisman, Dixon also defeated Steve Torrence and Cory McClenathan to set up his match-up with Schumacher.
 
“This was a great weekend all the way round,” Dixon said. “Give credit to Jason (McCulloch) and Alan (Johnson) both. They just had us set up. We made seven runs, and we never spun the tires. They were on their game.”

This was Dixon’s 56th career Top Fuel national event victory in 100 final-round appearances. Schumacher has the NHRA Top Fuel record for most final round appearances at 101, and Dixon is second. Joe Amato is third with 99 final-round appearances.

“When I hear 100 final rounds, it means I lost 44, that’s what I think about,” Dixon said. “Really that’s it. The final round number doesn’t really mean anything to me. Wins mean something to me. We will just try and enjoy ourselves tonight and Monday and then get ready for Denver.”

The Mopar Mile-High Nationals are Friday through Sunday at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, near Denver.