Pomona II: Larry Dixon Saturday summary

DIXON FINISHES EIGHTH AT POMONA FINALS

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 5, 2005) - Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon raced his Miller Lite dragster to the No. 8 qualifying position Saturday at Pomona Raceway as qualifying concluded at the 41st annual Auto Club Finals.

The three-time Pomona Raceway winner opened qualifying on a sunny Southern California afternoon by racing the Miller Lite/Ameriquest dragster to a 4.588 second, 317.47 mph performance to sit 10th in the Top Fuel order following the third of four qualifying attempts. On his final run of the weekend, Dixon used a tune-up from Dick LaHaie to drive the Miller-backed rail to its best performance of the weekend, 4.522 at 326.79 to wind up eighth in the 16-car order.

"We're racing a car that ran basically the same thing we did," Dixon said. "I would assume that Dick (LaHaie) and the team will set the car up to go down the track and we'll see how we fare."

The 38-time NHRA winner will battle No. 9 qualifier Cory McClenathan in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations at 11 a.m. (PT) on Sunday at Pomona Raceway. Dixon is 26-15 versus Cory Mac in his career.

-www.snakeracing.com