Larry Dixon edged fellow Toyota driver Anton Brown as the two finished off a dominating weekend to win the NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park Sunday. With the victory, Dixon became just the third driver in NHRA history to win 50 Top Fuel events.
Dixon and Brown combined to lead each of the weekend’s four qualifying sessions, culminating in the duo running the fastest side-by-side run in history in Saturday’s final run, each running in the 3.77s with Dixon’s Al-Anabi Racing/Toyota dragster coming out on top.
In the eliminations, Dixon knocked off Del Cox, David Grubnic and Cory McClenathan, while Brown defeated Spencer Massey and then vanquished fellow Toyota-sponsored drivers Shawn Langdon in the quarter-finals and Morgan Lucas in the semi’s to set up the final.
While the race didn’t register record numbers for speed like Saturday’s run, it surely didn’t lack for excitement. Both cars had troubles in the final and it appeared Brown had his first win of the season before Dixon closed and passed Brown’s Matco Tools/Toyota dragster at the finish line with his engine on fire to win 4.541 to 4.638.
While Dixon and Brown stole most of the headlines, it was a solid weekend for all six Toyota-sponsored cars in the field as each advanced past the first round.
Although Langdon fell to Brown in the second round, teammate Lucas advanced to the semi-finals for the second time in the last three races. It also marked the fourth time in five races this season that the Morgan Lucas Racing team earned a semi-final berth.
In Funny Car competition, Del Worsham had his strongest showing of the year, advancing to the semi-finals in his Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Camry Solara before falling. Cruz Pedregon won his first-round match-up before being eliminated in round two in his Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry Solara.
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to Las Vegas next weekend for the SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 16-18.
- 2010 Wins: Larry Dixon, Pomona; Larry Dixon, Houston
- 2010 Poles: Antron Brown, Gainesville; Larry Dixon, Houston
