Championship Drag Racing

NATIONAL EVENTS
  2005 Schedule
  2004 Tickets
  2004 POWERade points
  2004 Class Schedule
  Top 50 Points Standings
  Results, 1997-2004

DIVISIONAL EVENTS
  2005 Schedule
  Results, 1997-2004
  2003 Point Standings

TEAMS
  Driver Profiles

BECOME A MEMBER
  NHRA Membership
  Jr. Drag Racing League

INSIDE THE NHRA
  Official Sponsors
  Contingency Sponsors
  The Basics (Tutorial)
  NHRA Museum
  Hot Rod Reunion

RACING INFORMATION
  2004 Rule Revisions
  Class Indexes
  National Records
  Classification Guides
  Engine Blueprints

MULTIMEDIA
  Movies
  Photo Gallery

MEMBER TRACKS
  Track Directory
  Member Track Programs

NHRA NEWSSTAND
  National DRAGSTER

CLASSIFIED ADS
  Performance Directory
  Dragmart (For Sale)

MEDIA SECTION

NHRA STORE

HELP
  Contact NHRA
  Division Directors

The first race at a new NHRA facility generally brings cause for concern, especially among the crew chiefs. Dale Coyne's new, state-of-the-art Route 66 Raceway makes its NHRA Winston Series debut with the running of the Fram Route 66 Nationals, May 28-31. And Dale Armstrong, crew chief on the Miller Lite Top Fuel dragster, driven by Larry Dixon and owned by drag racing legend Don "the Snake" Prudhomme, doesn't know what to expect.

"It was nice to go some rounds (of racing), which is something we haven't done in two months." -- Larry Dixon

"I won't know until I see it," said Armstrong, whose first look will be May 28. "The only way the track will be any good at all is if the surface is real smooth."

All of Armstrong's cohorts are in the same predicament going into this event, so tune-ups for Friday's first qualifying session likely will be mixtures of educated guesses and hope.

Dixon, meanwhile, is optimistic. He reached the semifinals for the first time in five races, af the Mopar Nationals. His second-round 4.627-second, 320.28-mph run was his best since explosions destroyed two engines following the semifinals and finals at Gainesville, Fla. (March 14).

And he's looking forward to his first visit to Route 66 Raceway.

"As a race fan, I'm excited to go there," Dixon commented. "The track is the next stepping stone in drag racing. It's going to be the one all other new tracks are compared to when it comes to being the most prestigious. From that standpoint, I can hardly wait to get there."

The Englishtown outing kept Dixon in sixth place with 418 points, 56 behind Jim Head and 60 behind fourth-place Mike Dunn. Cory McClenathan leads with 699.

"It was nice to go some rounds (of racing), which is something we haven't done in two months," said Dixon. "Our team is better than that."

After beating Bruce Sarver (with a 4.642-second, 316.97 mph run) and Doug Herbert (with the 4.62), Dixon lost a tire-smoking semifinal match to eventual race winner Joe Amato. Amato's rear tires lost traction first, so he was able to get back into the throttle first and the tires found traction sooner than Dixon's. Amato won with a 5.588 at 262.54 mph to a 5.637, 253.47 mph.

"We only got down the track on one qualifying run (4.638 seconds, 313.44 mph, good for No. 6), so we didn't have much consistency in the race car," added Dixon. "We didn't change the car's tune-up too much before racing Amato. I didn't see him until we were about 150 to 200 feet from the finish line. I pedaled (the throttle), but I don't know how many times. I was just trying to get the car down the track."

Dixon opened the season with a Winternationals win at Pomona, Calif., and added a runner-up finish two races later at Gainesville, Fla. Ron Capps, Dixon's Don Prudhomme Racing teammate, drove his Funny Car to victory at Pomona, giving Prudhomme two victories in one day.

There is one thing Dixon wants to do on race day here: Improve his first-race record. At the two newest tracks on the NHRA schedule, Dixon lost in the first round at Madison, Ill. (1997) and Richmond, Va. (1995).