From the Snake Pit
Snake Racing dragster qualifies no. 1 at Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals



BRAINERD, MINN. (AUG. 15) -- Reining POWERade NHRA Champion Larry
Dixon earned the No. 1 qualifying position Friday at the Lucas Oil NHRA
Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (Aug.15-17).  Dixon drove the
Miller Lite dragster to a 4.665-second run at a speed of 319.90 mph after
the second qualifying session of the day.



Heat, humidity and 700 feet of new concrete were just a few of the
challenges faced by Dixon and the Snake Racing crew.  For the first
qualifying run the Don Prudhomme owned dragster posted a time of 6.135
(ET) at 138.74 mph.  "We had a lot of clutch troubles that first
run," said Dixon.  "We were lucky to even get down the track
at all."



Opting for strategy over luck, crew chief Dick LaHaie made the necessary
changes prior to the second qualifying attempt.  "The second run we
put down a soft engine and soft clutch," said Dixon.  "We
tried not to spin the tires and hoped to run somewhere between a 4.67 to
4.70."



The Snake Racing/Miller Lite dragster tried and succeeded, nabbing the
No. 1 qualifying spot in the process.  The third session of qualifying
begins tomorrow at 12:15 PM (ET) followed by the final session at 3:15 PM
(ET).



Watch ESPN2 Saturday for qualifying coverage from 9:00-10:00 PM (ET). 
Tune in Sunday for "NHRA-2-Day" at 11:00 AM then flip to ESPN
at 5:00 PM for early round eliminations followed by final eliminations on
ESPN2 at 10:00 PM.



-www.snakeracing.com


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