Guest Columnist Larry Dixon: Las Vegas is Dixon’s getaway behind the wheel

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002 | 8:52 a.m.

Editor's note: Larry Dixon, driver of the Miller Lite Don Prudhomme Top Fuel dragster, is writing a daily column exclusively for the Las Vegas Sun in conjunction with the second annual AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at LVMS.

In a city like Las Vegas, you can find plenty of distractions and that's good, considering sometimes you want to get away and think about something else besides the race.

Although our Miller Lite Top Fuel team has a 108-point lead going into the race weekend, a break from the championship grind would be helpful and with everything Las Vegas has to offer, it should be real easy to get my mind off racing for a moment. But even if I do, it never seems to really go away. That's why we're racers ... it's what we do.

Speaking briefly about the championship, it's like being a kid and wanting a bicycle for Christmas. You want it, but there's not anything you can do about it. The championship is awarded to the best team throughout the season, so you've got to do well at every race. Whoever gets the title will deserve it.

We're in position to get it done this season, so we'll pay attention to every qualifying lap, every race round and go for a win if possible. If we do our job and win, then we'll be in great shape.

I really don't do too much relaxing. My son turns two next month and our daughter is just four weeks old. Even though my wife takes most of the load, it's a handful for both of us, and there's not much time to take it easy.

We've got our motorhome that we drive to every race, which lets me keep the number of distractions in our life down as much as possible. Just driving to the track helps get my mind right as far as getting ready to race, and after a race driving home lets my mind unwind right away. It really helps out a lot.

You might wonder why I don't fly. Well, I didn't start flying to races until 1997, and before that, I either drove the rig or one of the tow vehicles. I guess it's kind of an old habit that's hard to break. Besides, I enjoy being on the road. Best of all, I get to have my family with me most of the time and that's a big, big plus.

Another way I get to turn my thoughts in another direction is by watching sports. I guess I have a little bit of an escape with some of the sports I watch on television. I like to watch hockey, the NBA and the NFL for the most part.

I have a lot of respect for what athletes in other sports do. Throughout my career, something I've been groomed on is hand-eye coordination. I think a lot of my training for the starting line, focusing on my reflexes and stuff like that, would probably be suited more towards hockey. Maybe a goalie, or something like that.

It's the same with NASCAR. I love watching the races, but if you asked if I would want to do it, or thought I could do it or any of that stuff -- not a chance. There's a lot of hard work that goes into being at the top level of your game, and you can't just jump from one to the other.

But, no matter what, it all comes back to racing. I sold a house that was three blocks from the beach in California to move to Indianapolis and it's like why would I do that? Well, so I could be closer to racing. I love what I do. You don't need a whole lot of escaping from something you love to do.