Monday, April 7, 2003 | 9:59 a.m.
Larry Dixon continued to make himself at home at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while Greg Anderson won Sunday's NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals for the home team.
Dixon notched his third Top Fuel victory in a row in Las Vegas by defeating top qualifier Doug Kalitta in the final. Anderson earned his second Pro Stock win of the season for team owner Ken Black of Las Vegas by edging Kurt Johnson in the final.
Tony Pedregon picked up his second Funny Car victory of the year after Whit Bazemore fouled in the final.
All three winners left Las Vegas as the points leaders in their categories, but it took Dixon a while to realize his Miller Lite dragster had beaten Kalitta to the finish line.
"I go on through the finish line and the (car has) got its tongue hanging out and the win light that we look at down there, it ain't working on my side of the track," Dixon said.
"I go through it, the engine blows up and it's all ugly and there ain't no win light so I'm all mad."
It wasn't until a photographer told him he had won the race that Dixon knew his 4.608-second run at 312.57 mph was good enough for his second victory of the season and 27th of his career.
"I love Vegas -- I wish we could run Vegas every week," said Dixon, who extended his lead to 59 points over semifinal loser Brandon Bernstein.
That was a sentiment echoed by Anderson, who earned his sixth career victory and second of the season in Black's Vegas General Construction-sponsored dragster.
"I'm so happy for Ken because he has done so much for me for the last two years ... and I just can't think of a better way to repay him," Anderson said.
"We prepared really, really hard for this race. We tested here a bunch and we worked real hard on the engine department and if you look back, every race we've been to this year we've gotten a little better and a little better and a little better."
Johnson had the quicker and faster car in the final (6.896 at 201.10 mph) but Anderson used a holeshot to defeat his former teammate. Anderson ran a 6.907 at 200.95 mph but his .016-second reaction time was better than Johnson's .051.
Anderson, who resides in Charlotte, N.C., said he believed Sunday's performance was an indication of things to come.
"We're going to be tough this year," he said. "Don't think we're a fluke because there's just too much ammunition in the doggone belt right here between Ken Black and the sponsors.
"There's not one soul out here that can say we backed into this win (or) we didn't earn it, because we did."
The showdown between two of the top Funny Cars in the field failed to materialize when Bazemore, the top qualifier, red-lighted and handed the win to the third-seeded Pedregon.
"I think the final was a little anticlimactic," Pedregon said of his 21st career victory. "I think it would have been a good race but I shut it off early only because I saw the red light.
"It was a good day for us and I'm sure (team owner John Force) is proud of his team that we were able to win it. The points are big but it's still pretty early."
Other event winners Sunday: David Wells (Top Alcohol Dragster); Bucky Austin (Top Alcohol Funny Car); David Rampy (Competition Eliminator); Jeff Lane (Super Stock); Toby Lang (Stock Eliminator); Brent Cannon (Super Comp); and Todd Stewart (Super Gas).
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