LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN

Dixon Grabs 4th U.S. Nationals Win

Ashley Force Wins Back-to-Back in Indy

The countdown has begun and in no better place than INDY!!! If you ask any driver, any crew member, or any crew chief what race they would like to win in their career....they ALL will say INDY! Indianapolis, Indiana is where most drivers and teams call home. It is where history has been made and dreams have been realized. It is THE race to win in NHRA®. For the 4th time in his NHRA career, FRAM® sponsored Larry Dixon took the win against the FRAM team in the finals of the U.S. Nationals! In Funny Car, FRAM/Autolite® sponsored Ashley Force Hood took her second consecutive Indy win and her first win of the 2010 season against her father, John Force. And in Pro Stock, FRAM/Prestone®/Autolite sponsored, Greg Stanfield defeated Mike Edwards to take his first U.S.Nationals career win!

Dixon started his day in the number one qualifying position. Every time Dixon has qualified #1 this year, he has taken the win...the U.S. Nationals was no exception! Dixon began his day with a first round win against Bruce Litton. In the second round, Dixon took an easy win against Steve Torrence who had to shut it off mid track. Dixon then headed to the semis and took on Shawn Langdon who is notorious for drilling people off the line. Langdon didn't disappoint as he had a HUGE jump on Dixon at the tree but just didn't have the power in his dragster to hold him off. Dixon took the win by just inches in what could have been a HUGE holeshot upset for Langdon...but Dixon just had the edge in his Top Fuel dragster!

Dixon then faced #2 qualifier, Cory Mac and the FRAM team in the finals! Dixon would have lane choice over the FRAM team, who defeated teammate Tony Schumacher in the semis. Cory Mac has been to the finals 7 times this year and has won three times. Dixon has been to the finals 10 times this season and has won all ten final rounds! This final round was no exception! Dixon took an early jump off the line and never looked back! Grabbing his 4th U.S.Nationals title and 10th win for the season!

Ashley Force Hood grabbed her first win of 2010 at the U.S. Nationals! This is her second Indy win, winning here last year and becoming the first Funny Car female driver to ever win the U.S. Nationals! Ashley's road to victory began by defeating FRAM sponsored Del Worsham. Worsham got a jump off the line but he couldn't hold on to the lead, and Ashley sailed straight down the track for a first round win. Ashley would then face FRAM/Prestone sponsored, Paul Lee who defeated Robert Hight in round one. Lee and Ashley left the line together but it was Ashley who pulled ahead early in the run and took the win. Ashley then took on FRAM/Prestone/Autolite sponsored Jack Beckman who gave her a great race but was unable to take her down! Ashley grabbed the semi final win and would go on to the finals to face off against her father!

John Force was ecstatic as he watched his daughter beat Beckman, knowing he would go head-to-head against her in the finals! Ashley had been win-less going into Indy this 2010 season. The finals ware a bit of disappointment as Ashley took an easy win against her father who shut off his Funny Car shortly off the line, leading many to yet again speculate whether or not the race winner was determined prior to the race even happening. Either way, Ashley had a strong Funny Car all day and deserved to be in the finals and grabbed her second Indy win and first win of the season!

In Pro Stock, FRAM/Prestone/Autolite sponsored Greg Stanfield and his team took their first ever U.S. Nationals win! Both driver and team were ecstatic as they celebrated their win down track! But the road to victory wasn't easy! Stanfield took a first round win by only 5 one-thousandths of a second over Warren Johnson! In the second round Stanfield nearly lost it again as he had a near perfect light (or a near RED light) with a reaction time of .008 against Jason Line! Stanfield needed that jump, as he took a holeshot win against Line and moved his way into the semi finals. Stanfield took an easy semi final win when Allen Johnson broke as Stanfield made a clean pass to grab the win light.

Stanfield then faced off against 2009 Champion, Mike Edwards. Edwards had the strongest Pro Stock car at the track, and Stanfield knew this and took his chances at the tree! It was well worth the chance...Stanfield grabbed a HOLESHOT win over the 2009 Champion and took his first U.S.Nationals victory! For Stanfield and his team, this was a career dream come true, to win the U.S.Nationals. A true team effort for the first Indy win for this team!

We head to Charlotte in two weeks....and one step closer to the Championship!!!