Toyota NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Preview

What: Las Vegas Nationals
When: Friday, October 29 – Sunday, Oct. 31
Where: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Television: ESPN2 – Qualifying – 10/31, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
ESPN2 – NHRA Raceday – 10/10, 6:30 p.m. ET
ESPN – Eliminations – 9:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. ET
ESPN3 Live Eliminations Coverage – 2:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET

DIXON CLOSES IN ON TITLE – Larry Dixon will take an 89-point lead into the penultimate round of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series this weekend at the Las Vegas Nationals. He can clinch his third Top Fuel championship by advancing to the finals in each of the last two races or by scoring any combination of 171 points regardless of what any other competitor does. Dixon took over the series lead at the spring race in Las Vegas and has yet to relinquish it since – winning 10 of the last 16 events since that race. Overall, he has recorded 12 victories this season and leads the series in wins, finals appearances (12), number one qualifiers (eight) and elimination round victories (59).

CRASHING THE COUNTDOWN PARTY – While Cruz Pedregon’s early-season struggles didn’t allow him to qualify for the Countdown playoffs, it hasn’t stopped the two-time Funny Car champ from crashing the party. He’s won two of the last three Countdown events and advanced to the semi-finals in a third. In fact, since the playoffs began at Indy on Labor Day weekend, Pedregon is second in Funny Car points – trailing series points leader Matt Hagan by just 26 points and has scored 72 points more than the number three driver during that span.

DOUBLING DOWN IN VEGAS – Larry Dixon will be attempting to win his second race of the year at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He defeated Cory McClenathan in mid-April after qualifying second. Fellow Toyota-sponsored driver Antron Brown was the number one qualifier that weekend, but lost traction in a second-round loss. Morgan Lucas Racing teammates Morgan Lucas and Shawn Langdon also advanced to the second round before losing – with Langdon’s loss coming at the hands of Dixon. On the Funny Car side, Del Worsham advanced to the semi-finals, while Cruz Pedregon lost in the opening round.

Toyota-Sponsored Cars at Las Vegas

Top Fuel:
Antron Brown, Don Schumacher Racing, Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Larry Dixon, Al-Anabi Racing, Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Shawn Langdon, Morgan Lucas Racing, Lucas Oil/Dixie Choppers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Morgan Lucas, Morgan Lucas Racing, GEICO/Lucas Oil Toyota Top Fuel Dragster

Funny Car
Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing, Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry Solara Funny Car
Del Worsham, Al-Anabi Racing, Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Camry Solara Funny Car

2010 Wins (14) – Dixon(12): Pomona, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Englishtown, Norwalk, Sonoma, Brainerd, Indy; Charlotte; Reading; Pedregon (2) – Charlotte, Reading
2010 Top Qualifiers (15) – Dixon (8): Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Norwalk, Sonoma, Indy, Dallas; Rading; Brown (5): Gainesville, Las Vegas, Topeka, Bristol, Denver; Worsham (1): Las Vegas; Pedregon (1): Charlotte

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