POMONA, Calif. (AP) -- Larry Dixon won the Top Fuel event Sunday at the K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona Raceway.
Dixon, coming off last year's championship season, made event history by becoming the first Top Fuel driver to repeat as a winner at the Winternationals. Dixon won the Budweiser Shootout a day earlier.
"This is huge," Dixon said after his 26th career victory. "I thought about the voodoo at this track. More than 40 years of racing and no repeat winners at the Winternationals? This is a perfect way to start the season. I appreciate so much just how good this car is running."
Dixon turned in a 4.541-second run at a top speed of 322.04 mph in the Miller Lite dragster to beat Cory McClenathan's 4.547 in the quarter-mile track.
Tony Pedregon and Warren Johnson also won their respective categories at the $2 million competition, the first of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Pedregon earned his 20th career victory by beating Johnny Gray in the Funny Car final. Pedregon went 4.765 at 324.44 in a Ford Mustang to take the win over Gray's 4.912 at 313.66 in a Pontiac Firebird.
Johnson came one step closer to another career milestone with his 89th career victory in Pro Stock. Johnson went 6.788 at 204.01 in a Pontiac Grand Am to beat Allen Johnson's 6.802 at 204.73 in a Dodge Neon.
K&N Filters Winternationals Results
Top Fuel 1. Larry Dixon. 2. Cory McClenathan. 3. Melanie Troxel. 4. Clay
Millican. 5. Clay Millican. 6. Tony Schumacher. 7. David Grubnic.
8. John Smith. 9. Brandon Bernstein. 10. Darrell Russell. 11. Doug
Kalitta. 12. Paul Romine. 13. Rhonda Hartman-Smith. 14. David Baca.
15. Robert Reehl. 16. Jim Head.
Funny Car 1. Tony Pedregon, Ford Mustang. 2. Johnny Gray, Pontiac
Firebird. 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Camaro. 4. Ron Capps, Camaro.
5. Del Worsham, Firebird. 6. Bob Gilbertson, Firebird. 7. Whit
Bazemore, Dodge Stratus. 8. Tim Wilkerson, Firebird. 9. Gary
Densham, Mustang. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Firebird. 11. Scotty Cannon,
Firebird. 12. John Force, Mustang. 13. Gary Scelzi, Stratus. 14.
Frank Pedregon, Firebird. 15. Bruce Sarver, Toyota Celica. 16. Dean
Skuza, Firebird.
Pro Stock 1. Warren Johnson, Pontiac Grand Am. 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge
Neon R/T. 3. Darrell Alderman, Neon R/T. 4. Greg Anderson, Grand
Am. 5. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cavalier. 6. Kurt Johnson, Cavalier. 7.
Randy Daniels, Grand Am. 8. Brad Jeter, Cavalier. 9. Bruce Allen,
Grand Am. 10. Greg Stanfield, Neon R/T. 11. Mark Osborne, Grand Am.
12. Steve Johns, Cavalier. 13. V.Gaines, Cavalier. 14. Mark Pawuk,
Grand Am. 15. Jeg Coughlin, Cavalier. 16. Troy Coughlin, Cavalier.
