Fast Winner Comments In NHRA's Four Pro Classes

Whether it’s the traditional quarter mile or the new and safer 1000 foot track for Nitromethane classes, fast is always the measure in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. This weekend at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga., Pro Stock shifters banged through the gears and the Fuel Car drivers wrestled their speed monsters to snare wins from close competition.

There’s a reason NHRA competitors are out of breath at the end of the track and it’s all about adrenaline. A body reacts to being thrust like a rocket even if it’s only for a few seconds. In drag racing anything beyond seconds is deemed an eternity.

Select quotes from the winners in NHRA’s top pro classes before and after the race tell a quick tale of the track, the speed rush and more for fans.

Larry Dixon (Top Fuel Dragster)

Before:
“Our consistency goes back to all the years Alan Johnson and Jason McCulloch have worked together,” Dixon said. “They had a certain combination they were very confident with, and it was just a matter of those guys having the time to adjust their setup to the new equipment we had last year. It’s a lot more predictable than it was, and when you start making more full runs down the race track, you can start to finesse the setup to make it a little bit quicker and a little bit faster. I think that’s what they’ve come up with.” 

After:
“We went up there with what we thought the track could take,” Dixon said. “You have to hope it's enough, and today it was.”

Dixon was humble about tying five-time world champ Amato, a legendary figure in the sport.

After:
"I feel the same way [about tying Amato] as I do against the other people I grew up looking up to: Unworthy,” said Dixon. “To be able to reach a number that [Amato] got ... well, I'm a few championships behind him still. The guys I looked up to didn’t get 23 chances a year to win."

Robert Hight (Funny Car)

Before:
“My car is so close to John’s,” Hight said. “They’ve duplicated over the winter to make John’s like mine. We’ve just had some gremlins, but I think we’ve fought those off and we’re back now. 

“You get greedy. After winning the championship, you have such high hopes of winning another one. It’s like you first just want to qualify, then you want to win a round, well now you want to win a couple rounds, then you want to win a race and then you want to win a championship. Well, now you want to win more.”

After:
“We gave my team all their champ rings this weekend," Hight said. “When we gave them to them I said, ‘Guys let’s go out here and race like champions.’ Two wins in a row shows it is not a fluke, this Mustang is for real.

"No matter what, we couldn't lose, it was going to be a Force win, but to leave here 1-2-3 in points is pretty big right now, especially this early in the season. We were real happy with the way we finished last season and were looking forward to this year.” 

Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock Car)

Before:
"Pro Stock is always so close," Coughlin said, "It's been that way my whole career, especially when you get to a final round. You never see a gap of more than a hundredth or two. We're going to a great racetrack where we've had some success in the past and I feel like we're bringing a great racecar with us."

After:
"I was fortunate to eclipse the 50-win mark – including my Lucas Oil wins – a few years ago and thought I was done with 50 but was reminded here lately of the next plateau,” Coughlin said. “To celebrate it here, in JEGS' 50th anniversary year, I'm very happy."

Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
After
“This is about as good as it gets,” Hines said. “It was a good, clean race in the final. I held onto the clutch lever with just the lightest amount of pressure that I could, and I was .006. That was a little closer than I wanted it, but I’ll take it.”