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 Dixon
said the moment he clinched was more one of relief than excitement.
"It's been a tough battle with Kenny all year. We got off to a strong
start, but then we struggled in the middle part of the year and they
kept us honest. I told Kenny last year at Las Vegas when he won the
semifinals and we lost, which clinched the championship for him, that
I was glad he was racing another season so I could have a heads-up,
fair-and-square try to race him for it. It's like the Ali-Frazier rematch.
Fortunately, we won the match. They're such great race team and they
force you to have to be better."
Dixon reminded that last season he earned more points
than he did this time and didn't win the championship. He knew crew
chief Dick LaHaie, who early-on adjusted to the new Goodyears faster
than anyone, gave him a tremendous headstart. And he said, "I'm so thankful
to bring a championship to Snake. That guy took a shot on me when I
didn't have anything to bring to the table. What am I going to get him
to say thanks? Putting the No. 1 on the side of his car, especially
in his 40th year in drag racing. Just being able to wear the No. 1 for
a season is more than I ever could dream of.
"These are things that you dream about as a kid, watching
Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, the Snake and people like that. You
want to be like them when you're a kid, and to finally get a shot to
go out there and race is tremendous. To get to this point and actually
win a championship, even one, is huge. I've got to thank Don Prudhomme,
Dick LaHaie and the Miller Brewing Company for sticking with me and
letting me come into my own."
Furthermore, if Dixon wins at Pomona, he will tie Bernstein's
record for most round-wins in a season (61).
Bernstein, 190 points behind Dixon, focused on the positive
after smoking the tires on the Budweiser King Dragster in his first-round
match-up with Shirley Muldowney. "We feel like we're stepping from the
cockpit while we're still very competitive," Bernstein said. "We wanted
to go out while we were still on top of our game, and we accomplished
that. We can look in the mirror and say we have given a 100 percent
effort."
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