NHRA: Team Amato a major contender for Columbus title

COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 10) – The final round of last year’s Pontiac
Excitement NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway featured two of Top
Fuel’s brightest up-and-coming stars – Darrell Russell and Larry Dixon –
doing their best to bag wins for their respective team owners – drag
racing legends Joe Amato and Don “the Snake” Prudhomme.

There is every reason to think the same two cars will be lining up once
again for this year’s title as both men arrive in mid-Ohio with massive
amounts of momentum. Certainly, after winning 12 of the 24 national
events contested since the last stop at National Trail Raceway, POWERade
points leader Dixon has an edge. But followers of the sport know the
only man to outright beat Dixon in 2002 is Russell, who powered his
Wayne Dupuy-tuned hot rod to victory over Dixon just two races ago in
Topeka, Kan.

“Dixon has the car to beat this year,” Russell said. “When we line up
our Bilstein Engine Flush System dragster opposite that team we know we
have to be perfect to turn on the win light. It’s exciting we were able
to do that in Topeka, especially since it was in the finals, but they
answered right back at the next race and sent us home in the second
round. We know it’s a war every time we race them and we love the
challenge.”

Currently in his sophomore season as a pro, Russell, the tour’s reigning
Rookie of the Year, is quite familiar with National Trail Raceway dating
back to his numerous trips there with his family’s Top Alcohol dragster.
Aside from his runner-up finish to Dixon last season, Russell claimed
victory there in 1996. When matched with crew chief Dupuy’s 1999 Funny
Car win and team owner Amato’s seven trips to the finals of this event,
Columbus has been very lucky for the entire Bilstein Engine Flush System
race team.

“Even though most drivers don’t like this race track, I love this old
place,” Russell said. “When I raced Top Alcohol dragsters this was the
location of the All-Star race so to be invited to National Trail was a
real honor. That race meant so much to us back then. It meant you were
running well and the payouts were huge. Just making it to the race was
one of the goals you set for yourself every year.

“Now we come in here every bit as excited because we have a race car
we’ve proven can run with the top cars, including Dixon’s. If you look
at the last few races we’ve been every bit as quick as anyone out there.
We even had the quickest losing elapsed time of the weekend in Chicago.
We feel like we’re right on the brink of more great things.”

The ESPN2 television network is devoting eight hours of coverage to this
event. Qualifying highlights will air from 8-10 p.m. (ET), Saturday,
with a repeat showing from 4:30-6 a.m. (ET), Sunday morning. The
elimination rounds will be broadcast from 8:30-11 p.m. (ET), Sunday,
with another showing from 2:30-4:30 p.m. (ET), on June 19.