Jimmy Scott had no clue. 

The former Pro Comp icon was carrying a three-month-old baby in the pits at a drag strip in the 1960s, but he does not remember which facility it was.

One thing he did vividly remember was that this baby belonged to a man who had probably taught him more about a fuel car than anyone else in the industry. 

Scott worked for iconic drag racer Larry Dixon Sr. on his Fireside Inn dragster and the baby? It was Larry Jr.

“I could have never envisioned that this kid I carried around would end up a three-time world champion and one of the best Top Fuel drivers ever,” Scott said. “I followed his career closely, and he worked hard to get there and deserves everything he got.”

In following Dixon’s career, Scott noticed that once the multi-time champion retired from driving, he built a two-seat Top Fuel dragster in 2017, intending to sell the fuel racing experience to anyone who could afford the $10,000-per-ride ticket. 

Scott knew that would be quite the experience for someone seeking an adrenaline rush. Likely, it wouldn’t be him. 

As Scott put it, “I’m too cheap to do something like that on my own.”

That’s when Scott’s wife Shirley got to the point and offered $10,000 for the experience. 

Scott admitted that he only needed the speed experience because he wanted to support Dixon and see the venture succeed.

“I think part of even why I wanted to do it is because I wanted to see it succeed,” Scott said. “It all contributed to me really wanting to do it. And then, when Shirley said she’d finance it, I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to do it.” 

The likelihood of Scott going down the drag strip in under five seconds was strong, even if the Dixon two-seater could only run full power to the eighth mile. 

“When I was doing real good in Top Alcohol, they had just formed the five-second club, and I ran (2) 6-flats, a 6.01 and (2) 6.02s, and up above 225 to 230,” Scott said. “But I never ran in the fives. We either made mistakes when we should have. Or when the conditions didn’t merit it, we couldn’t get there.”

Scott had driven for Top Alcohol greats Gene Adams and Dale Smart in the past, so his equipment was top-notch, but for some reason, the milestone five-second category had eluded him. 

One of the toughest challenges for a drag racer is giving up the steering wheel, even more so when it is non-functional, and you are along for the ride. 

“You got to have confidence in the person that’s got the steering wheel that works,” Scott pointed out. “I did have a steering wheel. It just didn’t work. I knew going in exactly what the program was going to be. I wondered how I’d feel when the motor started, and I was sitting there as a passenger. I was programmed to how it was all going to work.”

The experience of burning out in a Top Fuel dragster, albeit an exhibition one, was within his expectations. 

“The burnout wasn’t much more than I expected,” Scott explained. “We went up there, and he put it on the high side, pre-stage. [He] stepped off the pedal, and I said, ‘Okay, that’s exactly what I expected.”

The tree flashed green and Scott was thrown back into the seat, as Dixon thundered to a 3.40-second elapsed time at 253 miles per hour to the eighth-mile at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. 

“I’m going to tell you what, I don’t think there’s anything that could have prepared me for that,” Scott admitted. “It was way beyond what I was anticipating.”

Dixon said he exited the car after the run and turned around, and the look on Scott’s face was priceless. 

“He says, ‘It had more power than I thought it would have,” Dixon said. “That was the first thing he kept saying. Everybody’s a little different in those cars, meaning some will squeal, some are loud, and some are very reserved, and he was very quiet, but you couldn’t get the smile off his face for the rest of the day.”

Dixon said he was honored to play a role in Scott’s experience. 

“The first word that comes out of my mouth is it’s awesome that somebody like him would consider something I’m doing,” Dixon said. “Obviously, there ain’t a dozen other two-seat Top Fuel cars around the country, but he entrusts me enough to take him down the track and go. I love that, that he trusts me, and there are things that he still wanted to do. I mean, he’s 85 years old, but he still wants to do things while he is still here. And the number one thing is he wanted to go 250 down the racetrack because the fastest he’d ever gone is 227 in the quarter, and if we went 253, the eighth.”

“That made me feel good too, that I can impress somebody that’s been in the sport, gosh, 70 years of his life.”

Scott said Dixon previously offered him the opportunity to license his conventional Top Fuel dragster, which Scott declined. As far as Scott is concerned, he’s fulfilled his dream.

“I don’t have a need to do it again,” Scott said. “I don’t have a need to drive. I don’t really feel like I need to prove anything at this point.”