Like the sun setting over the hills of Eastern Pennsylvania which surround Maple Grove Raceway, the chances of catching Larry Dixon for the title of Top Fuel Champion are sinking fast for Cory McClenathan and Tony Schumacher.

With two events remaining, Dixon holds an 89-point lead over McClenathan and an 154-point lead over Schumacher.

Dixon, who is now 12 for 12 in final round appearances, said winning this race made up for the mistakes he made which led to a first round loss in Dallas at the last event.

Like the sun setting over the hills of Eastern Pennsylvania which surround Maple Grove Raceway, the chances of catching Larry Dixon for the title of Top Fuel Champion are sinking fast for Cory McClenathan and Tony Schumacher.

With two events remaining, Dixon holds an 89-point lead over McClenathan and an 154-point lead over Schumacher.

Dixon, who is now 12 for 12 in final round appearances, said winning this race made up for the mistakes he made which led to a first round loss in Dallas at the last event.

“I can hardly wait to watch it on tv,” said Dixon, with a smile and chuckle of relief, when asked about his winning run in the post race press conference. “It's hell on the driver. You'd rather leave it to your car.

“At that point, I stepped on the throttle and immediately spun the tires. You're coming off the throttle and as your rolling back on you look in the other lane; he shot way out there and he kept going and then all of a sudden I could see him start to spin the tires.”

At that point Dixon mashed the throttle to the floor and the car hooked up. As McClenathan struggled to get his car back under power, Dixon roared past for the win.

“Our car just hooked up. I had such a run. When I saw the win light come on, I was laughing and couldn't believe it all at the same time, because that's a race you shouldn't win and we won.”

After coming to a stop Dixon exited his dragster arms pumping high in the air. This win, it turns out, was a bit of payback for the slip up in Dallas.

“I let the team down in the worst way a driver can (at the last race),” admitted Dixon. “I had a great horse and ran it right into the mud. So, I came back this week and wanted to be a better driver. I wasn't the best but I was a heck of a lot better than I was last race. I was wound up. Every once in a while when you don't have the perfect horse and it's on the driver and you can win those rounds for the team, from a driver's standpoint it makes you feel good.”

Dixon could have easily given up on the run, but he didn't.

“Initially, your in your car and in your lane. You leave the tree and whoop it smokes the tires. You're coming off the throttle. At that point as soon as you come off the throttle you are trying to gauge … where is the other guy. As soon as you see him smoke the tires you just finish the job and hope its enough.”

Dixon now has slightly more than a four round lead over McClenathan with just eight rounds of racing remaining. He isn't counting the chickens but the henhouse is looking mighty tempting.

“I would rather be 90 up than 90 down,” admitted Dixon.

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