Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon entered the final race of the season separated by a single point and in the first round of qualifying the gap was just a thousandth of a second.
Lined up side-by-side for the final pass of the first day of qualifying at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals Thursday, Schumacher, the points leader, ran a 3.832 at 316.52 to Dixon’s 3.833 at 314.31.
“Two great teams, two great drivers, two great crew chiefs. It’s just a great battle. The fans are going to get their money’s worth,” Schumacher said.
The other provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 24th and final race in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season were Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle).