Bob Tasca admits the .001 light cut by Jack Beckman threw him off his rhythmn keeping him from a win he wanted not just for himself, but for Ford.

“We want to win, that’s why we come,” said Tasca. “Unfortunately, for
us Jack guessed the tree, period. You can’t cut a .001 light.

“I heard him and it actually messed me up because I heard his car and
didn’t see the light go on. I had a decent light but I was still
confused. I hit the gas; I looked for the win light and didn’t see it
on. So I said, ‘Either I was really late, but I knew I was late. We
drove right into tire smoke.”

When Larry Dixon makes it to the final round, Larry Dixon wins. Dixon drove his

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Al-Anabi
Racing Top Fuel dragster, owned by Alan Johnson, to his fourth win of
the season in four final round appearances. Dixon has wins at
Gainesville, Topeka, Englishtown and now Norwalk, and stands second in
the points behind Tony Schumacher.

“Four win lights at the end of the day, that's what counts,” Dixon
said. “There were certain rounds that were not pretty but at the same
time we were the quickest car, so I am real thankful to get this win.”

Dixon path to the final round against Brandon Bernstein included what
looked like easy wins over Steve Chrisman, Clay Millican and Antron
Brown. Each time Dixon posted a solid run while his competition
struggled to get down the track. Bernstein did the same in the final
round, striking the tires before the 330-foot mark.

Jason Line needed a change. His Summit Racing Pontiac GXP wasn't getting the job done,

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so
he borrowed teammate Greg's Anderson's ride from last year. It was a
marriage made in heaven as Line led wire to wire to defeat Mike Edwards
in the final of the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

The win couldn't have come at a better time. Line's sponsor, Summit
Equipment is also the sponsor of the drag strip and the event.

“This is absolute the biggest win for me and this is a great time to do
it,” admitted Line.  “We are tired of watching that yellow car win
races and we need to get our share, too.”

No matter how three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines figured his odds in the final round of

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the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, they all seemed to work in his favor.

If he lost, his team still won.

If he won, they still won.

If he tried to push the tree, he couldn’t go red.

That’s all the incentive Hines needed to beat teammate Eddie Krawiec in
an all Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson final round where he laid down a
.005 reaction and outran the world champion to the finish line.

When it’s your birthday there are a few exceptions fate allows you to get away with, like a .001 reaction time

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behind the wheel of a Funny Car.

Jack Beckman pulled off the feat at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA
Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. The unfortunate victim of his chance
encounter with near perfection was Bob Tasca III.

“Had to cut the final round reaction time to bring up the day’s
average,” Beckman said, smiling. “I made a mistake and got away with
it.”

Beckman’s second Funny Car victory of 2009 followed a trend that he’s
remained close to in his seven prior national event victories. He flies
under radar all weekend long and when once in the final round, he goes
for the jugular.

Tim Wilkerson raced a Pontiac then switched to a Dodge before returning to a Chevrolet. This season he’s running a Ford for the first time in his career and he loves it.

“We’re Blue Oval all the way now,” Wilkerson admits. “The new chassis
has given us a bit of problems but the body has been spectacular. It’s
just really neat to be involved with a company that is as solid as Ford
is … not taking any of the government funding and that makes me proud
because I’m a little guy out here. Ford was started out by one guy and
I have always thought that was neat. They still have people at Ford
interested in running the business correctly.

If you haven't stood in line for at least an hour waiting your turn to
purchase a pound of ice cream, then you haven't truly enjoyed the
“Norwalk Experience”.

In its third year on the NHRA circuit, Summit Racing Equipment
Motorsports Park (SREMP) located a few miles east of Norwalk, Ohio, has
quickly become a “must do” destination for the drag racing fan. This
past weekend the fans turned out to see hot action on the racetrack and
to enjoy the carnival atmosphere surrounding nitro alley. And, no stop
would be complete without the ice cream.

But, there is more than ice cream on the menu. You can find all the
traditional carnival fare, with the exception of cotton candy. There
didn't seem to be a single cotton candy stand on the premises. Corn
dogs, elephants ear, funnel cakes, lemonade, sodas, steak sandwiches,
philly cheese steak sandwiches, “western” style barbeque chicken and
ribs, and for the truly daring a roast beef sundae. All of which
wouldn't be complete without dessert – a pound of ice cream.

The NHRA’s second nitro spec test scheduled for the Monday following
the Norwalk national event has been postponed to a later date. If this
test is not conducted between the national events in Norwalk and
Denver, a source within the NHRA told CompetitionPlus.com it will be
conducted after the three-race western swing is completed.

The delay is due largely in part to the availability of additional
parts to conduct the tests. Reportedly the NHRA’s tech department seeks
to stockpile parts to ensure multiple runs for each session. The lack
of parts for their initial spec test in Bristol prohibited as many runs
as they sought to make.

Jack Beckman received a birthday gift as he raced to his second Funny Car victory of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals a first for him at this track.

Larry Dixon, Jason Line and Andrew Hines also were winners of the NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at Summit Racing Equipment
Motorsports Park.

Beckman drove his Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Charger to his
second win of the season and moved to fourth in the Full Throttle
Series points standings, by his nearly perfect .001 reaction time off
the line against Bob Tasca. Beckman earned his eighth  career victory
with a performance of 4.315 at 277.54, while Tasca trailed in his
Motorcraft Quicklane Ford Shelby Mustang with a 6.470 at 149.93.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the
Third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing
Equipment Motorsports Park, the 12th of 24 events in the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series -