Larry Dixon, Tony Schumacher a point apart

JERRY FOSS/NHRA PHOTO

In this file photo, Larry Dixon powers his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to the top of the qualifying order in Top Fuel at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals on Oct. 30. (Nov. 13, 2009)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

POMONA, Calif. – Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon are just a point apart going into the Full Throttle Series season finale this weekend. In the first round of Top Fuel qualifying Thursday, they were just a thousandth of a second apart.

Lined up side-by-side for the final pass of the first day of qualifying at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals, Schumacher, the points leader, had a 3.832-second run at 316.52 mph to Dixon's 3.833 at 314.31.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also topped their divisions at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Hight all but secured his first career Funny Car title with a pace-setting 4.093 at 309.34. He entered the weekend with a 105-point lead over Ashley Force Hood and needed to maintain at least a 101-point lead through qualifying to clinch the title.

In Pro Stock, Edwards effectively locked up his first career series championship with the pace-setting 6.637 at 209.46 mph. He will be crowned once points are awarded after the fourth and final round of qualifying Saturday.

If Edwards maintains the No. 1 position, it would be his 16th and that would match the single-season high in NHRA history, previously set by Greg Anderson in 2004.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Stoffer set the pace at 6.982 and 191.70.

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