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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 18, 2006 Dave Hix stands alongside his nitro-powered altered dragster that he drove to a dominating victory at last weekend�s Pepsi Nightfire Nationals. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) A Need for Speed Central Point's Dave Hix collected his biggest win last weekend in Boise, Idaho CENTRAL POINT — All the footsteps that Dave Hix followed as a kid growing up in Southern California led to race tracks. His father was grease-deep into drag racing. His four brothers — two older and two younger — dabbled in drag racing or stock car racing. Talk about a testosterone-loaded need for speed. "We're all mechanical and very competitive," Hix says. "Dad got us boys started in racing and we couldn't stop." More than three decades later Hix, 49, is still slamming the pedal to the medal. Last weekend in Boise, Idaho, the Central Point transmission shop owner bagged the greatest win of his 32-year career by winning the top fuel altered division of the Pepsi Nightfire Nationals. Advertisement Hix emerged as the No. 1 qualifier and dominated all three of his opponents en route to his first title since 2002. He earned $8,000 for his efforts. "This was the biggest race on the West Coast at our level and to dominate like that is a lifetime dream," Hix says. "Your status with other drivers around the country goes up. It was all over the Internet." Hix competes on a circuit called Nostalgia Fuel Racing, where the bodies of the cars resemble sporty models from the 1920s through the 1960s. Hix's altered funny car looks like a Model-T Ford. Nostalgia Fuel Racing is a step below the National Hot Rod Association — similar to what Triple-A minor league baseball would be compared to the Major Leagues. "It's mostly a money thing," Hix explains. "Guys on the NHRA circuit have a lot more sponsorships and are able to put more money into their cars and travel to all the races. "The speeds of the cars aren't that much different." Hix, whose main sponsor is Dutch Brothers Coffee, is on a relatively low-budget team. He only makes it to about eight races per year, traveling with his wife, Heidi, and his two daughters in his 1990 Kenworth semi. His pit crew — chief mechanic John Ruff, Roger Ponder, Ronnie Mankins and his younger brothers Darrell and Wade — also make the trips. Other than his job and family, racing is Hix's life. "It's a hobby and a passion," says Hix, who has driven a nitro fuel car for the past 13 years. "It feels great to win, but being out there with your family and friends is really what it's all about. "We turn our long racing trips into vacations. We've been all over the western part of the country and into Canada. The main objective is that everyone has fun." It's an expensive hobby, however. A single pass down a quarter-mile strip costs Hix about $750. Because of the stress on his car's engine, it must be taken apart and refurbished after each run. "We usually put in two or three new pistons after each run," Hix says. "There's so much cylinder pressure in the engine that it breaks up the pistons and burns them up." Along with his triumphant performance last weekend and a victory at the 2002 Gold Rush Nitro Nationals in Sacramento, Hix's other notable accomplishment came in 2004 at the Woodburn Drag Strip when he set a world record for single magneto, top fuel altered cars. Hix reached 244 mph and covered the quarter mile in an eye-catching 5.7 seconds. "We're really proud of that one," Hix says. Hix's only serious accident occurred at the Woodburn track in 1996 when a front end piece of his car broke off near the finish line. Hix, who was traveling about 230 mph, hit the retaining wall and broke his collarbone in two places. He spent a week in the hospital and several weeks recuperating, but built a new car and returned to the track six months later. "I got back on that horse," says Hix, who was among the first champions at the Champion Dragway (formerly Southern Oregon Dragway) in White City in 1980. "When it's such a big part of your life, it's hard not to." Hix will compete in a match race Saturday at the Champion Dragway and will enter another nostalgia race in Bakersfield, Calif., on Sept. 16. "Sometimes it seems like a full-time job," Hix says, "We're constantly tearing the car down and rebuilding or replacing parts. "But it's a labor of love. And for everything we put into it, we get even more back." Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews