BALDWIN TARGETS CHAMP DIXON AT NORTHERN NATIONALS

Granddaughter of Chris “The Greek” Karamesines is Third Generation Top Fuel Racer
MARTIN, Mich. – Third generation Top Fuel driver Krista Baldwin, granddaughter of Hall of Fame drag racing legend Chris “the Golden Greek” Karamesines, will be among those trying to deny Larry Dixon a third straight championship Aug. 2-3 when Gun Lake Casino presents the 23rd Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park.

Baldwin, whose dad, Bobby Baldwin, also drove Top Fuel dragsters on the NHRA pro tour, is living a dream that has come more clearly into focus since her purchase this year of the entire Top Fuel racing operation of Ohio’s Pat Dakin, who most recently was runner-up to Steve Torrence at the 2019 NHRA Summit Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.

The Creative Director for McLeod Racing and FTI Performance and the General Manager of Paul Lee Racing, Baldwin has made three NHRA starts this year in her McLeod-sponsored dragster, qualifying No. 7 at the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix with a career best time of 3.755 seconds at a finish line speed of 325.37 miles per hour.

Nevertheless, taking down Dixon will represent the just-turned-31-year-old’s biggest challenge to date. With her racing roots and Dixon’s this match-up will be fierce.

A three-time NHRA World Champion who also has a championship resume in Australia, Dixon is heavily favored to repeat as champion in the feature event against Baldwin, veteran Scott Palmer and former drag boat champion-turned nitro dragster driver Shawn Reed.

In addition to the contemporary rear-engine Top Fuel dragsters driven by that foursome, the Northern Nationals also will showcase nostalgic front engine nitro burners including that of defending event champion and former Bakersfield winner Jimmy Young of Salem, WI, the Joliet, IL-based Outlaw Funny Cars of Joe Haas and John Lawson, the Larsen Motorsports jet dragsters, the Buzzy’s Bomber 1966 Chevy II nostalgia Funny Car driven by Vandalia’s Mark McElwee, the world record-holding “War Wagon” fuel altered and last, but certainly not least, the Pro Modified stars of the PDRA series.

Advance general admission tickets, available on-line at www.us131msp.com, are $15 Friday and $32 Saturday. Children 6-12 are $7 daily with children under six free with a ticketed adult. Special motorhome parking is available at rates of from $125 to $175, but parking otherwise is free. Save $5 off per adult ticket and free children’s tickets with a coupon available at Gun Lake Casino.

The on-track action begins with PDRA qualifying at 2 p.m. Friday followed at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. by two rounds of front-engine Top Fuel dragster qualifying and at 9 p.m. PDRA and Top Fuel qualifying continues Saturday followed by PDRA eliminations starting at 3 p.m. and pro shows, featuring all the nitro cars and the jets, at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.