Larry Dixon is most widely known as a three-time championship-winning NHRA Top Fuel driver, but there’s far more to the man than piloting 330 mph dragsters. A genuine bowtie fanatic, Dixon is still involved in other aspects of the sport not related to nitromethane, such as readying his 1966 Chevy II for Drag Week duty. The deuce, which is featured prominently in this outstanding video presented by our friends at Optima Batteries, has been a fixture in the Dixon driveway for three decades, and it’s finally time for Larry to show it some love.

And what better venue to get reacquainted with an old friend than the five-tracks-in-five-days marathon that is Hot Rod Drag Week? Dixon drew up some serious plans for the Chevy II with an extensive heart transplant project earlier this year, a project which we’ve been chronicling here on Dragzine and on our sister site, ChevyHardcore. Gone is the standard fare LS Chevrolet powerplant and in it’s place now thumps a brand new GM LT4 crate engine. Churning out 650 horsepower from the factory, the LT4 presents a serious power upgrade for the Chevy II, which means further upgrades to the chassis and suspension had to be made as well.

With potential 9-second ET’s on tap, a 10-point cage had to be installed, both for safety and to keep the chassis rigid under the added torque. Classic Industries also helped out by completely rebuilding the suspension, and there is a new Strange Driveshaft to help channel the power rearward from the new 4L85E transmission.

Dixon drove the deuce in its debut at Drag Week this September, where he placed 27th in the Small Block Power Adder class with a 12.41 average. He turned in time slips ranging from an 11.02 to an 11.21 on every stop but one, where a struggling 17.61 on the opening day in Columbus marred his final results.

Regardless of the outcome, Dixon is sure to be ready to race again in his beautiful Chevy II with that big trademark grin gleaming in the sun.