Leah Pruett, Driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified 10th with a 3.781 ET at 321.96 mph run.
Lost in round 1 to Shawn Langdon (3.746 ET at 328.38 mph), to Langdon’s (3.755 ET at 331.12 mph)
Currently fifth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 217 points behind Top Fuel leader Justin Ashley
Leah Pruett:
“A driver should have confidence in their crew chief and Neal Strausbaugh (crew chief) and Mike Domagala (co-crew chief) have worked very hard.
There’s a big difference between running those night races and in the heat on race day. They’ve done a phenomenal job. I’m blessed to be able to race for them.
It stings losing on a holeshot. I gave it my absolute all and gave our Rayce Rudeen Foundation dragster the best chance it had. Both lanes are great. I’m doing everything in my ability to be a better driver. Some people are naturally a better driver, but some people have to work really hard at it. For my crew chiefs, they’re working really hard to get this car right and I’m working hard at getting me right.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified 5th off of Friday’s run of (3.951 ET at 333.49 mph)
Advanced to the Semifinals on Sunday:
Round 1: 3.997 ET at 317.87 mph, defeated Jason Rupert (4.038 ET at 314.24 mph)
Round 2: 3.955 ET at 324.98 mph, defeated Tim Wilkerson (4.014 ET at 297.81 mph)
Semifinals: 3.999 ET at 323.12 mph, lost to J.R. Todd (3.965 ET at 325.14 mph)
Currently leading the Funny Car championship standings, 19 points ahead of Ron Capps
Matt Hagen:
“The big takeaway from the weekend is that (Ron) Capps didn’t gain any ground on us and we were able to maintain number one in the point standings.
There are some guys back there that are digging hard and popping up on the radar. Someone we can’t take lightly is Chad Green. He’s doing a great job. Same goes for J.R. (Todd) making it to his second Final in a row. He’s a great leaver and great driver. They had a little bit more on the racetrack than us and he had a little more on the tree.
We had a good car and were making adjustments to it as it got hotter and hotter. Overall, I think the Western Swing was still successful. Obviously, we struggled a bit in Seattle, but between the win in Denver and making it to the Semifinals here, we walk away with a good attitude and the points lead.
With three races to go before the Countdown, hopefully everyone else is running out of races to catch us. We still need to add more of a cushion. There are still drivers known for having good cars that are struggling. Look at Robert (Hight), (John) Force and (Bob) Tasca III. There are no easy draws nowadays. Everyone is so tough. You have to bring it every time and bring a little more than you think you have to. It takes that every time to turn a win light on.”
Next Up
The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented by PetArmor August 11-13 at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.
Tony Stewart Racing
