Leah Pruett, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster:
As It Happened:
Secured No. 6 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q1 run of 3.730 ET at 331.69 mph. In Q5 on Sunday, Pruett ran a 4.204 ET at 206.67 mph.
Advanced to Round 2 on Monday:
Round 1: 3.747 ET at 333.33 mph, defeated Austin Prock (3.777 ET at 319.29 mph)
Round 2: 7.617 ET at 92.86 mph, lost to Justin Ashley (3.753 ET at 332.34 mph)
Leah Pruett:
“We definitely did not leave any efforts on the table to win the world’s longest and most prestigious drag race event, the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals. The difficulty meter and pucker factor started and stayed pegged since Q1 on Friday. We knew we had five qualifying attempts, but that Q1 Friday night right off the trailer was going to most likely be the one that stuck. That puts the pressure on early and our .73 got us solidly into the field. From there, we took the hot midday conditions to dial-in our car for race day, but mechanical issues in Q4 and Q5 caused us to have incomplete passes and curb our learning potential. Monday morning began with faith that issues were solved and tune-up was on point with one of the most meaningful rounds of the year. Seeing Brittany (Force) go out first round, who was ahead of us in points, and us racing (Austin) Prock first round who was directly behind us in points, meant our countdown placement was directly in our hands. Those are the unique type of nerves that Indy serves. My mindset was focused and locked-in on staging thin and being up on the wheel. When I hit the tree, I felt my car continue traction under me and never saw him next to me. Getting the win light from running a smooth 3.74 that properly executed through my Direct Connection team’s deep work gave an instant burst of relief. Immediately, Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) and Mike (Domagala – co-crew chief) began deliberating over various ways to pick up performance for our second round against Justin Ashley, but our loss of lane choice coupled with having a tuned-up hot rod made for breaking traction and losing the round. Being able to match Ashley with an .040 reaction time gave me a bit of confidence and the mindset that we are not in the business of getting outran. We’re not letting our loss stop our momentum. We are testing tomorrow to be as prepared as possible for the Countdown to the Championship since we are starting from the fourth spot. Racing Indy is the hardest feat of them all so far and we’re taking it as conditioning for the most important chapter of the season.”
Post Race Notes:
Currently fourth heading into the Countdown to the Championship, 58 points behind leader Justin Ashley (Pruett added three Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points to the reset, Justin Ashley added 21 Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points)
Pruett made her fourth #2Fast2Tasty appearance of the season. Her previous starts came in the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, the NHRA New England Nationals and the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals.
2023 marks the third time Pruett has entered the Countdown to the Championship in the top-four. Her best starting position for the Countdown was No. 3 in 2017 and she started fourth in 2018.
Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
As It Happened:
Hagen Secured No. 4 qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q3 run of 3.912 ET at 323.19 mph
The Pep Boys All-Star Funny Car Callout Hagan ran a 3.967 ET at 320.05 mph, defeating Tim Wilkerson (4.920 ET at 162.63 mph).
In the Pep Boys All-Star Funny Car Callout Semifinal, Matt ran 3.982 ET at 323.89 mph, defeating John Force (3.991 ET at 322.96 mph).
The Pep Boys All-Star Funny Car Callout Final served as Round 5 of qualifying. Hagan ran a 3.979 ET at 322.58 mph, losing to Robert Hight (3.955 ET at 321.58 mph).
Advanced to Round 2 on Monday:
Round 1: 3.914 ET at 329.91 mph, defeated Alex Laughlin (6.157 ET at 108.84 mph)
Round 2: 5.146 ET at 184.50 mph, lost to Ron Capps (4.582 ET at 235.19 mph)
Matt Hagan:
“Leaving the Big Go, we enter the Countdown to the Championship in the second spot. You can win the championship from anywhere. You have to be in it to win it. We have six races left, so I really want to park this Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car back in the Winner’s Circle. We have to win two or three of these races to be a real title contender. We usually go rounds on race day, so we just have to keep that momentum going. It was a productive weekend as far as making good runs in the heat. Unfortunately, we didn’t have lane choice in the second round and the left lane was a bit tricky. We have to learn from our mistakes and go into the next race with guns blazing. Reading is always a fast race track, so we will go out there and see what we can do.”
Post Race Notes:
Hagen is currently second heading into the Countdown to the Championship, 24 points behind Ron Capps (Hagan added 10 Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points to the reset, Ron Capps added 14 Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points)
Hagan drove his Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a runner-up finish in the Pep Boys All-Star Callout. It marked his second final-round appearance in five Funny Car specialty races. His previous final-round appearance came in Indianapolis in 2022.
Hagan has advanced to the Countdown to the Championship for the 11th consecutive year.
Up Next:
The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 15-17 at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. It is the first race in the six-race Countdown to the Championship, where the top-10 drivers in each of the four professional categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – vie for the title in their respective divisions.
Tony Stewart Racing Media
