Leah Pruett Takes Top Honors at Home Track (1 Viewer)

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NHRA Pomona 1 Qualifying Report​

NHRA Winternationals (Rescheduled)
Event No. 10 of 20
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Pomona, Calif.
July 30 - Aug. 1, 2021

DSR Friday Qualifying Highlights:

• Leah Pruett powered to the provisional Top Fuel pole on Friday at the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals
• Pruett’s top-ranked Q1 performance comes less than one week after advancing to her first final round of the season
• Ron Capps rocketed to a sub-four second Q1 pass and will start Saturday from the No. 4 position

Leah Pruett Takes Top Honors at Home Track
Pruett Earns Provisional Top Fuel Pole at Pomona

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POMONA, Calif. (July 30, 2021) – Fresh off of a runner-up finish from the most recent event on the NHRA tour, Leah Pruett took the Sparkling Ice Spiked Top Fuel dragster to the top of the leaderboard on Friday night during the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals, powering her 11,000-horsepower machine to a 3.780 E.T. at 321.88 mph under the lights to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifying position.
Pruett, a native of nearby Redlands, entered Auto Club Raceway of Pomona following what could be considered a ‘get healthy’ weekend in Sonoma. After an uncharacteristic string of race weekend struggles, Pruett and the Sparkling Ice Spiked team found themselves back in familiar territory when they battled through the Top Fuel field to advance to the final round at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, the second stop on the three-race Western Swing.
“Based on the last race and tonight’s provisional No. 1 qualifier, I feel like our team is a bit like Benjamin Button,” said Pruett, an eight-time Top Fuel winner. “Our season is going the other way, and is headed in the right direction, which is what we’ve been working towards. The glimpses of glee I felt from pulling the parachutes and turning off the race track, we’re inching towards our own expectations. It’s been a while since I felt that and our team has felt that, and it’s not by accident, it’s by diligence.”
Pruett, a 12-time No. 1 qualifier, is hoping to maintain her position at the top of the field throughout Saturday’s two qualifying sessions to earn the pole for the 13th time in her career. If it sticks, Pruett would be in prime position to repeat her 2017 performance which saw her race from the pole to the winner’s circle, and she’d love nothing more than to capture her first victory of the season in front of friends and family at her home track.
“I remember being in this press room in 2017 when we went No. 1 and then went on to win the race,” she said reflecting on her years of memories at the Pomona, Calif. venue, which include entering her first Jr. Dragster event on her eighth birthday, kickstarting her NHRA career. “Tomorrow’s a whole new day, and the track could get better, but for us, it’s all about our perspective on our own team and our own car. The happiness comes from finding the success in what we’re doing and knowing we’re in the right direction, and to share that happiness with so many racers that I competed with growing up, it’s such a nostalgic feeling for me and that’s what this track brings.”

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 1
The Results:
Q1: 3.780 E.T. at 321.88 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)

Driver Information:
Top Fuel:

ANTRON BROWN: Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster

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Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 7
The Results: Q1: 5.792 E.T. at 116.59 MPH
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Funny Car:

RON CAPPS: Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 4 The Results: Q1: 3.971 E.T. at 318.69 MPH MATT HAGAN: Driver of the DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 5 The Results:Q1: 4.009 E.T. at 312.13 MPH​ About Don Schumacher Racing: Established in 1998 as a single-car Top Fuel team, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) has grown to become the winningest organization in NHRA Drag Racing history, and further cemented its position as one of motorsports’ elite teams when it surpassed the ‘350 wins’ milestone during the 2020 season. DSR owns 18 world championships in three different NHRA categories, and including hall-of-fame team owner Don Schumacher’s five NHRA Funny Car triumphs from the 1970s, DSR has been successful in capturing 360 national event victories overall. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR fields four professional teams competing in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Three-time world champion Antron Brown, and double-duty driver Leah Pruett headline DSR’s Top Fuel dragster team. DSR’s two Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars are driven by 2016 Funny Car world champion Ron Capps, and Matt Hagan, who earned his third NHRA series title in 2020. DSR also campaigns two entries in the Factory Stock Showdown Series. The duo of DSR Dodge Drag Paks is piloted by Pruett, the 2018 series champion, and former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk. For more information, visit shoeracing.com, or Follow Us @shoeracing on Facebook, ​