Pruett Takes Her Direct Connection Dragster To Finals

Leah Pruett, driving the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT Direct Connection dragster in her 200th NHRA Top Fuel start, fought her way through a tough Top Fuel field to take the runner-up finish in Sunday’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Pruett, the winner of this year’s Summit Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, was seeking her 12th career Top Fuel national victory as she defeated former NHRA world champions Tony Schumacher, Brittany Force, and current Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley in reaching the coveted final round against Antron Brown.

After qualifying fifth with a 3.777, Pruett clocked consistent runs Sunday with a 3.820 against Schumacher, 3.750 against Force, and 3.733 opposite Ashley. The final round was a close race, with Brown’s 3.715 to Leah’s 3.757.

Pruett’s third final-round appearance of the year moved her closer to clinching a position in the Countdown to the Championship, which features the top 10 Top Fuel drivers in points battling for the NHRA title in the final six events of the 2023 campaign. Pruett currently holds the fifth spot in Top Fuel points.

“What a race day for this Dodge//SRT Direct Connection team starting from the fifth spot,” said Pruett. “We competed against three world champions and the current points leader, so we had our work cut out for us today. We were able to execute and turn on three ‘win’ lights, but unfortunately just didn’t have enough from the starting line to the finish line to beat Antron (Brown).

“I’m stoked that we get to be in the final Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season in Indy, which allows us to capitalize on race mode while qualifying. We definitely do not have our heads down, even though we could taste this Brainerd win. Our original plan, no matter what was to test here in Brainerd on Monday in preparation for the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’ll service our HEMIs and parts and analyze today’s wins and shortcomings. We’ll be ready for Indy!”

In the NHRA Funny Car division, Matt Hagan, seeking his fourth NHRA Camping World Championship in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT HELLCAT, suffered a rare first-round loss Sunday to David Richards when Hagan’s nitro-burning machine lost traction.

Hagan now ranks second in the NHRA Funny Car points standings, just 21 points behind leader Ron Capps, and he is now headed to the 68th Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, the “Super Bowl of Drag Racing” established in 1955. 

In Brainerd qualifying, Hagan ranked third at a 3.910 pass on Friday and advanced to the final round in Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for top Funny Car qualifiers, where he finished runner-up and picked up two additional points.

“It was obviously a very tough weekend,” Hagan said. “The points will not be great for us this weekend, having not gotten out of the first round. We’ve got to move forward. We are better than that. You are going to have a couple of hiccups along the way, and, unfortunately, this is one of them. We are going to dig deep and figure out what we did wrong. It stops with us as a team, and we are going to work harder. We want to be prepared for Indy now.”

The Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will feature five nitro qualifying sessions on Friday, Sept. 1st at 7 p.m. CDT, followed by two qualifying rounds on Saturday, Sept. 2nd at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. CDT and on Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. CDT. The final eliminations will begin Monday, Sept. 4th, at 10 a.m. CDT.

The Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals will be televised on Fox Sports 1, with qualifying round 1 on Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 11:30 a.m. EDT and qualifying round 2 on Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 5:30 p.m. EDT. The Funny Car All-Star Callout will be shown on FOX Network on Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 4 p.m. EDT.

The final eliminations for the 68th edition of the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals are scheduled to be televised on Fox Sports 1 on Monday, Sept. 4th at noon EDT and 2 p.m. EDT on the FOX Network.