Leah entered the weekend knowing that in order to remain in championship contention, she had to make a big move. The first step came Saturday afternoon as she drove the MOPAR Dodge Top Fuel Dragster quicker than any other driver on the property. She laid down a track record-setting pass of 3.654 seconds to claim her first No. 1 qualifying position of the season and 12th of her career. She will take on Cameron Ferre in the opening round with an opportunity to continue her team’s championship aspirations.
“That Q4 run was a phenomenal pass, and it started out with the attitude and plan that we had coming into the weekend, and that was about execution,” said Pritchett, who started the race weekend sitting fifth in the Top Fuel rankings. “I knew when I hit 330-feet that we were going to be on a run. We were trying to be the quickest of every round, and we made three consistent runs out of four. We knew what this car was capable of, and we put everything on the line to get those bonus points.
“To be No. 1 at the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil is phenomenal,” added Pritchett. “We have all of the support here. Our pit is full; we have all of the energy; it’s our first No. 1 of the season, and we just hope to carry this momentum into tomorrow.”
The Results:
Q1: 3.723 E.T. at 330.47 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q2: 3.681 E.T. at 328.28 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q3: 4.319 E.T. at 182.75 MPH
Q4: 3.654 E.T. at 329.83 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Source: Don Schumacher Racing Press Release
