AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Event No. 7
Gainesville Raceway
September 25-27, 2020
LEAH PRUETT
Mopar Dodge SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel Dragster
2019 Gainesville Recap:
Qualified fourth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Pat Dakin in E1; defeated by Richie Crampton in E2)
Last Event (U.S. Nationals):
Qualified sixth; Runner-up finish (defeated Terry McMillen in E1, Tony Schumacher in E2, Steve Torrence in E3; defeated by Shawn Langdon in E4)
2020 Season Statistics:
11 round wins; ranked second in points
Career Statistics:
147 races; eight wins; 12 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
- Pruett arrives in Gainesville second in the Top Fuel championship standings with a runner-up finish at the NHRA U.S. Nationals
- Pruett will once again pull double-duty, competing in both the Top Fuel and Factory Stock categories, and will have the opportunity to compete for two trophies over the course of the weekend
From Leah:
Indy is great, and we’re all very fortunate to have been able to run there as many times as we did, but the essence of traveling and seeing our various fan groups across the country is something I’ve truly missed. We traditionally have not had a great deal of racing success at the Gatornationals, which brings me to my favorite overall Gainesville memory – setting the stock Dodge Demon record on a cool late evening with the talented SRT team back in 2017. Now that we are continuing to adorn the Hellcat Redeye livery at the Gatornationals, I hope to create our very best memory there yet, by putting the themed dragster of Dodge’s most currently available, highest horsepower factory-produced car, the Hellcat Redeye, in the winner’s circle. Something I feel we are outrageously close to doing.
The championship math is simple. We are basically in what some would call ‘Countdown weather,’ without a Countdown. We are aware of our position, two-and-a-half rounds (50 points) behind Doug (Kalitta) and with Steve Torrence half of a round (10 points) behind us, but that is not our focus. They, and the other strong competitors, are not our focus. Qualifying low, heightening our adaptability and staying focused on our hot rod is what we believe will yield us the results we want.
LEAH PRUETT
Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
2019 Gainesville Recap:
Qualified sixth; First round exit (defeated by Kevin Skinner in E1)
Last Event (U.S. Nationals):
Qualified sixth; Second round exit (defeated James Jeschke Jr. in E1; defeated by Jesse Alexandra in E2)
FSS Career Statistics:
19 races; three wins; one runner-up; two No. 1 qualifiers
From Leah:
We have been unable to test for months until this week, which brings me great joy leading into this race. Heading into to South Georgia Motorsports Park with some setup changes Kevin Helms has been wanting to try that will hopefully bring Mark (Pawuk) and I even closer to that win we are both hunting for. I’m proud of Mark and his success in Indy and couldn’t ask for a better teammate.
Source: Don Schumacher Racing
Photos: Mark J. Rebilas Photography
