Leah Pritchett Leads Dodge//SRT Mopar Teams Qualifying No. 2 in AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals

October 19, 2019

, Ennis, Texas

Top Fuel standout Leah Pritchett led the Dodge//SRT Mopar driver contingent in the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals near Dallas. She qualified the HEMI®-powered Pennzoil Dodge Top Fuel Dragster of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) No. 2 for the third time in the first four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship events.

Ron Capps led seven Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers into Sunday’s Funny Car field, capturing the fourth position in qualifying and will face fellow Dodge//SRT and DSR teammate Jack Beckman in the first round. Matt Hagan drove the Western Technical College Mopar CAP Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car to the sixth spot.

Pritchett grabbed her sixth No. 2 qualifying slot of 2019 with Friday evening’s run of 3.681 seconds at 332.10 mph. That was one of four full passes Pritchett made in preparation for her final push to make a claim for the 2019 Top Fuel world championship. History shows she will need to reach Sunday’s final, and likely win, to have a realistic shot with two events remaining. Pritchett has a round win-loss record of 4-3 during the first three 2019 Countdown events and has lost in the second round of the previous three Dallas events.

With Friday night offering the best conditions for qualifying, Saturday proved to be a testing session for Sunday’s eliminations. The Capps-Beckman matchup is one of two first round races Sunday pitting Countdown contenders. There are also two races with Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars squaring off. Paul Lee qualified eighth and will take on DSR’s Tommy Johnson, Jr. in the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car.

Pritchett is pulling double duty this weekend and also earned the No. 2 position in Factory Stock Showdown (FSS). The defending event winner posted an impressive pass of 8.017 seconds at 170.11 mph behind the wheel of the DSR Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak. Pritchett’s DSR teammate Mark Pawuk qualified the Empaco Equipment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak ninth.

Dodge Garage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News
Fans can follow AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals coverage at Dodge Garage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel will share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers in action in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge//SRT Mopar Notes Quotes 
(qualifying times/speeds below)

Leah Pritchett, Pennzoil Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Kebin Kinsley

Friday: (3.767 seconds at 324.28 mph – Q1) (3.767/332.10 – Q2); Saturday: (3.801/327.43 – Q3);  (3.814/316.90 – Q4)

“I’m looking forward to a new short block in our motor tomorrow. We’ve had some major power issues after we ran that 3.68 in Q2. Our strategy of qualifying well when it counts on Friday night has paid great dividends for this Pennzoil team to start off in a good position to go rounds on Sunday. We look forward to putting on a great show for the fans. This is very much a pivotal point in the Countdown; points are tight, and this is when you’re going to see this Pennzoil team shine.”
 
Ron Capps, NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Jack Beckman
 
Friday: (4.047 seconds at 273.27 mph – Q1) (3.881/332.43 – Q2); Saturday: (4.633/179.88 – Q3);  (4.022/290.16 – Q4)
 
“Obviously, we qualified well on Friday night, and that’s important to set the field. We’ve been fighting some adversity here and I’m confident we’ll get these issues worked out before race day. We’ve been in these types of situations before, and we don’t want to race a teammate first round, but Jack Beckman is ahead of us in points, and there are only two races left in the Countdown when we leave here tomorrow. I’m excited about tomorrow. This is the excitement of the Countdown, and it’s awesome for NHRA fans.”

Matt Hagan, Western Technical College Mopar CAP Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car
Qualified No. 6, will face No. 11 Blake Alexander

Friday: (4.068 seconds at 267.96 mph – Q1) (3.890/310.77 – Q2); Saturday: (4.122/245.27 – Q3) (3.950/317.49 – Q4)

“We struggled a little bit in that right lane, so hopefully we can keep lane choice tomorrow stay over in the left lane. All in all, we are really proud to have Western Tech and the Mopar CAP program along for the ride with us this weekend here in Dallas. The Dodge Charger SRT Widebody Hellcat Funny Car has been running really good. We just need to go out and win a race. It’s time to get it done tomorrow.”
Tommy Johnson, Jr., Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car Qualified No. 9, will face No. 8 Paul Lee
Friday: (4.179 seconds at 224.28 mph – Q1) (3.920/324.44 – Q2); Saturday: (3.993/319.22 – Q3) (3.936/316.60) – Q4) “We definitely have a ‘hot weather’ kind of car, so if we can get those conditions tomorrow, I’ll feel very confident. We’re consistent when it’s cool out, but even more so when it’s hot.”

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 12, will face No. 5 Jack Beckman
Friday: (3.937 seconds at 327.11 mph – Q1) (4.202/220.22 – Q2); Saturday: (3.990/316.90 – Q3) (4.601/177.09 – Q4)
 
“It’s a bummer we missed it last night in the Q2 hero run; we pushed it too hard. In that last run, it started moving over to the right and I’m turning further left, and left, and left, and I just let it get too far to the right and lost traction. Hopefully, we got far enough down the track that we got data for tomorrow. I think it’s going to be warmer tomorrow. I think we’ve got a decent hot track tune-up. I think we have a good chance at getting four win lights tomorrow.”
 
About Dodge//SRT
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out in their own segments. Dodge is America’s performance brand and SRT is positioned as the ultimate performance halo of the Dodge brand, together creating a complete and balanced performance brand with one vision and one voice.
 
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge, who founded the brand in 1914. Their influence continues today. For 2020, Dodge literally expands its high-performance Charger model lineup, adding a Widebody exterior to America’s only four-door muscle car. Powered by the 707-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® Hellcat V-8 engine, the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat maintains its reign as the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world.
 
The 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is possessed by the Demon. Its 797-horsepower supercharged HEMI® high-output engine makes it the most powerful, quickest and fastest muscle car, reaching 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in 3.4 seconds, and the fastest GT production car with a ¼-mile elapsed time (ET) of 10.8 seconds at 131 mph. It also reaches a new top speed of 203 mph.

Joining the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is the 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, with its more powerful 717-horsepower engine, and the Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody, featuring fender flares from the SRT Hellcat Widebody, which add 3.5 inches of width to the 485-horsepower Scat Pack’s standard body. Also new for 2019 is the Challenger R/T Scat Pak 1320 with exclusive drag strip technology from the iconic Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is a drag-oriented, street-legal muscle car and a blank canvas for the serious grassroots drag racer. The 2019 Dodge Durango SRT, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV with a best-in-class tow rating of 8,700 lbs., completes the brand’s performance lineup. These visceral performance models join a 2019 brand lineup that includes the Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey, Charger and Challenger — a showroom that offers performance at every price point.
 
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About Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) is the service, parts and customer-care brand for FCA vehicles around the globe. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era, with Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, and expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, the Mopar brand’s global reach distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 25 customer contact centers globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for all FCA US LLC vehicle brands. Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles, offering a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. Complete information on the Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com.