DSR Charlotte I Final Qualifying Report – by the Numbers
Concord, NC – NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
DSR Charlotte I Saturday Highlights:
Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Jack Beckman (Funny Car) lead DSR qualifying and will start race day from the No. 2 
position in their respective categories
Leah Pritchett posted the third-best run of Q4 to secure a spot in the quick-half of the Top Fuel field
Beckman’s Q3 pass was second-quickest of the session and banked two bonus points
Tommy Johnson Jr. powered to the third-quickest pass of Q3, earning a qualifying spot in the top-half of the Funny Car field and the advantage of first choice of lanes in round one
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 2 (first choice of lane)
The Competition:
No. 7 Brittany Force
No. 10 Scott Palmer
No. 15 Dom Lagana
The Results:
Q1: Session cancelled due to inclement weather
Q2: 3.725 E.T. at 327.03 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)
Q3: 4.652 E.T. at 162.12 MPH
Q4: 3.777 E.T. at 328.22 MPH
Bonus Points: Two
Quotable:
“We are just trying to get better every day and that has been our focus. The conditions this weekend have been a little tricky, but we had a really good run on Friday night and a solid run in Q4 today. Getting a good qualifying position in the Four-Wides really helps in the first round. Now we need to go rounds tomorrow. If you can get to the finals, it’s anybody’s game.”
LEAH PRITCHETT
Driver of the Pennzoil MOPAR Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 5 (second choice of lane)
The Competition:
No. 4 Doug Kalitta
No. 12 Richie Crampton
No. 13 Lex Joon
The Results:
Q1: Session cancelled due to inclement weather
Q2: 8.253 E.T. at 84.65 MPH
Q3: 3.837 E.T. at 322.65 MPH
Q4: 3.750 E.T. at 329.67 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Bonus Points: One
Quotable:
“That last run tells me I have an impressive team. I’ve got to say, we’re running this Okuma-CNC’d DSM block and it’s showing it’s got that MOPAR-power. I’m really pumped for race day; whether it’s four-wide, two-wide, Factory Stock, nitro, whatever it is. Want to say thanks to the fans for coming out and hanging with us.”
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 2 (first choice of lane)
The Competition:
No. 7 Tim Wilkerson
No. 10 Ron Capps
No. 15 Dave Richards
The Results:
Q1: Session cancelled due to inclement weather
Q2: 3.891 E.T. at 321.42 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Q3: 3.931 E.T. at 322.27 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)
Q4: 4.244 E.T. at 218.58 MPH
Bonus Points: Five
Quotable:
“Likely, we would’ve gone down the track all three qualifying runs. We saw Hight bump us down in that last session, but something didn’t feel right in the car and I think when it’s not race day, you err on the side of being conservative. We’ll save our parts and go rounds tomorrow.”
RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 10
The Competition:
No. 2 Jack Beckman
No. 7 Tim Wilkerson
No. 15 Dave Richards
The Results:
Q1: Session cancelled due to inclement weather
Q2: 15.585 E.T. at 62.61 MPH
Q3: 5.814 E.T. at 35.44 MPH
Q4: 4.025 E.T. at 315.05 MPH
Quotable:
On having to wait until Q4 to bump into the show:
“That Q4 run removed a lot of pressure. I just got into a piece of chromoly that my NAPA guys put together with blood, sweat and tears. We switched cars in between runs on a Saturday and went out there and made a nice pass. I was a nervous wreck; my crew guys didn’t act like they were. I jumped in and went 315-mph in a brand-new piece of equipment that was put together by (crew chief) Rahn Tobler and my NAPA AutoCare guys. I hope people understand the pressure that I felt, and I probably shouldn’t have but I did. I don’t want to let anyone down. I can’t believe we just did what we did in between rounds, but we’re a championship-caliber team.”
MATT HAGAN
Driver of the Pennzoil Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 6 (second choice of lane)
The Competition:
No. 3 John Force
No. 11 Jonnie Lindberg
No. 14 Cruz Pedregon
The Results:
Q1: Session cancelled due to inclement weather
Q2: 8.233 E.T. at 122.09 MPH
Q3: 3.966 E.T. at 321.12 MPH
Q4: 3.959 E.T. at 325.45 MPH
Bonus Points:
Quotable:
“I feel really good going into race day. We had a consistent car today; it went down the track both sessions. We’ve got some good data to work off of. I think this Pennzoil car is close to being back in the winner’s circle again. We’re going to make it happen. This Hellcat is running great, the guys are working hard, the parts and pieces are working really good, and the drivability of the car is really nice right now.”
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 4 (first choice of lane)
The Competition:
No. 5 Shawn Langdon
No. 12 Terry Haddock
No. 13 Jeff Diehl
The Results:
Q1: Session cancelled due to inclement weather
Q2: 7.978 E.T. at 89.94 MPH MPH
Q3: 3.938 E.T. at 320.36 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q4: 9.454 E.T. at 80.68 MPH
Bonus Points: One
Quotable:
“There’s definitely a difference in lanes at this track – we found that out throughout qualifying, so it helps to have lane choice going into race day. We’ll go out and try to keep earning lane choice and that should mean a good day.”
Factory Stock:
MARK PAWUK
Driver of the Empaco Equipment MOPAR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
Qualified: DNQ
The Results:
Q1: 7.997 E.T. at 170.86 MPH
Q2: 7.990 E.T. at 172.34 MPH
LEAH PRITCHETT
Driver of the MOPAR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
Qualified: No. 9
The Results:
Qualifying:
Q1: 7.914 E.T. at 170.56 MPH
Q2: 7.924 E.T. at 173.94 MPH
Eliminations:
E1: 7.945 E.T. at 173.21 MPH defeated by Bill Skillman 7.889 E.T. at 174.39 MPH
