Mopar Dodge//SRT Drivers Pritchett and Capps Sweep Top Qualifying Spots at NHRA Finals
Pomona, CA – Leah Pritchett and Ron Capps swept the top qualifying spots in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively, 
at the 54th Annual NHRA Finals in Pomona, California, putting Mopar and Dodge//SRT in the No. 1 spot for the 16th time this year in the NHRA Nitro classes.
The pole was Mopar Dodge//SRT driver Pritchett’s fourth of the year in her HEMI® engine-powered Top Fuel dragster, the 11th of her career and the seventh of the season for a Mopar-powered Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Top Fuel driver. Capps earned his first No. 1 spot of 2018, 22nd of his career and the ninth of the 2018 campaign by a Mopar Dodge DSR Funny Car competitor.
Pritchett was dominant, pocketing all eight possible points during Friday qualifying to earn the preliminary pole on a 3.649-second elapsed time (ET) at 329.34 mph heading into Saturday. In the final pair of the final Top Fuel qualifying session of the 2018 season, Pritchett unleashed a monster 3.631/332.84 run that tied for second quickest in the history of NHRA Top Fuel, reset the Auto Club Raceway track speed record and cemented the pole. Pritchett also collected 12 of 16 possible bonus points during qualifying. She’ll face Bill Litton in round one.
Capps, third in the Funny Car points standings, improved steadily from the second session onward, ending his qualifying efforts with a 3.848 ET at 331.53 mph to stake his claim to the No. 1 spot. The Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver locked in a date with No. 16 Ray Martin in the opening round.
Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car pilot Jack Beckman followed his DSR teammate Capps on the qualifying charts, taking the No. 2 spot with a 3.867/330.96 run in the final qualifying pair on Saturday. Beckman’s first-round battle will be against Jeff Arend.
Also in that final pair with Beckman was fellow DSR racer and Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T driver Tommy Johnson Jr., who held the provisional pole on Friday and was aiming for his fourth consecutive No. 1 spot until he was knocked off his perch by Capps. Johnson matched Beckman’s ET of 3.867 but took the third qualifying position based on his slower 326.40 mph, giving Mopar Dodge//SRT drivers a sweep of the top three Funny Car qualifying positions. Johnson, who was quickest in three rounds and earned 14 bonus points in qualifying, will open eliminations on Sunday against Cruz Pedregon.
Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car racer Matt Hagan saved his best for last, clocking a 3.946/323.50 run to move all the way up to the top half of the field in the No. 8 position. The two-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion seeks his fourth win of the season on Sunday, with Shawn Langdon as his first-round foe. Tony Schumacher also put his Mopar-powered U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster in the eighth position and will battle No. 9 Scott Palmer in round one.
