Top Fuel points leader Pritchett’s whirlwind year will slow to a blur this weekend at Las Vegas when she drives Papa John’s dragster
BROWN LOOKS TO CELEBRATE AT THE STRIP AGAIN – It’s been a while since Antron Brown has left Las Vegas 
without a smile on his face. In his last three visits to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brown clinched the 2015 Top Fuel world championship, won the 2016 spring event and then clinched his second consecutive series title at the 2016 Toyota Nationals. Of course, Brown’s done a lot of celebrating over the past five years with three world championships and 30 race wins on his resume over that span.
VEGAS HAD HIGHS AND LOWS FOR DeJORIA IN ‘16 – Few tracks have provided a bigger roller-coaster ride for a driver than The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway did for Alexis DeJoria in 2016. In the spring, DeJoria earned her second Las Vegas victory in the last three seasons, but then saw her season come to an abrupt end with a qualifying crash at the track in October – missing the final two races due to a concussion. In addition to her on-track activities, her Alexis DeJoria Racing team has played a huge rule in the Las Vegas community, offering free mammograms to female fans over 40 who attend the fall Toyota Nationals.
ANTRON BROWN INKS TV DEAL – Antron Brown is busy pursuing his third consecutive Top Fuel world championship, yet, the long-time Toyota driver will feature something new on his schedule in 2017. Brown was recently announced as a co-host on the new Top Gear America, which will launch on BBC America later this year. He will co-host the show with actor William Fichtner, a multi-time participant in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, as well as auto journalist Tom Ford.
TOYOTA DRIVERS WIN BIG IN VEGAS – Five of the seven Toyota drivers scheduled to compete at this weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals are previous winners in Las Vegas with each winning at least twice at The Strip. Antron Brown (3), Doug Kalitta (2) and Del Worsham (1) have combined for six Top Fuel victories, while Cruz Pedregon (3), Alexis DeJoria (2) and Worsham (1) also have six Las Vegas Funny Car wins to their credit. Worsham is the only driver in track history to win both Top Fuel and Funny Car races.
Talking Vegas:
Antron Brown: “We always like going back to Vegas. It’s always a challenge because the weather changes periodically. Those are the tracks that we really enjoy. It plays a little havoc on the team and the crew chiefs. When the weather is changing, our team is very versatile and we adapt and it suits our team a lot. Last year, Vegas was really good to us. We won the race in the spring and then wrapped up the championship at the Toyota Nationals in the fall. Hopefully, it will be a good jumpstart to our season.”
Cruz Pedregon: “The Strip at Las Vega Motor Speedway is top-notch. Its one of the facilities you want to bring sponsors to, as well as people who may not have been to an NHRA event at the type of stadium track that we all appreciate it. It’s a great venue and it’s just down the road from all the top hotels. It’s one of my top-five favorite on the circuits.”
Alexis DeJoria: “The spring race last year was awesome – we won and that was our first and, ultimately, our only win of the season. Unfortunately, the fall race didn’t go as well. But I have no issues going back there, we’ve always had a great luck there and I’m very excited. I love racing in Las Vegas, it’s one of my favorite tracks. The fall race is also one of our mammogram races and it’s just incredible. Every year it gets bigger and bigger with more awareness. As much as we can do, in the position we are in, we’ll keep doing it.”
