Don Schumacher Racing
DSR Topeka Qualifying Report
Topeka, KS – DSR Qualifying Highlights:
– Funny Car point leader and Pomona race winner Ron Capps clinched a berth in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs during 
qualifying at Heartland Motorsports Park where he posted the third-quickest E.T. of Q3
– No. 2 ranked Antron Brown powered to the second-best pass of Top Fuel Q2 and also officially clinched a Countdown playoff spot
– Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan clocked the best run of the third qualifying session, was third-quickest during Q2, and will start race day in Topeka from the No. 4 position
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 8
The Competition: No. 7 Shawn Langdon
DSR Friday Qualifying, Menards NHRA Nationals
Topeka, KS
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 12
DSR Ready to Rock the Plains
Topeka, KS – Noteworthy:
– Leah Pruett and Funny Car point leader Ron Capps return to Topeka as the most recent winners on the NHRA tour (Pomona 1)
– Capps owns the class-best qualifying average and secured back-to-back No. 1 qualifiers at the two most recent races; Capps has advanced to the semifinals or beyond at the previous four events
– No. 4 ranked Pruett raced to consecutive final round appearances at the past two events, finishing as the runner-up in Sonoma before powering to victory in Pomona
– For the fifth time this season, Pruett will reprise her ‘double duty’ role, swapping seats between her Cookie and Candy Pop Top Fuel dragster and Mopar Drag Pak FSS entry. She was a finalist at the most recent FSS event in Denver
– David Davies joins DSR’s championship-winning Mopar Drag Pak team. He will make his DSR debut in the Constant Aviation Factory – Stock Showdown Series alongside Pruett and fellow Ohio native Mark Pawuk
– DSR-Owned Track Records:
Funny Car, E.T.: 3.802 seconds, Matt Hagan (2017)
Funny Car, speed: 338.85 mph, Matt Hagan (2017)
DSR Adds Third Factory Stock Showdown Series Entry to its Roster
David Davies Joins DSR as Third Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak Pilot
BROWNSBURG, IN – Drag racing’s winningest organization is pleased to welcome David Davies to its ranks as the team’s third NHRA 
Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series driver. Davies will begin his tenure with Don Schumacher Racing starting this weekend at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor in Topeka, Kan. aboard the D H Davies Racing 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak.
Davies joins DSR’s championship-winning Factory Stock team after having made his NHRA debut at the Norwalk, Ohio FSS event earlier this summer. While Topeka will mark only his second foray into the FSS category, Davies is no stranger to straight line racing, having successfully competed in the Modern Street HEMI Shootout, among other series, for the last three years where he racked up six event wins, and five runner-up finishes.
“I’ve been a ‘Mopar guy’ for years. I ran a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon all over the country competing in various series, and when Dodge announced the new 2021 Mopar Drag Pak at the 2019 SEMA show, I knew at that moment that the next logical step was to move into a drag pak and compete in the NHRA’s Factory Stock Showdown Series,” explained Davies. “Of course, like everything else in 2020, our plans got delayed and we weren’t able to enter a race until this year.
Leah Pruett to Campaign Cookie Pop Top Fueler at Topeka
BROWNSBURG, IN – The most recent Top Fuel winner on the NHRA tour will sport a sweet new look on her 11,000-horsepower machine 
when the NHRA returns to action this weekend in Topeka, Kan. Championship contender Leah Pruett will begin her quest for a 10th Top Fuel triumph aboard the Cookie Pop Top Fuel dragster when qualifying for the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor kicks off on Friday evening at Heartland Motorsports Park.
“I am a big-time Oreo fan, and separately, a huge popcorn fan, so Cookie Pop is the perfect way for me to get the best of both worlds while on the go,” said Pruett of the sweet-and-savory snack which combines popcorn with some of America’s favorite cookie and candy brands, at only 150 calories per serving. “Our team definitely has a sweet tooth, so representing the Cookie Pop brand is right up our alley.”
Leah Pruett, Ron Capps Win Pomona
Pruett, Capps Double-Up for DSR at Hometown Track
POMONA, CA – Drag racing’s winningest organization ‘doubled-up,’ sweeping the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories for the 68th time 
during the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals on Sunday when SoCal racers Leah Pruett and Ron Capps broke through to drive their 11,000-horsepower machines to victory for the first time in 2021.
Aboard the Sparkling Ice Spiked Top Fuel dragster, Pruett clocked a 4.021-second at 247.61 mph run in the final round to earn her ninth Top Fuel victory, while Capps posted a 4.151-second at 297.75 mph pass behind the wheel of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to earn his 66th Funny Car trophy, and 67th overall.
One week after advancing to the final round in Sonoma, Pruett followed up her strong NorCal performance by securing the second seed at the venue where she first got her NHRA start while competing in Jr. Dragsters 25 years prior. The Redlands, Calif. native opened eliminations with a round-one triumph over Steve Chrisman to earn the coveted quarterfinal Bye run. Against Mike Salinas in the semis, Pruett took the Sparkling Ice Spiked machine on a winning 3.927-second ride to secure a bid to the finals for the 18th time in her career.
Ron Capps Earns Second Straight No. 1 Qualifier; Fourth in 10 Events
POMONA, CA – For the second week in a row and fourth time this season, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car pilot 
Ron Capps will start race day from the No. 1 seed. Capps earned the pole during the third and final round of qualifying for the NHRA Winternationals by powering his 11,000-horsepower machine to a stout 3.941-second pass under the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona lights to earn his 29th No. 1 qualifier award.
Capps, who owns the class-best qualifying average, has been racking up yellow No. 1 qualifier hats left and right as of late, and has advanced to the semifinals or beyond four times in the last five events. While they’ve come close, finishing as the runner-up at Houston, Team NAPA is still chasing their first 2021 triumph. The Carlsbad, Calif. resident, who refers to the Dean Antonelli/John Medlen-led NAPA team as ‘a win waiting to happen,’ knows the hot and tricky track conditions that plagued teams during Q2 – the only qualifying session contested during the heat of the day – will once again provide its own unique set of challenges on race day.
“Tomorrow is going to be new territory for a lot of crew chiefs and drivers,” said Capps referring to the uber-hot weather conditions that teams will have to battle through on Sunday. “We only got one run in the heat this weekend, and no one made it down. It’s such a different track being here in July versus February or November, and it’s kind of fun. That 10 a.m. round-one session could have the best conditions we’ll see all weekend. The track has just been so difficult to get down, so you’ve really got to be on your game, especially with a car like ours that makes a lot of power. You really have to make sure you race the race track and that’s why I’m so glad I’m with the team I’m with, because they’re able to do that.
Leah Pruett Takes Top Honors at Home Track Pruett Earns Provisional Top Fuel Pole at Pomona
POMONA, CA – Fresh off of a runner-up finish from the most recent event on the NHRA tour, Leah Pruett took the Sparkling Ice Spiked Top 
Fuel dragster to the top of the leaderboard on Friday night during the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals, powering her 11,000-horsepower machine to a 3.780 E.T. at 321.88 mph under the lights to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifying position.
Pruett, a native of nearby Redlands, entered Auto Club Raceway of Pomona following what could be considered a ‘get healthy’ weekend in Sonoma. After an uncharacteristic string of race weekend struggles, Pruett and the Sparkling Ice Spiked team found themselves back in familiar territory when they battled through the Top Fuel field to advance to the final round at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, the second stop on the three-race Western Swing.
“Based on the last race and tonight’s provisional No. 1 qualifier, I feel like our team is a bit like Benjamin Button,” said Pruett, an eight-time Top Fuel winner. “Our season is going the other way, and is headed in the right direction, which is what we’ve been working towards. The glimpses of glee I felt from pulling the parachutes and turning off the race track, we’re inching towards our own expectations. It’s been a while since I felt that and our team has felt that, and it’s not by accident, it’s by diligence.”
DSR Heads to Pomona Looking for Gold
Pomona, CA – NHRA Winternationals
Noteworthy:
– Fresh off a win at Denver and runner-up finish at Sonoma, defending Funny Car series champion Matt Hagan returns to Pomona where he 
was the No. 1 qualifier at the 2020 event
– Following her final round appearance in Sonoma, Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett, a native of nearby Redlands, seeks to take it one step further and finish the weekend in the winner’s circle for the first time in 2021
– Funny Car pilot Ron Capps, who currently owns the class-best qualifying average throughout the first nine events, also considers Pomona to be a hometown track. Capps resides in Carlsbad
– No. 2 ranked Antron Brown earned his first No. 1 qualifier in the Top Fuel category during the 2008 Pomona 1 event
– While Brown has been triumphant at Pomona, all three of his wins have come from the NHRA Finals event contested at Pomona at the end of the season
– Hagan is the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona E.T. track record holder, achieved when he powered to a 3.822-second pass at the 2017 Pomona 1 event
Sparkling Ice® Brand Expands Partnership with Leah Pruett, Don Schumacher Racing
Sparkling Ice Spiked® to be featured as Pruett’s primary partner at Pomona 1 and Bristol NHRA Events
BROWNSBURG, IN – Leah Pruett and Don Schumacher Racing are pleased to announce the Sparkling Ice® brand has expanded its ongoing 
relationship with Pruett and drag racing’s winningest organization to include the primary sponsorship of Pruett’s Top Fuel dragster at two events during the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Sparkling Ice Spiked® hard seltzer branding will prominently flank the sides of Pruett’s 11,000-horsepower machine at the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals (Pomona 1), the final leg of the three-race Western Swing, and the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., the fifth of seven Countdown to the Championship events.
Sparkling Ice Spiked is a full-flavored hard seltzer made with 4% alcohol, zero sugar, 1g carbs, and is gluten-free and only 80 calories. The brand launched in November 2020 and part of the launch has included a marketing campaign which featured Pruett as a brand ambassador. Pruett, who has enjoyed the Sparkling Ice brand’s support since 2015, was selected to be the first Sparkling Ice Spiked representative, and the 2021 Top Fuel championship-contender couldn’t be more thrilled.
