Don Schumacher Racing
Ron Capps Captures Provisional Pole at NHRA Norwalk Nationals
NORWALK, OH – Aboard the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, 2016 NHRA Norwalk Nationals champion Ron Capps 
clocked a blistering 3.888-second E.T. to earn the provisional No. 1 spot after day one of qualifying at the 2021 Norwalk, Ohio event.
While the NAPA team’s top-seeded run was welcome, it certainly was not unexpected. Capps, who earned his 26th No. 1 qualifier at the season-opener in Gainesville, Fla., has an excellent qualifying record through the first six races of the year, with his ‘worst’ effort yielding a No. 5 starting position. Capps, who qualified second at the most recent event in Epping, N.H., will make two more runs tomorrow as he battles to fend off his competitors who are vying for his position at the top of the ladder.
“You always want to take full advantage of the conditions during these Friday night sessions, but it was a little strange today with the weather,” explained Capps referring to the day’s on-and-off rain showers. “We know that the weather tomorrow might be similar, so by no means is that run ‘safe’ in the No. 1 spot. This track will hold whatever you throw at it; it’s a great race track.
DSR Headed to Norwalk with Victory on Their Minds
Norwalk, OH – Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
Noteworthy:
– For the third time in 2021, Leah Pruett will assume double-duty responsibilities, campaigning for wins in both the Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown Series categories
– Mark Pawuk raced to his career-first Factory Stock Showdown final round at the 2018 Norwalk event
– As a resident of Akron, Ohio, Pawuk considers Norwalk to be his home track
– Ron Capps earned the Funny Car pole at the last NHRA Norwalk event (2019)
– Matt Hagan, the reigning Funny Car world champion and No. 1 qualifier at the most recent event (Epping), owns the Norwalk Funny Car E.T. record
Appearance Note:
– Antron Brown will make an appearance at Master Pizza (2736 Medina Rd, Medina, Ohio) tonight, June 23rd, from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. Area fans are invited to join the three-time Top Fuel world champion and Master Pizza owner, Brian Corradi, for food, fun, autographs, and photos. The event is free and open to the public.
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Funny Car, E.T.: 3.865 seconds, Matt Hagan (2017)
Mopar Names DSR Performance as Distributor of Officially Licensed Engine Parts for Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Paks; Online Ordering and At-Track Support Now Available
Auburn Hills, MI – Mopar has named Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Performance as the supplier of officially licensed engine components 
for the 2015 and 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak.
The Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak is the limited-production, purpose-built muscle car for grassroots and professional drag racers competing in events sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and National Muscle Car Association (NMCA). The quickest, fastest and most powerful Drag Pak ever built made its on-track debut this past March with a 7-second quarter-mile run at the NHRA Gatornationals in the Sportsman’s Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) class with DSR pilot Leah Pruett at the helm.
The new DSR Performance online catalog offers engine components for the supercharged 354-cubic-inch Gen-III HEMI V-8 engine that powers both the 2021 model year and previous-generation (2015) Drag Pak.
DSR NHRA Epping Post-Race Recap
Epping, NH – DSR Elimination Highlights:
– Antron Brown maintained his No. 2 ranking on the Top Fuel leaderboard
– Brown and Leah Pruett advanced to the Top Fuel quarterfinals
– No. 1 Funny Car qualifier Matt Hagan clocked the quickest E.T. of round one to earn a bid to round two
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 6 (3.792 E.T. at 323.89 MPH)
Defending Three-Time Event Champ Matt Hagan Earns Epping Pole
DSR NHRA New England Nationals Qualifying Highlights
EPPING, NH – Three-time defending event champion Matt Hagan earned his 41st No. 1 qualifier and first of the 2021 season on Saturday at 
the NHRA New England Nationals. Hagan, the 2020 NHRA Camping World Series champion, is vying for his first win of the year in pursuit of his title defense. The driver of the DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car has come close, finishing as the event runner-up in Vegas and a semifinalist at Atlanta, but has yet to seal the deal and hoist a Wally trophy this year.
Hagan has been tremendously successful at New England Dragway, having finished his day in the winner’s circle the last three times the NHRA tour has visited the Epping, N.H. facility. He’s hoping for more of that same New England luck on Sunday as he attempts to capture his first triumph of the season and extend his Epping streak to four-in-a-row.
Hagan secured the No. 1 spot when he powered the DSR Performance Dodge to a blistering 3.891-second pass at 331.53-mph on Friday night. While the majority of the Funny Car field improved upon their Q1 runs during Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, no one was able to successfully outrun Hagan and knock him from his spot at the top of the ladder.
Hagan Earns Provisional Pole at Epping as He Seeks to Extend his New England Record to Four-in-a-Row
DSR NHRA Epping Qualifying Report
EPPING, NH – Matt Hagan entered the NHRA New England Nationals looking to extend his New England Dragway track record of three 
consecutive Funny Car triumphs, and based on his Friday night performance, the reigning world champion appears to be well on his way to making it four-in-a-row at the Epping, N.H. facility.
Aboard the DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, Hagan unloaded with a stout 3.891-second at 331.53-mph pass to earn the provisional pole and three qualifying bonus points. Hagan was one of only two Funny Car drivers to clock a pass in the three-second zone, and one of only three to make a full pull during Friday’s lone qualifying session.
“New England Dragway has shown us a lot of love these past couple of years. When you put Don Schumacher Racing Performance and Dickie Venables together, that’s the kind of results you can expect,” said Hagan, a 36-time Funny Car winner who is hopeful history will repeat itself on Sunday, and he’ll be able to break through for his first victory of the season.
DSR Headed to the New England Nationals
Epping, NH
– Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan returns to New England Dragway as the defending event champ, and seeks his fourth 
consecutive Epping triumph after racing to victory in 2017, 2018, and 2019, as he looks to break through for his first win of the seasonHagan’s three Epping wins are the most amongst any Camping World Series competitor at the facility
– Antron Brown has been to the final round three out of the past four times the NHRA his visited New England Dragway, winning in 2016 and finishing as the runner-up in 2017 and 2018Brown, who won the Atlanta event, is currently ranked second in the Top Fuel point standings
– Leah Pruett will celebrate her ‘silver anniversary’ as an NHRA competitor during the New England Nationals, and will run a silver ribbon on her dragster’s roll cage to signify 25 years in the sport
– No. 4 ranked Ron Capps raced to his first final round of the season at the previous event, and is looking to pick up his third Epping victory
– Both Hagan and Pruett will feature special paint schemes during the event:Hagan will campaign the DSR Performance Dodge Funny Car – – DSR Performance is the retail arm of Don Schumacher Racing, offering performance race parts and lifestyle gear
‘World’s Fastest Farmer’ Brings New Holland Aboard Nitro Funny Car
Matt Hagan Expands New Holland Partnership beyond Virginia Farm
BROWNSBURG, IN – As a 330-mile-per-hour nitro Funny Car pilot on the weekend, and cattle and hemp rancher during the week, it’s safe 
to say Don Schumacher Racing’s Matt Hagan is certainly deserved of the ‘world’s fastest farmer’ moniker. The reigning three-time world champion has enjoyed a successful NHRA drag racing and farming career for more than a decade and his two ‘day jobs’ often intertwine. For the last eight years, Hagan has relied on New Holland’s agricultural products on his Christiansburg, Va. property, and will now benefit from New Holland’s support on the race track, as he welcomes the global agricultural machinery brand to his Funny Car team as an associate partner.
“New Holland has been a crucial partner for me on my farm,” said Hagan, a multi-hyphenate who launched Hagan Cattle Company, a farm-to-table beef delivery service, to his portfolio of businesses which also includes TruHarvest, a burgeoning CBD company, and a successful cattle sales business. “Over the past four years I’ve transitioned most all of my machinery to New Holland equipment, and I’m excited to now be able to represent their brand on the side of our race car. I know many of our fans are farmers themselves, especially in many of the mid-Western states that we visit on the NHRA tour. I always enjoy talking farming at the ropes with people, so it just made sense to now bring New Holland on board with the race team and expand our current partnership beyond my Virginia farm.”
Leah Pruett Celebrates 25th NHRA Anniversary
Pruett’s Journey to Top Fuel Stardom Began on This Date, 25 Years Ago
BROWNSBURG, IN – Leah Pruett turns 33 years old today, and while birthdays are always a momentous occasion, this particular year is 
extra special for Pruett as it marks the 25th anniversary – to the day – that her NHRA career began.
Pruett, a native of Redlands in Southern California, grew up around racing and her journey to becoming a bonafide championship-contender in the NHRA’s premier Top Fuel category started when she officially joined the NHRA’s Jr. Dragster youth racing program on her eighth birthday.
Pruett was bitten by the racing bug early on. Her father, Ron, was an avid land speed racer and her sister, Lindsey, who is four years older, was already competing in the Jr. Dragster program by the time Pruett had turned six. Back in 1996, aspiring drag racers had to wait until their eighth birthday to be able to strap into a Jr. car and enter an event, and Pruett was chomping at the bit to have her shot on the dragstrip.
DSR NHRA Houston Post-Race Recap
Baytown, TX
DSR Elimination Highlights:
– Ron Capps rocketed to a runner-up finish during his 127th career final round on Monday afternoon at the rain-delayed Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil
– Capps’ solid performance at Houston Raceway Park propelled him up to fourth (tied) in the Funny Car point standings, and within two rounds of the No. 3-ranked driver
– In Top Fuel, Antron Brown maintained his No. 2 ranking by advancing to the quarterfinals
– Double-duty driver Leah Pruett showed significant progress in her Factory Stock Showdown Dodge Drag Pak entry, and reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan also advanced to the quarterfinals on Monday afternoon
