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DSR NHRA Atlanta Qualifying Report

Commerce, GA – DSR Qualifying Highlights:

– All four DSR entries secured qualifying positions in the top half of the field
 – Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan powered to the second-quickest run of Q2 to earn bonus points and the No. 3 starting position
– Defending Funny Car event champ Ron Capps rocketed his machine to the No. 5 spot on the strength of his Q1 run, which was second-quickest of the session and allowed him to bank two bonus points
– Top Fuel round one will feature a ‘super team vs. super team’ DSR/Kalitta battle with No. 6 qualified Leah Pruett squaring off against Shawn Langdon and No. 8 qualifier Antron Brown lining up against Doug Kalitta

Driver Information:

Top Fuel:

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of Matco’s ‘Tools for the Cause’ Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Matco’s Tools for the Cause to benefit the Fisher House Foundation

Qualified: No. 8 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 9 Doug Kalitta

The Results:
Q1: 4.821 E.T. at 153.60 MPH
Q2: 4.331 E.T. at 191.76 MPH

Quotable:
“We’re looking forward and ready for race day tomorrow. The track is definitely tricky out here at Atlanta Dragway, but that’s Hotlanta. We’ve done well here before and you have to be able to adapt at this track. I believe we’re ready to go for race day and we’ll have a really tough first-round match-up with Doug Kalitta, and it’s the ‘Tool Wars.’ We’re looking forward to the challenge and taking it one round at a time and doing it well here in Georgia. I have a lot of special memories at this track and we want to make more of them tomorrow.”

LEAH PRUETT
Driver of the Whisps Cheese Crisps Top Fuel Dragster

Qualified: No. 6 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 11 Shawn Langdon

The Results:
Q1: 5.091 E.T. at 144.50 MPH
Q2: 3.957 E.T. at 304.94 MPH

Quotable:
“Having just one day of qualifying can maintain or change your race strategy completely. We had a parts failure on Q1 and typically, we’d change that, but we decided to fix that part and go with what we know to get us further into the show. I’m very proud of our team to fix and work through the issues. We’re excited to pair our bright Whisps orange with Wally gold on Sunday. Win lights tomorrow is what we’re aiming for and we want to hit our target. Stoked to represent Whisps Cheese Crisps this weekend, and officially welcome the Maynard family to our team.”

Funny Car:

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

Qualified: No. 5 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 10 Jim Campbell

Bonus Points: Two

The Results:
Q1: 4.006 E.T. at 313.73 MPH (Two bonus points for second-quickest run of the round)
Q2: 4.039 E.T. at 312.35 MPH

Quotable:
“This track is so demanding. It has a lot of character. It has a lot of bumps and dips and there’s a lot you have to do to get down the track, and my crew chiefs Guido (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen are making great calls. We accomplished a lot and the car has been so consistent today in qualifying. It’s all about clutch wear and it’s a tricky track. It’s hot and challenging, it’s the Southern Nationals and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

MATT HAGAN
Driver of the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye

Qualified: No. 3 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 12 Robert Hight

Bonus Points: Two

The Results:
Q1: 4.419 E.T. at 203.22 MPH
Q2: 4.001 E.T. at 314.02 MPH (Two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session)

Quotable:
“Really, really tough race track out there. We were extremely happy to get down that left lane. There are two big bumps out there and it kind of put some cylinders out on the top end. It’s kind of one of those things where it’s anybody’s ballgame tomorrow, especially with just two runs to work off of. It’ll be challenging, but I have (crew chief) Dickie Venables in my corner, and with him, I have all of the confidence in the world heading into race day. We’re focused on going out there, doing what we do, and putting this Dodge Hellcat Funny Car in the winner’s circle. Coming off of that runner-up at the last race in Vegas, it just shows we’ve got a great car, and we’re ready to take it one step further tomorrow.”

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