DSR NHRA Indianapolis Qualifying Report
Indianapolis, IN – DSR Qualifying Highlights:
– 2020 Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals Top Fuel runner-up Leah Pruett will start race day from the top half of the field in the fifth seed
– Pruett will be running for two trophies on Sunday as she will compete in both the Top Fuel category and Factory Stock Showdown Series where she’s been to back-to-back final rounds, and finished as the Indy event champ in 2018
– Funny Car pilot Ron Capps also earned a qualifying position in the top half of the field, and is focused on regaining the points lead he held after his Pomona, Calif. triumph last month
Note:After persistent rain washed out day two of qualifying at the Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals, the Camping World Series elimination fields are set based on Friday’s sole qualifying session
– Only a handful of Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series competitors had a chance to hit the dragstrip for Q2 on Saturday morning before rain halted the rest of the session. Mopar Drag Pak pilot David Davies was the only DSR FSS driver to make a Q2 pass
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 15
The Competition: No. 2 Steve Torrence
The Results:
Q1: 4.305 E.T. at 192.14 MPH
Quotable:
“Fifteenth is not where we wanted to qualify, but the rain just threw us off here at the U.S. Nationals. We really wanted to get our two runs in today which didn’t happen, but you know what, we made the show. We’re going to have a tough first round with my good friend, my ‘brother from another mother,’ Steve Torrence, but we’re looking forward to that challenge, that set-up, and we are going to go out there and give it all we’ve got. It’s the U.S. Nationals and it’s game day tomorrow. Anything can happen and we’re definitely going to throw our best blow out to keep those Goodyears hooked up and try to throw a big E.T. up on the board.”
LEAH PRUETT
Driver of the Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 5 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 12 Joe Morrison
The Results:
Q1: 3.755 E.T. at 322.88 MPH
Quotable:
“What a wild Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals that we’ve had. Not a lot of on-track action, but I’m proud of this team for coming out strong on our one and only qualifying hit to land us in the No. 5 position. We’re looking forward to a good elimination outing on Sunday. Our team does well when we have a strong start to the weekend, and for us, that started on Friday night, and it doesn’t get much bigger than this. We’re at our sponsor’s race in our team’s hometown, and it’s the U.S. Nationals. Of course, we want to go one step further than last year’s runner-up finish, but it all starts first round and it’s an early morning. We’ve got our hot rod tucked away, and ready to rip it on the strip tomorrow, and look forward to putting on a phenomenal show.”
Funny Car:
RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 6 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 11 Justin Schriefer
The Results:
Q1: 3.907 E.T. at 326.08 MPH
Quotable:
“Indy is always a weird weekend in the sense that we’ve had a lot of first time winners in the past at the U.S. Nationals. If something strange is going to happen, it always seems to be around this race with so much history and so much going on. This weekend, we only had one qualifying run and the field is set. We had a little bit of drama with our leader in the points not being in the race, and so it just adds to the typical U.S. Nationals craziness. Sunday is going to be interesting because it’s supposed to warm up and we’re going to have conditions like we haven’t seen this weekend. That’s when you really appreciate having great crew chiefs that can adapt. That’s what I love about Guido (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen. Our NAPA team has done so well in different conditions all year long, so we’re going to focus on our goal of reclaiming the points lead. There’s a lot of other teams saying that same thing, but we’re going to see if we can get it done tomorrow.”
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye
Qualified: DNQ
The Results:
Q1: Broke; No Time
Quotable:
“It’s a bummer. I hate it for the guys. They worked so hard to make this happen, and make it successful in a tough situation. I hate it for them to not get a shot at this. After being out of the car for so long, it’s disappointing. To have that shot, and get to do a burnout and have an issue and not make it, and then not get to make a run at all, it’s just a bummer. I really wanted to have that feeling of throwing the ‘chutes. But, I appreciate the opportunity, and should DSR ever need a stand-in again, I’d welcome the chance to do my best to represent the team.”
Factory Stock Showdown Series:
DAVID DAVIES
Driver of the D H Davies Racing Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak
Qualified: No. 13
The Competition: No. 12 Leah Pruett
The Results:
Q1: 7.969 E.T. at 176.79 MPH
Quotable:
“The extra work that the team put in leading up to the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals has paid off. We had a successful first qualifying session that put us in the 10th spot leading into today’s second round of qualifying. We didn’t move the 2021 Drag Pak up the ladder in Q2 today, but still we made a successful pass that kept us in the ‘top 16’ in a very competitive field. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t let the entire Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown class to complete their second qualifier so we’ll have to see how tomorrow shapes up. It’s good for the entire team to see the payoff from the lessons learned from Topeka, and we’re all looking forward to Sunday.”
MARK PAWUK
Driver of the Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak
Qualified: No. 22
The Competition: No. 3 Jesse Alexandra
The Results:
Q1: 13.781 E.T. at 75.07 MPH
Quotable:
“We were really looking forward to getting our new Empaco Equipment Dodge Drag Pak out on the race track this weekend. After overpowering the track on the first run, we weren’t qualified very well, and we were ready to go out and kick some butt this morning. I did my burnout and got ready to stage and then it started raining, and I didn’t get to make my run. Unfortunately, the rest of the day got washed out. It’s a big disappointment. Some of the class ran, and we were part of the group that didn’t get to make a lap. But, we’re qualified. My new car looks great. Thank you to Ohio CAT, Ohio Peterbilt, Mr. Heater, and Empaco Equipment for their support. We’re going to keep plugging away until we get this thing figured out, and start winning some races.”
LEAH PRUETT
Driver of the Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak
Qualified: No. 12
The Competition: No. 13 David Davies
The Results:
Q1: 7.965 E.T. at 166.70 MPH
Quotable:
“Factory has very much emulated Top Fuel where we made a solid pass in the first session. It was tricky on the starting line, and we have some new gearing so that was our first run with this new set up. We had some issues right through the lights which cut our speed and our E.T. so we definitely would have qualified better than our .96, but, it was an easy fix and we look forward to seeing the results of that fix in the first round of eliminations. With a 32-car field and multiple rounds to go, I’m very confident in this team that has gone to back-to-back final rounds, and we know what a win looks like at the U.S. Nationals with this Dodge Mopar Drag Pak team. I’m very impressed with how cohesive our Factory Stock program has been with the addition of David Davies and his Drag Pak. We’re all running three different packages so for (crew chiefs) Kevin Helms and A.J. Berge to keep them organized, and for all of us to have a solid shot at going rounds on Sunday, is impressive and makes me proud to work with this Mopar team. I’m looking forward to putting on more win lights tomorrow, and hopefully grabbing our second U.S. Nationals win.”
