DSR St. Louis Final Qualifying Report
Madison, IL – AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals
DSR St. Louis Saturday Highlights:
Matt Hagan blasted to low E.T. of Funny Car Q3 to earn three bonus points and the No. 2 qualifying spot
Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. join Hagan in the top half of the Funny Car field
Round one of Top Fuel will feature an intramural battle between Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett
The DSR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak duo of Mark Pawuk and Leah Pritchett qualified in the top half of the Factory Stock Showdown field, and advanced to round two after both drivers raced to victory in round one of eliminations
Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 11
The Competition: No. 6 Leah Pritchett
The Results:
Q1: 4.550 E.T. at 170.73 MPH
Q2: 3.764 E.T. at 323.04 MPH
Q3: 3.753 E.T. at 327.43 MPH
Q4: 3.748 E.T. at 326.32 MPH
Quotable:
“Our car has been consistent this weekend in qualifying, but in that last run, we were looking for a lot more. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’ll keep plugging away at it. We were trying to run a high 3.60, and it just went flat in the middle. We’ll go back, look at what we’ve got, and hit race day hard. The good news is our car is a fast bracket car; we just need to be a tick quicker.”
LEAH PRITCHETT
Driver of the Okuma Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 6 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 11 Antron Brown
The Results:
Q1: 3.794 E.T. at 322.27 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)
Q2: 3.837 E.T. at 296.63 MPH
Q3: 3.709 E.T. at 327.51 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q4: 6.435 E.T. at 102.89 MPH
Bonus Points: Three
Quotable:
“Despite the fact that we have to match up against our teammate, Antron (Brown), I do like our odds. Given qualifying conditions on Friday and Saturday, we learned a lot about our car and setup. Our Q3 run with that 3.70 was stout. I feel like we have all the bases covered for the various weather conditions. We have to bring our absolute A-game and focus on one round at a time and get back in that championship chase. The points are extremely crucial. We picked up a few bonus points in qualifying, and we look forward to picking up quite a few more tomorrow.”
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 9
The Competition: No. 8 J.R. Todd
The Results:
Q1: Foul, No Time
Q2: 3.916 E.T. at 329.99 MPH
Q3: 4.140 E.T. at 234.04 MPH
Q4: 3.894 E.T. at 326.16 MPH
Quotable:
“We were shooting for more than that (in Q4). We had a whole ‘lotta engine in the tune-up, and the clutch didn’t cooperate; it just kind of mowed through the clutch and slowed it down. It’s kind of fun when you know it’s running good, and you sneak a peek at the scoreboard. I saw a 3.89 and I didn’t have time to look for the speed. It should be interesting tomorrow on race day. If it’s going to be overcast, it’s going to be a slugfest. If it’s sunny, then look out for who knows what.”
RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 5 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 12 Blake Alexander
The Results:
Q1: 5.063 E.T. at 150.13 MPH
Q2: 4.012 E.T. at 323.50 MPH
Q3: 4.212 E.T. at 223.21 MPH
Q4: 3.877 E.T. at 332.84 MPH
Quotable:
“We came in here with so much energy and confidence after Maple Grove, and when you miss that first run on Friday, it changes your whole outlook for qualifying. That Q4 run was a home run swing and the great race car we left Maple Grove with two weeks ago. Hats off to (crew chief Rahn) Tobler and the NAPA AutoCare guys, they did a great job of getting the car back to where it needed to be going into race day. We’ll pour some more Pennzoil in it and go after it tomorrow.”
MATT HAGAN
Driver of the DSM Precision Machining Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody
Qualified: No. 2 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 15 Jim Campbell
The Results:
Q1: 4.558 E.T. at 193.93 MPH
Q2: 3.921 E.T. at 327.66 MPH
Q3: 3.854 E.T. at 333.08 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Q4: 3.889 E.T. at 333.91 MPH
Bonus Points: Three
Quotable:
“We’ve run some great numbers here in qualifying in all different types of conditions. I feel very confident in (crew chief) Dickie Venables and his tune-up, and I’m very confident we can turn on four win lights tomorrow for Don (Schumacher), and all the guys back at the DSM machine shop and Sandvik, too. The game plan is to get some rest, stay focused, and turn on win lights.”
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 7 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 10 Shawn Langdon
The Results:
Q1: 4.273 E.T. at 216.76 MPH
Q2: 3.938 E.T. at 326.63 MPH
Q3: 3.911 E.T. at 324.12 MPH
Q4: 3.889 E.T. at 324.59 MPH
Quotable:
“We went in the right direction every run through qualifying with a steady car, and the guys have a good handle on things. I think we’re back in the groove. I’m confident we can continue this momentum and put four good runs together tomorrow. We need to get a win and back into the championship hunt.”
Factory Stock Showdown Series:
MARK PAWUK
Driver of the Empaco Equipment MOPAR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
Qualified: No. 2 (7.892 E.T. at 173.92 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 8.073 E.T. at 171.51 MPH defeated Scott Libersher 8.151 E.T. at 167.55 MPH
LEAH PRITCHETT
Driver of the MOPAR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
Qualified: No. 7 (7.977 E.T. at 172.32 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 8.010 E.T. at 170.77 MPH defeated Ryan Priddy 8.125 E.T. at 166.48 MPH
