Mopar Dodge//SRT Duo Pritchett, Hagan Score Poles in NHRA New England Nationals Qualifying
Epping, NH – Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett and Funny Car racer Matt Hagan finished off an impressive two days of 
qualifying for Mopar Dodge//SRT competitors at the NHRA New England Nationals by maintaining their hold on the top starting spots in their classes heading into elimination rounds on Sunday, July 8, at New England Dragway.
Pritchett sped to her second pole of the season in her Mopar Dodge Top Fuel machine before a sellout crowd in Epping, New Hampshire, earning her second consecutive No. 1 qualifier spot at the venue and ninth overall of her career. The No. 1 qualifier spot in Funny Car was the third of the season for Sandvik Coromant Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver Hagan, his first at New England Dragway and the 33rd of his career.
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) star Pritchett carried her factory-backed Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster to the No. 1 position in the second qualifying session on Friday, using HEMI®-engine power to uncork a 3.742-second elapsed time (ET) at 324.51 mph that jumped her from sixth up to the top spot.
The Friday evening run also earned the six-time Top Fuel event winner three bonus points, and Pritchett added three more on Saturday when she was second quickest in her first qualifying attempt and third quickest in Q4. Gunning for her second win of the season, Pritchett will open eliminations on Sunday against Audrey Worm.
Carrying momentum from his victory at the most recent NHRA event in Ohio two weeks ago, Hagan earned two bonus points and was No. 2 after his first qualifying attempt. The defending Epping event winner added three more points and moved his DSR Mopar Dodge Funny Car up to No. 1 with a 3.932/320.20 pass that held up through Saturday’s two final qualifying rounds. Hagan was once again quickest on the charts in Q4, upping to eight his qualifying bonus points total.
Hagan now sits alone in second in the Funny Car standings and will match up first with Terry Haddock as he seeks his second consecutive win of 2018 and his second straight at Epping.
The entire DSR Funny Car squad dominated in qualifying, with Hagan leading all four Mopar Dodge drivers in posting the four quickest passes in the final qualifying session on Saturday. Mopar-powered Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver “Fast” Jack Beckman followed close behind his stablemate during qualifying, banking two bonus points en route to locking down the No. 2 spot and a date with Jeff Diehl.
Ron Capps, a two-time Epping winner (most of any driver in the Funny Car class), collected four bonus points and parked another Mopar Dodge in a top-five starting spot by claiming the fourth positon. He’ll matchup in a must-see first round battle with current points leader Courtney Force. Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger driver Tommy Johnson Jr. made it four DSR entries in the top half of the Funny Car field and earned two bonus points with the second quickest run in Q4. Johnson will start No. 8 on Sunday and line up in the first round against Cruz Pedregon.
Tony Schumacher made it a 1-2 finish on the qualifying charts for Mopar-powered Top Fuel machines. The eight-time Top Fuel World Champion and two-time NHRA New England Nationals winner raced to the No. 2 spot and faces Jim Maroney in round one.
