Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Event Recap

Pep Boys NHRA Nationals

Sept. 16-18 | Reading, Pennsylvania 

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Top Fuel Dragster:

●  Earned No. 7 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.764 ET at 326.24 mph).

●  Earned No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Saturday (3.736 ET at 328.62 mph).

●  Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session.

●  Secured No. 10 qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.734 ET at 328.38 mph). 

●  Ran a 4.458 ET at 224.51 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Doug Kalitta (3.720 ET at 329.58 mph). 

●  Currently tied with Kalitta for eighth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 107 points behind leader Justin Ashley.  

Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:

●  Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.906 ET at 326.32 mph).

●  Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position after Q2 on Saturday (3.947 ET at 327.90 mph).

●  Secured No. 5 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.907 ET at 302.28 mph. 

●  Advanced to Semifinals on Sunday:

    ●  Round 1: 3.909 ET at 334.65 mph, defeated Jim Campbell (4.445 ET at 207.53 mph). 

    ●  Round 2: 3.935 ET at 329.67 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.941 ET at 330.63 mph).

●  Semifinals: 4.123 ET at 255.34, lost to Robert Hight (3.908 ET at 331.69 mph). 

●  Currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 81 points behind leader Hight. 

Notes of Interest

●  Hagan’s Round 2 win puts him 23-15 all-time against Tasca. It’s the fourth time this season the two have faced each other and the duo is tied at 2-2. Tasca won against Hagan at Norwalk, Ohio, in Round 2 and at Topeka, Kansas, in the Semifinals. Hagan previously won against Tasca at Pomona, California, in Round 2. 

●  Hagan and Hight had their 42^nd career meeting Sunday at Reading and they competed against each other for the fifth time this season. Hight now leads 22-20 all-time. 

●  Pruett has faced Kalitta 29 times throughout her career and four times this season. Kalitta leads 3-1 this season. Kalitta won at Houston in Round 1, Richmond, Virginia, in Round 1 and Sunday at Reading in Round 1. Pruett won in Round 2 at Seattle. 

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Top Fuel Dragster

“We definitely had a very promising racecar and I would consider it one of the most promising cars considering we were the only one to make three clean, full passes in qualifying. Unfortunately, when you have the first round in a matchup with a championship contender close to you in points and qualifying, you’re going to have a close race, and that’s what we were prepared for. We moved in a way to improve our short times. It’s something we’ve been working on for a while – to try and get better 60-foot times and our increments to 330, which means we have to push harder. We tried to push a little bit harder and the Rayce Rudeen Foundation dragster didn’t like it and we smoked the tires. The most frustrating part about it is we have been on this plan for three races or so and keep throwing a lot of power to different places on the car. It hasn’t been reacting the way we want and at the most important time so far in the season, the car says, ‘Oh, I recognize that and it’s a little too much now.’ For us to find that threshold in the first round of eliminations in the first race of the Countdown is slightly frustrating. We will be testing between now and Charlotte to further our progress because in order for us to have a better ET, we have to start at the starting line to the 60-foot mark and improve our acceleration gain. We won’t stop and that’s the name of the game. There are five races remaining in the Countdown and anything can happen.” 

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“We had a pretty strong weekend. We qualified No. 5, so the biggest thing we have to focus on is qualifying in the No. 1, 2 or 3 spot. It really sets the tone for the weekend to put yourself on the correct side of the ladder that works in your favor. We had to get through some really tough cars this weekend by qualifying fifth. There are no easy rounds out there. All in all, I’m really happy with what my guys are doing. As far as putting the car together, we had two turns today that only lasted 35 minutes breaking the car apart, putting it back together and firing it up. The guys are working so well together and I’m really proud of them. We moved back up to second in the Countdown. Anytime you’re gaining, I think it’s positive. Robert (Hight) and those guys will be tough all season long. They have been tough and will continue to be. I think our clutch combination is what we’re struggling with a little bit right now, but that’s way above my pay grade. We’ll keep working on it more and I have nothing but faith in Dickie (Venables, crew chief), Mike (Knudsen, co-crew chief) and Alex (Conaway, car chief). We always run strong and are in the hunt, so I’m expecting the next five races we will run well and turn the win lights on.” 

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Sept. 23-25 in Charlotte, North Carolina. It marks the second event in the Countdown to the Championship and the fifth-to-last race of the season.