Leah Pritchett to Honor 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon with Special Dragster This Weekend in New England Nationals
May 30, 2017 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Leah Pritchett will be driving a Mopar HEMI ®-powered Demon this weekend in the NHRA New England Nationals, but it won’t be one of the coveted 840-horsepower, 21st century muscle cars that are the fastest-ever production vehicles in a quarter-mile.
For the next two weeks, she’ll be in an 11,000-horsepower “Demon” when she joins with Pennzoil to salute the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon that will be available to the public later this year.
Pritchett’s dragster will carry a special “Demon” paint scheme in the June 2-4 NHRA New England Nationals and the following week at Englishtown, N.J., for the Summernationals. Pritchett’s firesuit and crew shirts will also sport Demon branding.
The limited-production 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is the first-ever production car to do a front-wheel lift, as certified by Guinness World Records, and it’s the world’s fastest quarter-mile production car with an elapsed time (ET) of 9.65 seconds at 140 miles per hour (mph), as certified by NHRA. It also registers the highest g-force (1.8 g) ever recorded at launch in a production car.
Pritchett already has been a “demon” to competitors in Top Fuel this year through eight events in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for Don Schumacher Racing by winning three event titles, setting the world elapsed time record, winning two poles and resting atop the Mello Yello standings after all but one event driving the gold Papa John’s Pizza dragster that will have her ranked No. 1 to start the New England Nationals.
Her DSR dragster and all seven DSR racecars – like the Demon and other new Dodges – are Powered by Pennzoil.
“We get to represent the quickest, non-modified production car with the Demon, and we get to do it on the track in the quickest, modified, non-production car on the planet,” she said of her Top Fueler that holds the quickest run in NHRA history with a time of 3.658 seconds recorded early this year near Phoenix.
“Both are No. 1 in their own right. For our team to be able to represent the Demon lets us pay homage to what Mopar, Dodge and Pennzoil stand for: power, legacy and the future.”
The 29-year-old Southern California native living near Indianapolis has a special affinity for the Demon.
Pritchett was involved in testing the Demon and added her 330-mph touch to its development before the Demon was introduced in April at the New York International Auto Show.
“My role in development of the Demon started at the Englishtown track last year and it will be very cool to see it come full circle when I drive my 330-mph Demon Top Fueler this weekend at Epping and then take it to Englishtown,” she said.
And she won’t have trouble temporarily adjusting from her gold Papa John’s dragster to the black and red Demon dragster for two weeks.
“The gold is in the heart of our entire team, but this new dragster will bring out our inner demon.”
2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
The new Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will start arriving at Dodge//SRT dealerships this fall at a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $84,995 (including $1,700 gas guzzler tax, excluding $1,095 destination). Challenger SRT Demon owners who want to unleash its full potential at the drag strip – and its full 840 horsepower and 770 lb.-ft. of torque – can do so by purchasing an exclusive Demon crate for $1 (MSRP). The crate and all the performance parts it holds is valued $6,140 and is personalized with the buyer’s name, VIN and serial number.
Dodge and NHRA Drag Racing
Earlier this year, Dodge extended its agreement as the title rights sponsor of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., for the 2017 season. The 33rd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals will be held Sept. 21-24 and serves as the second race in the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. The event will be a key stop for racers who are battling for a world championship at the conclusion of the season.
Dodge’s commitment to the sport of NHRA Drag Racing continues to be solidified as those who compete with Dodge vehicles in the Super Stock and Stock classes in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will be eligible for additional bonus money during the course of the year. Newly introduced for 2017, the Dodge Top Finisher honor awards $500 each to the Stock and Super Stock drivers in a Dodge or Plymouth vehicle who advance the farthest during eliminations at each of the 24 NHRA National events.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered near Indianapolis in Brownsburg, Ind., includes seven professional NHRA teams in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher, the three-time and reigning world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett in the Dodge Demon dragster.
In Funny Car, two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane 2017 Dodge Charger R/T, 2016 world champion Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in Terry Chandler’s Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and Chandler’s Make-A-Wish Dodge with Tommy Johnson Jr.
DSR has won 306 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
About Dodge and SRT Brands
The Dodge brand is America’s mainstream performance brand. With the purification of the brand and consolidation with SRT, Dodge is focusing on its performance roots with every single model it offers. The Dodge and SRT brands offer a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out within their own segments. Dodge is the mainstream performance brand and SRT is positioned as the ultimate performance halo of the Dodge brand, together creating a complete and balanced performance brand with one vision and one voice.
From muscle cars to minivans, crossovers and full-size SUVs, the Dodge brand’s full lineup of 2017 models deliver best-in-class horsepower, class-exclusive technology, unmatched capability and a slew of cool features, such as LED headlamps, Dodge signature racetrack tail lamps, active exhaust, cold-air induction, 8.4-inch touchscreen Uconnect infotainment centers and 7-inch customizable gauge clusters, to name a few. For the 2017 model year, the Dodge brand lineup features the 25th anniversary Viper, Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey, Charger and Challenger, including the new Challenger GT, Charger Daytona and Challenger T/A, as well as the 707-horsepower Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Charger SRT Hellcat, the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world.
New for 2018, Dodge introduces the new 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon — the fastest quarter-mile car in the world and most powerful muscle car ever, as well as the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT – America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV.