• Rain-shortened qualifying sets the field for the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) 67th annual Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals in Lucas Oil Raceway
• Last year’s Top Fuel runner-up finisher at Indianapolis Leah Pruett will start from the No. 5 position on the eliminations ladder after a solid Friday evening qualifying run aboard her Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge//SRT Redeye dragster
• Pruett will also race her Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak in Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) from the No. 12 starting position in a competitive 22 car-field as she looks to double-up on trophies at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals
• Three-time U.S. Nationals Funny Car title winner Cruz Pedregon and his Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat qualify No. 4 on the strength of his Friday qualifying pass
• Ron Capps positioned his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car in the top half of the field with his Friday qualifying run as he sets his sights on earning an elusive Wally trophy at the “Big Go”.
• NHRA Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan recently tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from competing in the 2021 Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals
• Tommy Johnson Jr. took over driving duties aboard the DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car in Hagan’s absence but did not qualify due to a mechanical issue on Friday and rain on Saturday

Indianapolis, Indiana, Sept. 4, 2021— Qualifying for the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) 67th annual Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals proved to be more of a challenge than usual as rain washed out both Saturday sessions for most categories competing at Lucas Oil Raceway, resulting in elimination fields being set based on a single Friday evening run.

Leah Pruett, last year’s Top Fuel runner-up finisher at Indianapolis, will start her drive for another shot at a final round appearance from the No. 5 position on the eliminations ladder after taking her Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge//SRT Redeye dragster for a solid qualifying pass under the lights. Her 3.755 second elapsed time (E.T.) run at 322.88 mph gives her lane choice over No. 12 seed, Joe Morrison. 

In Funny Car qualifying action, three-time U.S. Nationals Funny Car title winner Cruz Pedregon’s Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was the top HEMI®-powered entry starting from the fourth spot earned with a 3.896-second drive at 323.66 mph. The Cruz Pedregon Racing team owner and driver will have No. 13 seed Terry Haddock as his first round opponent on Sunday.

DSR’s 27-year veteran driver Ron Capps also positioned his NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car in the top half of the field with a 3.907 second/326.08 mph effort to go into the final eliminations battle of the regular season as the No. 6 seed. Capps will have No. 11 Justin Schriefer in the next lane as he sets his sights on battling for the elusive Wally trophy from the only NHRA event he has never won.

As the DSR Funny Car team prepared to take to the staging lanes for Friday qualifying, the team announced that two-time U.S. Nationals winner and category points leader Matt Hagan had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and would not be competing in this year’s event. In his place, the team called upon Tommy Johnson Jr. to take on the driving responsibilities for Hagan’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car. Johnson was the easy choice after finishing second in the 2020 NHRA Funny Car World Championship with DSR with three wins and three No. 1 qualifier positions last season. 

Efforts to qualify the hard charging Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye for the prestigious Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals and add to Hagan’s point total were short-lived. Following a mechanical issue, found immediately after the burnout, that didn’t give Johnson the chance to take the tree, any opportunity to get in a run on Saturday was washed out by persistent rainfall. That left Johnson with no qualifying time and without a spot on the eliminations ladder, a situation that also unfortunately meant that no points would be awarded to Hagan. With the unique points-and-a-half format employed at this final regular season event, that drops the DSR driver several positions in the final battle for position in the Funny Car standings heading into the NHRA’s “Countdown to the Championship” which begins next weekend at the Mopar Express Lane Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania.

In Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown (FSS), Pruett took her 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak for a 7.969 second run at 176.79 mph to earn the No. 12 spot on the eliminations ladder comprised of a competitive 22-car field. Following two runner-up finishes this season in consecutive events at Denver and Topeka, Pruett is seeking another FSS win at the U.S. Nationals to add to her 2018 Indy victory. By juggling stints aboard both her Top Fuel dragster and drag pak on Sunday, Pruett has the unique possibility of taking home two Wally trophies for Dodge at the world-renowned event to which the performance brand has lent its name as title sponsor for the first-time. 

Pruett will begin her day against DSR teammate and No. 13 seed David Davies and his 2021 Mopar Drag Pak after his best qualifying effort to date. He was among only a handful of FSS competitors that got in a second run on Saturday morning before rain showers claimed the day. 

Fellow DSR FSS driver Mark Pawuk, who finished runner-up at the last year’s event, was unfortunately not among that group as he could have benefitted from the opportunity to get in a second qualifying pass after finding himself in the final spot on the ladder following his Q1 run. Nevertheless, he will work to battle his way through the field aboard his 2021 Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak as it makes its maiden drive in competition this weekend.

Television coverage of the 67th annual Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals will be broadcast on Sunday Sept. 5, on FS1 from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. and then on the FOX national broadcast network from 1 – 4 p.m. EDT.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES

FUNNY CAR:

Tommy Johnson Jr., DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye

(Did Not Start) 

Qualifying 1: Did not run due to mechanical issue on the starting line

“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 them.”

Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 6 Qualifier – 3.907 seconds at 326.08 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.907 seconds at 326.08 mph

“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.”

Cruz Pedregon, Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.896 seconds at 323.66 mph)

Qualifying 1:  3.896 seconds at 323.66 mph

“We’re qualified fourth with a 3.89 (second elapsed time run) at 323 mph which is a great first run off the trailer even if we pulled it back a little bit. We knew there was a good possibility of rain, so we weren’t pushing really hard, but it was still a great elapsed time. We would have liked to have had another shot at it. I talked to my crew chief JC (John Collins) and we were going to push it a little harder and try to move up the ladder a few more spots but we’ll take that fourth place. We’ll approach the race like all races even though we have just one run under our belts for this week. The track is solid and it’s similar to Brainerd (where we just ran) and we’re confident we can go out there tomorrow and put strings of good runs together. That’s the plan for the Snap-on Tool Dodge SRT Hellcat and we’re excited to see what happens.”

TOP FUEL:

Leah Pruett, DSR Pennzoil Mopar Dodge//SRT Dragster  

(No. 5 Qualifier – 3.755 seconds at 322.88 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.755 seconds at 322.88 mph

“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.”

FACTORY STOCK SHOOTOUT:

Leah Pruett, 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak 

(No. 12 Qualifier – 7.965 seconds at 166.70 mph)

Qualifying 1: 7.969 seconds at 176.79 mph

“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 Dodge//SRT 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.”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak

(No. 22 Qualifier – 13.781 seconds. at 75.07 mph)

Qualifying 1: 13.781 seconds at 75.07 mph

“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. We’re going to keep plugging away until we get this thing figured out, and start winning some races.”

David Davies, D H Davies Racing Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak

(No. 13 Qualifier – 7.969 seconds at 176.79 mph)

Qualifying 1: 7.969 seconds. at 176.79 mph

“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.”

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News
Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com. 

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

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