Pruett and Green Jump Out to Early Leads at NHRA New England Nationals

EPPING, NH – June 2, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Leah Pruett put together an impressive run in the heat on Friday at New England Dragway, rolling to the provisional No. 1 position in Top Fuel at the NHRA New England Nationals.

Funny Car’s Chad Green is also a provisional No. 1 qualifier at the seventh of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Pruett went 3.856-seconds at 319.37 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Rush Truck Centers dragster for Tony Stewart Racing, making one of only a trio of three-second runs in the class on Friday. Pruett is after her first No. 1 qualifier this season and 14th of her career, as well as her first victory of 2023 and at New England Dragway.

The standout performance on Friday also puts Pruett in a good position for Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, where she will take on Josh Hart. It’s the third appearance in the bonus race for Pruett, who will try to pick up her first victory. The other matchup on Saturday features defending world champ Brittany Force and Chicago winner Clay Millican, with the two victors meeting up to close out Saturday qualifying in what is expected to be dramatically different conditions.

“That 3.85, as we all know, is not going to stay No. 1. That wouldn’t have even qualified at our last race,” Pruett said. “This particular track and these conditions are basically getting everybody to maximize their adaptability, and that shows with us being No. 1. Our crew chiefs are currently in the system of learning the new program, and there is finding this middle ground, and going slower is actually a lot harder than going fast. We’ll work on that tomorrow.

“Going down the track when you run a 3.85 compared to running, like, a 3.64, it’s night and day. But I knew as soon as I got past a second-and-a-half, which is always going to be our trouble zone with our new system, I was like, alright, we’re cruising. This track is smooth and we just cruised right on over it. Everything was pretty much flawless, and there is not a lot that we can take away from this run and use for tomorrow, but we’ll go back to a lot of other races.”

Running next to Pruett, Antron Brown posted a strong run as well, moving into the second spot with a run of 3.899 at 310.98. Brown posted a win earlier this season in Las Vegas and is after his second career victory at New England Dragway. Hart, who has advanced to three straight final rounds this year, was the only other driver to make a 3-second run on Friday, going 3.902 at 317.27, putting him in contention for his first career No. 1 qualifier as well.

Green made the best pass on a warm track on Friday in Funny Car, going 4.100 at 310.98 in his 11,000-horsepower Bond-Coat, Inc. Ford Mustang. If it holds, it would be Green’s first career No. 1 qualifier as he continues to enjoy a breakout season in 2023. Green is currently sixth in points and already has nine round wins this season, plus a victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Pomona.

He’ll have a chance for a second victory in the special bonus race on Saturday as well, as he will take on Ron Capps in a semifinal rematch from Chicago. The other matchup will feature Chicago winner Tim Wilkerson and John Force, and Green will be focused on having a big Saturday in Epping after his solid start to open qualifying.

“The run felt pretty good. It’s tricky track today, but we were one of the only cars to make it down, so we feel pretty good about that,” Green said. “Tomorrow, the weather situation is going to be totally different than it was today. We have the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge tomorrow, and we’re really excited about that. I’d like to be the first Funny Car driver to win it twice.

“It would mean so much to have this No. 1 at the end of the day tomorrow, but what we really want to do now is get a win. We’ve gone rounds, made it to the semifinals a bunch of times, but we’re ready to take that next step and get that Wally.”

Points leader Matt Hagan, who has won the last two races in Epping and has an NHRA-best four overall victories in Epping, is currently second with a run of 4.123 at 309.13. Capps, the back-to-back world champion in the category, took third with a 4.483 at 199.88. Capps was the runner-up in Chicago and is after his first win of the season following three trips to the final round.

Qualifying continues at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway.

EPPING, NH– Friday’s results after the first one of three rounds of qualifying for the 10th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, seventh of 21 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Leah Pruett, 3.856 seconds, 319.37 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.899, 310.98; 3. Josh Hart, 3.902, 317.27; 4. Dan Mercier, 4.024, 278.69; 5. Mike Salinas, 4.067, 229.39; 6. Austin Prock, 4.075, 239.27; 7. Steve Torrence, 4.191, 212.73; 8. Clay Millican, 4.497, 174.91; 9. Justin Ashley, 4.807, 155.61; 10. Brittany Force, 4.907, 149.88; 11. Shawn Langdon, 7.364, 85.17; 12. Doug Kalitta, 10.365, 61.05; 13. Tony Schumacher, 11.552, 47.56.

Funny Car — 1. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 4.100, 310.98; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.123, 309.13; 3. Ron Capps, Toyota Supra, 4.483, 199.88; 4. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 4.624, 186.74; 5. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.766, 170.88; 6. Alex Laughlin, Charger, 5.142, 151.90; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 5.403, 136.26; 8. John Force, Camaro, 6.623, 96.42; 9. Alexis DeJoria, Supra, 6.816, 102.35; 10. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 9.214, 78.12; 11. J.R. Todd, Supra, 12.336, 78.86; 12. Jim Campbell, Chevy Monte Carlo, 14.716, 66.15.

About Camping World Holdings, Inc.

Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is America’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Our vision is to build a long-term legacy business that makes RVing fun and easy, and our Camping World and Good Sam brands have been serving RV consumers since 1966. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of associates serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of programs and services uniquely enable us to connect with our customers as stewards of the RV enthusiast community and the RV lifestyle. With RV sales and service locations in 42 states, Camping World has grown to become the prime destinations for everything RV. For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.

About NHRA

Headquartered in San Dimas, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 21 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports, Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown™ and Top Fuel Harley Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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