Leah Pruett Gets Her First Win with Tony Stewart Racing

Pruett drove the Direct Connection Dragster to the win in the Direct Connection Mile High Nationals.

Leah Pruett’s top fuel dragster doesn’t bear any sort of resemblance to any Dodge product, but she has been sponsored the brand for a number of years and her current sponsor is Direct Connection – the newly reformed performance component line for the brand. Pruett had surely hoped to secure her first win with the new Tony Stewart Racing team prior to the Direct Connection Mile High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado, but it is fitting that her first win was at an event that is sponsored by the same brand as her race car.

“Congratulations to Leah Pruett on powering her Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel dragster to her 10th career win and Tony Stewart Racing’s first Top Fuel victory at our headline event,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “Leah’s victory today demonstrates the hard work, dedication, and tenacity that she and her team put into every race, the kind of performance that Dodge//SRT is known for, and what enthusiasts can expect from Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection.”

Pruett Shines in Qualifying

The first round of qualifying was Leah Pruett’s only bad run of the event, with her Dodge Power Brokers top fuel car shaking the tires and coasting through with the slowest time of the class for Q1. However, in Q2, she ran a 3.788 at 326.79 to jump into the top spot, followed by a 3.784 in Q3, keeping her atop the list.

In Q4, she continued to get quicker, running a 3.771 at 322.5, but Brittany Force and Justin Ashley ran slightly quicker, so Pruett started eliminations for the Direct Connection Mile High Nationals in the third spot on the ladder.

Direct Connection to the Finals

In the first round, Leah Pruett and her Direct Connection top fuel dragster ran a 3.910 at 308.5 to beat former Don Schumacher Racing driver Antron Brown (who also left DSR). In the second round, she posted her slowest E.T. of the event with a 4.059 at 251, but that was still quick enough to beat Clay Millican. In this same round, top qualifier Brittany Force lost to Jim Hart.

The third round of eliminations would prove to be her toughest, taking on #2 qualifier Justin Ashley. Pruett set herself up for the win when she pulled the best reaction time of the class of the event – a 0.015 – and soared through the top end with a winning 3.879 at 317.94 to Ashley’s 4.091 at 303.64.

In the final round, Leah Pruett was set to line up with former Toyota funny car driver Shawn Langdon, but he ran into mechanical issues during the burnout. As a result, Pruett had a single pass for the win and she didn’t just coast down the track. She ran a 3.884 at 316.38 miles per hour, which was quicker than Langdon’s time in the previous round.

“This is everything,” said Pruett of the Wally trophy she held in her arms. “This being the Dodge Power Brokers (MIle-High) Nationals we brokered that Dodge power all week long. My crew has been flawless all weekend long and couldn’t be more proud to do this in front of these Denver Fans. I’ll say two things; this view never gets old. Also, this is the first Top Fuel win for Tony Stewart Racing and that will also never get old.”

This was Pruett’s first win with Tony Stewart Racing, so it was also TSR’s first win in the Top Fuel Dragster class. This is Pruett’s second win at Bandimere and the 10^th event win of her career. Most importantly, this win moved her into the sixth spot in the championship chase. She needs to be in the top ten to be included in the Countdown to the Championship format at the end of the season. Right now, she is in great position and is building momentum at the halfway point of the season. Meanwhile, the Torrence teams which have dominated the class for years have not had their best season, leading to a much more wide open run for the title.

Photos: Tony Stewart Racing

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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