NHRA Nationals at Brainerd
Event 17 of 24
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
August 17-19, 2018
Noteworthy:
- Leah Pritchett returns as the defending Top Fuel event champion
- All-DSR Top Fuel final in 2017 (Pritchett vs. Antron Brown)
- Tommy Johnson Jr. finished as the Funny Car runner-up in 2017
- Pritchett secured the 2017 No. 1 qualifier while also resetting the Brainerd International Raceway track record (3.640)
- Brown is seeking his third consecutive Brainerd final round
- Brown and Ron Capps enter the weekend as the most recent Top Fuel and Funny Car event winners (Seattle)
- Capps looks to continue his final round streak at BIR with his fourth consecutive final of 2018 (Denver, Sonoma, Seattle)
- Tony Schumacher leads the Top Fuel class in No. 1 qualifiers at BIR (six)
- Brown has been victorious in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle at BIR
- DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.640-seconds, Leah Pritchett (2017)
(EXCERPT)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T
NHRA Brainerd Event Highlights:
2006 event champion
Four-time runner-up
2015, 2017 (Funny Car)
1993, 1995 (Top Fuel)
2017 Brainerd Recap:
Qualified fifth; Event runner-up (defeated Jonnie Lindberg in E1, Courtney Force in E2, Robert Hight in E3; defeated by Alexis DeJoria in E4)
Last event (Seattle):
Qualified seventh; Semifinal finish (defeated John Force in E1, Robert Hight in E2; defeated by Courtney Force in E3)
2018 Season Statistics:
17 round wins; ranked seventh in points
Career Statistics:
438 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 15 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)
Noteworthy:
Returns as the 2017 Funny Car event runner-up
Quotable:
“Looking forward to Brainerd, especially with the way our car has been running lately, with two semifinals over the last few races and being runner-up at Brainerd last season. I think we’re at a time right now where our Make-A-Wish Dodge has really turned the corner. We’re due for a win and we’d love nothing more than to build some momentum right before Indy.”
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown and the Mopar/Papa John’s Pizza/Pennzoil/FireAde/U.S. Army dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in Terry and Doug Chandler’s Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Chandlers’ Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr.
DSR also campaigns two Sportsman teams. The two-car Factory Stock Showdown duo is piloted by Pritchett and veteran Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk. Both drivers compete in Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Paks.
DSR has won 328 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.