Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Presented by Pennzoil
Event 14 of 24 (Denver)
Bandimere Speedway
Morrisson, Colo.
July 19-21, 2019
Highlights:
- Leah Pritchett returns as the defending Top Fuel event champion
- In 2018, Pritchett reset the Bandimere Speedway speed record (327.59 mph) en route to capturing her second consecutive Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil pole
- Pritchett has been to the final round at Denver the past two years, winning in 2018 and recording a runner-up finish in 2017
- Ron Capps raced to a runner-up finish at the 2018 event, the first of three consecutive final-round appearances on the Western Swing
- Matt Hagan enters the race weekend as the most recent Funny Car winner on the NHRA tour after capturing the Epping Wally trophy
- Antron Brown ‘swept The Swing’ (winning the Denver, Sonoma, and Seattle trio of races) in 2009
- Pritchett got her very first Wally at the Denver track while competing in the NHRA Junior Dragster series
- Tommy Johnson Jr. has been to the final round in four different categories at Bandimere (Funny Car, Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Super Gas)
Johnson notched his career-first final round at the 1991 Denver event while competing in Top Fuel
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.733 seconds, Leah Pritchett (2017)
Top Fuel, speed: 327.59 mph, Leah Pritchett (2018)
(EXCERPT)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Denver Event Highlights:
Two-time runner-up (1991, 2017)
2018 Denver Recap:
Qualified sixth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Bob Tasca III in E1; defeated by Robert Hight in E2)
Last Event (Epping):
Qualified eighth; First round exit (defeated by Tim Wilkerson in E1)
2019 Season Statistics:
20 round wins; ranked third in points
Career Statistics:
459 races; 18 wins (two Top Fuel); 18 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)
Noteworthy:
Has been to the final round in four different categories at Bandimere Speedway (Funny Car, Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Super Gas)
Notched his career-first final round at the 1991 Denver event while competing in Top Fuel
Quotable:
“I’ve been going to Denver for so long, and it’s such a cool place. It’s so unique, so different and the one thing I think is really cool is to see the performance gains we’ve made there. You used to go there, and everybody would slow way down and blow up a bunch of parts and not run really well, and now you go there and we don’t run much slower. That’s been amazing to see. Everybody knows how hard it is to race up there, so I think the fans appreciate the strides everyone has made there. It’s cool we’re going out there and running so well.
“Normally, the start of the Western Swing is where we start to hit our stride. To already be in our stride, your focus turns to making sure we can keep this going. The way the team has performed, if we can carry that momentum and put together the back half with this year’s front half, we’ll be in good shape the rest of the year.”
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) is the winningest team in NHRA Drag Racing history, having claimed more than 325 NHRA national event titles and 17 world championships since opening its doors in 1998.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR fields seven professional teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series. In Top Fuel, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown, the MOPAR/Pennzoil/Sparkling Ice dragster driven by Leah Pritchett and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher’s machine. In Funny Car, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driven by 2016 world champion Ron Capps, the Mopar Express Lane/Pennzoil/Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat piloted by Matt Hagan, and in Terry and Doug Chandler’s ‘giving cars,’ 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, and Tommy Johnson Jr. behind the wheel of the Make-A-Wish Dodge.
DSR also campaigns two Factory Stock Showdown entries. The duo is piloted by Pritchett, the 2018 Factory Stock Showdown Series champion, and former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.