Leah Pruett, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster, is gearing up to bounce back at the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle after the “heartbreak” in Denver. With her eyes set on her first victory at this event, Pruett is ready to hoist a Wally at the end of the weekend.
Pruett is no stranger to the Seattle strip. In 2018, she advanced to the final, where she put up a fierce fight with a 3.849 ET at 320.13 mph run. However, she was narrowly defeated by Antron Brown’s 3.835 ET at 322.84 mph run. This year, she’s back with a vengeance, seeking her first No. 1 qualifier at the event. Currently sitting third in the Top Fuel standings, Pruett is just 105 points behind leader Justin Ashley.
“Our immediate goal is to win our second race of the season,” Pruett shared. “To do that, we intend to have our well-running race car back that we last had at Norwalk. By doing that, our performance strategy will be back on target for our long-term goal.”
Pruett’s long-term goal? Winning the Championship. And she’s got a plan to get there. “The goal is to go into the Countdown with a performance package that is robust, consistent, able to be managed in multiple conditions and predictable,” she explained. “So that we can charge hard in the final six races and win the Championship.”
But getting back to racing at sea level isn’t as simple as it sounds. “The list is long,” Pruett admitted. “We reduce the front and rear wing angles, the pistons in Denver cannot be run in Seattle, the ignition timing is reduced, and the supercharger overdrive is slowed down by eight percent. Each cylinder fuel jets are changed. Also, the settings for the fuel management system change.”
Despite the challenges, Pruett is undeterred. She’s ready to take on Seattle, and she’s bringing her A-game.
This story was originally published on July 19, 2023. 
