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NHRA

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Leah Pritchett exits Sonoma in round two

July 31, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Pritchett exits Sonoma in round twoNHRA Top Fuel top qualifier Leah Pritchett exits Sonoma in round two this weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.    The Papa John’s Pizza Top Fuel team started the weekend off strong with a track record performing qualifying effort, but those results didn’t translate into Sunday win lights during eliminations.  

In the opening round of eliminations, the top qualifier took on Terry Haddock, taking the win with a 3.749 second, 326.95 mph performance against Haddock’s 3.910 at 303.91mph.      But her luck would not hold out, as Leah Pritchett exits Sonoma in round two when a mechanical issue slowed her to a 3.897-second run at 214.09 mph in an upset by Terry McMillen.   A clutch lever malfunction on her Pap John’s dragster led to her engine losing a cylinder.

“Terry McMillen beat us to the finish line. Broken parts can break hearts but it can’t break our spirit when we go to Seattle,” Pritchett said of next weekend’s finale to the three-week Western Swing.  “You go into every race day with a good, confident feeling. I feel like this Sunday we had the most confidence because everything was jelling. The people, everyone’s so on top of their game, the track record, low three out of four qualifiers.”

Pritchett and the Powered by Pennzoil team were quickest in the first three qualifying sessions of the weekend, landing the No. 1 qualifying pole.   Her 3.669 second performance at 304.80 mph reset the track elapsed time record, a feat they have now accomplished five times.   They also scored the top qualifying honors at the previous event in Denver, scoring a runner-up finish for the event, and were confident entering eliminations.   

“I have said this morning if someone asked, ‘what’s it going to take to win this race?’ I would have answered ‘no mistakes.’ We were proven wrong. We didn’t make any mistakes and still lost.”

Leah Prichett and the Papa John’s Dragster now sit No. 3 in NHRA championship points entering the final race of the 3-event Western Swing.

 

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Drag Racing, Leah Pritchett, NHRA, Top Fuel, Women Racing

Semifinal finish for Brittany Force in Sonoma

July 31, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Brittany Force in SonomaAnother semifinal finish for NHRA Top Fuel racer Brittany Force in Sonoma.   The Monster Energy sponsored racer scored her fifth semifinal in the last seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races, moving her inside the top five of the Top Fuel points standings following Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Brittany Force began the event with No. 2 qualifying attempt on Friday, followed by a tough qualifying effort Saturday, in which she failed to make a full pass.   The second of three Western Swing events, Sonoma is one of Force’s favorite tracks.   

During Sunday’s eliminations, Force outran No. 15 qualified Steven Chrisman in the opening round, charging down the track at a session-best 3.705 seconds, and posting a track record 331.61 mph speed to set up a quarterfinals matchup against No. 7 Shawn Langdon.

In round two, both Force and Langdon ran into trouble, but Brittany Force was able to salvage the run, and pedal the car across the finish line in 4.071 seconds at 264.75 mph with Langdon trailing close behind.  

Brittany Force in Sonoma 2017That put her up against No. 6, the current NHRA Top Fuel points leader, Steve Torrence.  Torrence and crew had a stellar and consistent race day performance, running 3.753 seconds at 329.02 mph in the semifinal to defeat Brittany Force’s 3.882 seconds at 315.27 mph run.   Force had fuel spilling out the left side of her car during the pass.  Torrence advanced and scored the event win for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.   

The semifinal finish for Brittany Force in Sonoma allowed her Monster Energy team to jump ahead of Doug Kalitta in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings, moving to the No. 5 position.  She also claimed the track speed record during her first round pass, a record held previously by Kalitta.  

“To have a day like that and then have low ET of the session … I thought we were going to carry it all through the day,” Force said. “But we made a semifinal appearance, which is what we did last weekend too. So that’s pretty good, but the plan for next week in Seattle is to take it off the trailer and end up in the winner’s circle.”

Brittany and the Monster Energy team will head to the third stop on the Western Swing, the NHRA Northwest Nationals on August 4-6 at Pacific Raceway outside Seattle, WA.   The event is the 16th of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

 

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Brittany Force, Drag Racing, NHRA, Top Fuel, Women Racing

Melling Performance joins Erica Enders

July 7, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

melling performance Melling Performance, a longtime associate sponsor of Elite Motorsports and two-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders, signed on to become title sponsor of the 22-time national event winner for five national events, beginning with the 20th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago and continuing through the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indy.

Everyone at Melling Performance is excited about our association with Erica and Elite Motorsports,” Melling Performance CEO Mark Melling said. “After being at the races, I thought it would be great to see the Melling Performance Decal on the doors of Erica’s RED #9 racecar. It reminds me of the Bill Elliott days in NASCAR.   Melling has been launching a ton of new performance engine parts, and we are pumped to see our logo on the side of her RED Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro!”

The Melling Performance brand and logo will adorn the doors of Erica Enders’ racecar at the upcoming NHRA national events in Chicago, Denver, Sonoma, Seattle and Indianapolis.

“Looking over the landscape of Pro Stock, it’s really quite an accomplishment to bring a company the size and caliber of Melling into a title sponsorship role,” team owner Richard Freeman said. “It reflects well on the entire class, the NHRA and our friends at FOX as well. Exposure for our sport and more importantly our sponsors is growing and that’s important to the long-term economic vitality of our race team.”

melling performance

Enders has established herself as one of the top female racers in history.  Only Erica Enders, Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey have won world championships in any of the top forms of motorsports and her two championships, 22 national event wins, 18 No. 1 qualifiers and admirable 242-161 race day record mark her career in elite company.

I’m so excited to have Melling Performance step up like this,” Enders said. “We recently toured their facility and I was completely blown away. They aren’t state-of-the-art, they are way beyond that. It is like something out of the future. I was so impressed with everything they showed us.  We’ve become friends with everyone at Melling and they have definitely become part of the Elite family over the past few years. I can’t wait to drive this Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro into the winner’s circle this weekend.”

Melling Performance is a leading manufacturer of oil pumps and other power train components. Serving the global automotive original equipment and aftermarket industries, Melling is noted for its strong engineering, product development and distribution capabilities. Melling Performance operates 10 facilities in North America.

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Drag Racing, Erica Enders, NHRA, Pro Stock, Sponsors, Women Racing

Terry Chandler leaves legacy of love

July 5, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Drag Racing mourns the loss of one of the most kindhearted and generous supporters in the sport.  Don Schumacher Racing sponsor and supporter, Terry Chandler leaves a legacy of love in her wake that has touched the lives of many people in the sport and in the community.   Her generosity and charitable efforts behind the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero Foundation NHRA Funny Car programs will continue to live on in the hearts of thousands.

Terry ChandlerSadly, Terry Chandler lost her valiant fight with brain cancer on Tuesday, July 4th.  She was 65 years-old when she died in Florida with family and loved ones at her side.

Terry is a great human being who devoted the past few years to helping the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero foundations with her love and kindness by funding two of our Funny Car teams,” said Don Schumacher, DSR owner and close friend.    “Terry is such a beautiful person. She was so much more than a friend and partner. She is family. We will always see that wonderful smile of hers at the starting line.”

The native of New Mexico missed the NHRA Mello Yello Series event at Las Vegas in early April and a few days later underwent major surgery to partially remove one of three tumors in the front lobe of her brain.  An MRI determined that she was suffering from Glioblastoma cancer.    She was immersed in the fight of her life and battled valiantly to the end.

Terry Chandler was presented with the NHRA Blaine Johnson Award in 2015 for her dedication to helping others.

I love to race,” she told Autoweek magazine in a 2015 article. “And bless my heart, I love to win. These gol-darned cars, I just love ’em.”

Earlier that year, she was described as being “the most influential woman in drag racing” by the Inland Valley (Calif.) Newspapers.

I never dreamed that I would be blessed in a way that would allow me to help others,” she told the Southern California newspaper.   “Helping people is one of the most important things in the world to me – my daddy, John R. Gray, was an extremely giving man, and I learned from him how important it was to bless the lives of others. That is why this means so much to me. I feel very fortunate to be in this position.”

Terry Chandler became a fixture at NHRA national events when her brother, Johnny Gray, drove a Funny Car for DSR.  In 2013, Terry and Johnny decided to fund the car he drove as a tribute to their late father John R. Gray, a self-made man who rose to legendary status in the New Mexico and north Texas oil industry.

Upon Johnny’s retirement from driving at the end of that season, Terry began funding the team and added driver Tommy Johnson Jr.   Terry and her husband, Doug, own and operate Chandler Aviation at the Cavern City Air Terminal in Carlsbad, N.M.   Instead of flying the colors of Chandler Aviation on Johnson’s Dodge Charger, she chose to use the racecar as a platform to promote awareness for a great cause. The car was painted and the transporters were wrapped with a striking Make-A-Wish design.   She wanted her racecar to be a “giving car.”

Chandler and DSR host “Wish Kids” and their families to the VIP hospitality pavilion next to the race team’s pit area on Saturdays at each of the 24 Mello Yello events held in 21 markets across the country. The Make-A-Wish crew has the opportunity to engage with the children, giving them a tour of the pit area and racecar.

After a few months of committing to fund the Make-A-Wish team, another DSR team appeared close to dissolving when Terry Chandler, the woman with the infectious smile, stepped in to fund Jack Beckman’s team and donated its branding to the Infinite Hero Foundation, a non-profit organization that combats the most difficult front line issues by providing grants to help the physical and psychological challenges faced by returning military veterans.

More than $300,000 has been raised by the sale of “challenge coins” Jack Beckman carries on each run for a $100 donation to Infinite Hero and nearly $500,000 has been raised for the organization through Terry’s efforts.

For the past two years, she funded the Riley Kids Funny Car to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana during the prestigious U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis. She contributed additionally during DSR’s annual Open House that weekend that also raised funds for Riley Kids, often bidding on items she would donate back to the effort.

She funded countless Make-A-Wish dreams to provide monumental memories.  She always made it clear to the “Wish Kids” that the racecar was their car. She would proclaim, “This is YOUR racecar.”

And it will continue to be this weekend when her Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero teams race for her during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals near Chicago.

Terry is just an incredible lady, and we’ll never know how many lives she impacted,” Don added. “We’ll miss her every day, but we’ll never forget her smile and he big heart.”

A private funeral service will be held with a public memorial tentatively set for over Labor Day Weekend near Indianapolis during the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Category: Featured, Women in Racing NewsTag: Drag Racing, Funny Car, NHRA, Special Causes, Terry Chandler, Women Racing

Meyer qualifies second in Charlotte

May 9, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver, Megan Meyer qualifies second in Charlotte before making her exit in the semifinal round of the 8th Annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. 

The defending event champion qualified second in the 15 car field with a 5.322 at 276.35 mph.

 

Eliminations

In round one of eliminations, Megan would take on Dan Lucas.  She would leave first, but Lucas was quick on her heels and passed her by the 60′ mark.  She was able to reel him back in by half track, edging him out at the finish line by 64 feet, a margin of victory of 0.2025 seconds.   Meyer advances to round two with a 5.666 second performance at 264.23 mph.

This would match her with Jeff Veale in the second round, who would get a slight advantage at the light over Meyer before losing traction and striking the tires.   But Megan would run her fastest pass of the weekend, with a 5.274 second,  275.39 mph pass and would advance to the semi finals.

Anticipation running high for the defending event champion, an uncharacteristic mistake costs her the win in round three against Shawn Cowie.   Megan Meyer would leave too early, giving the red light win to Cowie, who would move on to be the event champion.

“Stress was high and we did our best to be defending 4widenats winners, but I just didn’t do my job as a driver and disqualified myself in the semis. Red lights are never easy to get over and it’s tough to run two cars without your crew chief there. My guys did the best they could in the very limited time they had and I had an amazing race car, I just had too much on my plate and wasn’t focused on the track.”

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Drag Racing, Megan Meyer, NHRA, TAD, Women Racing

Alexis DeJoria withdraws from Charlotte

April 28, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

DeJoria withdraws from CharlotteNHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria withdraws from Charlotte, NC’s  8th Annual 4-Wide Nationals event scheduled for this weekend.   The popular drag racing driver cited a family matter as cause of her absence in a statement from her camp.  

We wish all the best for Alexis DeJoria and her family, and hope that she returns quickly to the tour.     In her absence, DeJoria has appointed Kalitta Motorsports Director of Safety and established Funny Car pilot Chad Head to drive the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry.

DeJoria, who was already feeling under the weather at the previous event in Houston, is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of her Patrón Funny Car as soon as possible.
 
Head and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team will began qualifying for the eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on Friday, April 28 at 4:30 PM EST.
 

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Alexis DeJoria, Drag Racing, Funny Car, NHRA, Women Racing

DeJoria under the weather in Houston

April 24, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Dejoria under the weather in houston

Despite their star driver not feeling 100%, the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car qualified in the No. 9 position with a 3.946 second, 322.34 mph performance during Baytown, TX qualification rounds.  DeJoria was able to improve on that in round one of eliminations, taking the win against Tim Wilkerson with a 3.927 second, 327.03 mph pass against his 8.109 second effort, advancing her to round two.   There, she would face Advance Autoparts driver, Courtney Force, but just couldn’t make the same charge to the finish line, running a losing 4.146 E.T. at 260.16 mph to Courtney’s 3.947 E.T. at 294.37 mph.

It’s been a bit of a rough weekend for me. I’m fighting a possible case of walking pneumonia. We’ll see when I get home and talk to the doctor but I definitely haven’t been feeling great this weekend so I’ve been trying to be extra strong and do my job, and I think I did a good job,” said Alexis.   “We had a solid start; made three good, consistent passes in qualifying. On race day we got a round win, and almost a second round win. We’re strong right now and I’m excited for the next race. I’ve got a great team. Who needs luck when you’ve got a group like this.”

Dejoria under the weather in HoustonNHRA Countdown to the Championship Points Standings

 Alexis and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team leave the NHRA Spring Nationals in 11th place in the NHRA Championship points chase with 208 points.  She sits outside the top ten by just 3 points.  

 

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Alexis DeJoria, Drag Racing, Funny Car, NHRA, Women Racing

Third win for Leah Pritchett

April 24, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Third win for Leah PritchettAnother huge weekend at the NHRA Spring Nationals for the Papa John’s Top Fuel Dragster team, resulting in a third win for Leah Pritchett.    The team was also able to regain the lead in the NHRA Championship points chase. 

Pritchett and her Papa John’s Pizza team led by crew chief Todd Okuhara and assistant Joe Barlam, qualified No. 6 for the Houston race with a 3.747, 326.87 mph effort.   She would face Scott Palmer in round one, improving her career record vs. Palmer to 3-0 after running a 3.748 at 324.59 mph pass for the win.

Round two, she would carry lane choice against Doug Kalitta, whom held the round win advantage in the pairing at 9-2 entering the race.   Pritchett would take the jump off the tree with a starting line advantage, holding on to the lead all the way to the finish –  a 3.763 at 324.05mph to Kalitta’s quicker, but losing 3.759 at 326.56mph.   Leah’s holeshot win gained her lane choice into the third round.

The semi-final round would see Pritchett face off against teammate Antron Brown.   Though he would get the starting line advantage, Leah would reel him in and hold on for the win, running a 3.772 at 319.45mph.   This would put the Papa John’s team facing Steve Torrence and the CAPCO Contractors team in the final, and would also result in a “family feud” face-off, as Leah’s husband Gary is the CAPCO team clutch specialist.

“We don’t talk on race day (Sunday). I don’t even make eye contact with him when we’re in the staging lanes getting ready to run,” she said.

Before the final, she said “let the best Pritchett win.”

“”You want to get fired up by being mad or hating the person you’re racing, but I can’t do that when we’re up there racing against great guys like my teammate Antron (Brown, who she beat in the semifinals) or Steve.  My mentality, honestly, was there’s a select number of drivers that I really, really get up for. I know Steve very well, a great family friend and all of that. I knew he was going to be after me.”

 As she was going to be after him.  She got a little jump on Torrence at the starting line and the race was determined by 7 feet at over 320 mph when her time of 3.781 seconds at 321.96 mph edged past his 3.787 at 322.11.   Her third win in the five races thus far in the 2017, she was able to regain the points lead from her Don Schumacher teammates as well.    She currently leads teammate Antron Brown by 54 points and Tony Schumacher by 56 points.

“I’ve never been in a position to really be counting points so early in the season, but I’m definitely enjoying that,” she said.

 The Mello Yello series moves east from Houston next week to near Charlotte Motor Speedway for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in the second of three Mello Yello events in three weeks.
 
 
 

2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES TOP FUELSTANDINGS           

(Official after Houston; 5th of 24 events; wins in parenthesis)
  1. LEAH PRITCHETT (3)                494       —–
  2. ANTRON BROWN (1)                 440        -54
  3. TONY SCHUMACHER (1)          438        -56

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Drag Racing, Leah Pritchett, NHRA, Top Fuel, Women Racing

Megan Meyer set for Houston

April 21, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Meyer ready for Houston
Photo: RB Photorgraphy

NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Megan Meyer is set for Houston NHRA national event this weekend.   The sophomore driver will be competing in the 30th Annual NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, TX.  This marks

She began her season with a regional win in Gainesville and qualified second at the Gator Nationals event.   She moved onto another regional win in Belle Rose, LA – her second for the season. 

Her fourth race of the season, Megan Meyer will begin qualifying today in her A/Fuel Randy Meyer Racing Dragster at noon, with a second session scheduled for 3:00PM.  

Special Giveaway with Megan Meyer partner |  MAHLE Clevite

MAHLE Clevite Special InitiativeMegan Meyer fans will also benefit from a special giveaway from partner MAHLE-Clevite.  The first 100 fans who show up in the Megan Meyer pit area between 10-11AM on Saturday will receive an autographed Clevite hat from Megan.   Put on the hat, pose with Megan for a selfie, and post it on your social media page sharing it with MAHLE, and be entered to win 4 reserved seating tickets for Saturday, October 14th during the AAA NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.

 

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Drag Racing, Megan Meyer, NHRA, TAD, Women Racing

Round 2 loss for Alexis DeJoria

April 3, 2017 //  by Horsepower & Heels

Round 2 loss for Alexis DeJoriaThe Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Drag Racing Las Vegas Nationals event ended in a Round 2 loss for Alexis DeJoria, Driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car.

Round 2 loss for Alexis DeJoriaAlexis qualified in the No. 8 position with a 3.936 E.T. at 327.27 mph.    She faced J.R. Todd in the opening round of eliminations, taking the win with a 4.054 second, 320.97 mph performance to Todd’s losing 9.752 ET at 77.54 mph.   A matchup with Gary Densham resulted in a Round 2 loss for Alexis DeJoria, who’s red light 4.052 at 319.67 mph pass was disqualified, allowing Densham’s run of 4.551 at 190.73 to advance to the semifinals.    

We definitely had a good setup in the heat for race day. It looked like we were headed to a semifinal, quite possibly. Unfortunately, I left a little too early in the second round and got a red light for us. We’re going to stay and test on Monday. I’ll just get out there, make runs, hit the tree and shake it off.”

NHRA Countdown to the Championship Points Standing

Round 2 loss for Alexis DeJoriaAlexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car leave Las Vegas with 154 NHRA championship points, ranking them 12th in Funny Car points standings. 

Category: Women in Racing NewsTag: Alexis DeJoria, Drag Racing, Funny Car, NHRA, Women Racing

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