Motorsports Recap And Behind The Scenes Access

Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Race Report

BRAINERD, Minn. (August 20, 2017) The final day of the exciting and history-making weekend at Brainerd International Raceway has come to conclusion. The sunny weather and barely one-hundred degree track temperature made for quick, clean laps down the race track in all four professional classes.

Top Fuel

Qualifying number one and setting the national ET record earlier in the weekend wasn’t enough for Leah Pritchett, she also went on to win the race. Pritchett squared off against her Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Antron Brown. This was Brown’s fifth consecutive final round but Pritchett stopped him from making it two consecutive wins. Pritchett’s race-winning lap was 3.682 seconds at 328.06 mph. Brown, who dropped a cylinder around the five-hundred footmark, made his slowest pass of the day at 4.001 seconds at 246.35 mph. “Don Schumacher has given me the best team, in my opinion, and we keep continuing to prove that,” Pritchett praised. “I really like that these number and their work ethic and consistency backs it up when I say we have the best team because we have the best hotrod.” This is Pritchett’s fourth win this year.

Funny Car

After missing three races earlier in the season and not having seen the winners circle since April of last year, Alexis Dejoria got her groove back. Dejoria made a 3.906 second run at 330.96 mph for the win. In the other lane was Tommy Johnson Jr. from the Don Schumacher Racing stable. Johnson ran 3.933 seconds at 324.44 mph. “I’m very resilient. That’s the way I was raised, you never give up,” Dejoria explained. Alexis had a rough outing last season facing injuries and technical troubles with the car. “It’s times like that that makes this [win] so much better because you really really appreciate every moment. This is a huge win for us.”

Pro Stock 

Yesterday Tanner Gray got the green hat for qualifying number one. Today he picked up the yellow hat and the trophy after he beat KB Racing’s Bo Butner in the final. Gray ran 6.610 seconds at 208.04 mph. Butner was two-hundredths slower off of the starting line but managed to lessen the gap to one-hundredth at the finish line. Butner ran a 6.629 second pass at 207.85 mph. Similar to his two previous media center appearances, Gray had nothing but praise for his team. “I don’t know what these guys have done but they’ve got a handle on this car the past few races. They got something going right over there, they’re making my job a hell of a lot easier. I’m just blessed to be siting in the driver’s seat.” This is the Pro Stock rookie’s fourth victory of the season.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

White Alligator Racing teammates, LE Tonglet and Jerry Savoie duked it out in the final round for the win. Tonglet has been on quite the trophy haul this summer but Savoie picked up the Wally today with a time of 6.846 seconds at 194.80 mph. Tonglet put up a 6.910 second effort at 194.02 mph, but it wasn’t enough to get past the reigning world champion. “I’ve had some misfortune a couple times and my riding hasn’t been like it should be. But LE is solid as a rock so when you beat him, it’s kind of rewarding,” said Savoie. “He’s taught me a lot and I’ve taught him some things and we thrive off each other,” he continued. This is Savoie’s second win of the 2017 season.

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