CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 4, 2017) The second day of Nitro Spring Training showed drivers and teams starting to get back into the swing of things. We saw everything from fireballs to career best elapsed times.
Leah Pritchett went through quite the crew change during the offseason but by the time of their final run on day two of testing, they had worked out the kinks. Pritchett ran a career-best (and low ET of testing, so far) 3.677 @ 323.27 mph. This run was a stark contrast to the rest of the tire-shaking runs that she and the Papa Johns crew produced.
8-time Top Fuel World Champion, Tony Schumacher started the day off with a bang. Schumacher’ U.S. Army dragster made what looked to be a seemingly perfect run until he got to the stripe. The engine blew and out emerged a fireball that would char the back of canopy. Tony and the crew thrashed all day to get their car back together and finally made their second run of the day late in the afternoon with a 3.784 @ 274.58 mph pass.
Helping anchor the day as a success for the ladies of the sport, Courtney Force posted the fastest ET ever on the scoreboard in the Funny Car category, 3.804 @ 333.33 mph. Due to the fact that the run was made in testing and not a national event, it won’t go on the books. But expect to see runs similar from the John Force Racing camp as every one of their cars made quick and clean runs down the track today.
Del Worsham and his father, Chuck Worsham, made their 2017 family-owned operation debut with two tire-shaking passes. Privateer, Clay Millican was one of the drivers that saw the most track time. The fellow single-car team of Scott Palmer also hit the track in order to find a competitive setup ahead of the season opener.
As expected, some cars ran quicker while other were left struggling to make it down the track. Overall the laid back atmosphere of testing seemed to get a little more serious when game changing runs were being thrown down by top teams. More drivers are set to hit the track tomorrow and will have their chance to throw their hat in the ring and lay down a fast time before the season gets underway in one week’s time in Pomona, California.