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Leah Pritchett long ago grew accustomed to not being taken seriously — especially on the particularly loud, smelly, dirty and perfectly straight lanes of the National Hot Rod Association.
When the Top Fuel driver for Don Schumacher Racing told local racers 10 years ago of her intentions to reach what she called “the Super Bowl” of the sport, many laughed.
If becoming the record holder for the NHRA’s fastest elapsed time (3.658 seconds) didn’t do it, perhaps the Southern Californian being third in Top Fuel points this season will.
[...] folks far from the track have taken notice.
Papa John’s Pizza is her chief sponsor — she’s featured in a national TV commercial, appears on limited-edition pizza-box covers and is the first female athletic endorser in company history.
The daughter of land-speed racer Ron Pruett and the wife of Gary Pritchett (a Steve Torrence crew member), she’s also wildly popular on YouTube.
Exploding down the 1,000-foot track in her Papa John’s dragster at more than 331 mph, Pritchett has left naysayers choking on skepticism and nitromethane fumes.
The rest is spent in sales, media engagements, elevating the Papa John’s brand and working exhaustively with the crew team.
“I’m the face and voice, but people just don’t realize all the work and attention it takes behind the scenes,” she said.
Whether it’s honing the motor or building that blower or putting in a rock or mounting the tires, it all takes precise, detailed perfection.
When she was 15, she was cold-calling businesses for sponsorship money.
Late in 2010, she’d run out of money while racing in the Heritage Funny Car Series.
On a whim, she called Deja Vu Showgirls, a strip joint, and it agreed to back her.
Ultimately, she said, her deep passion for the sport provided her almost all the fuel she needed to succeed.
If you love cars, you love power, engineering, that is what is going to drive you through all the trials and tribulations.
Schedule: qualifying 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday; qualifying 1:10 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. Saturday; eliminations 11 a.m. Sunday
J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
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When the Top Fuel driver for Don Schumacher Racing told local racers 10 years ago of her intentions to reach what she called “the Super Bowl” of the sport, many laughed.
If becoming the record holder for the NHRA’s fastest elapsed time (3.658 seconds) didn’t do it, perhaps the Southern Californian being third in Top Fuel points this season will.
[...] folks far from the track have taken notice.
Papa John’s Pizza is her chief sponsor — she’s featured in a national TV commercial, appears on limited-edition pizza-box covers and is the first female athletic endorser in company history.
The daughter of land-speed racer Ron Pruett and the wife of Gary Pritchett (a Steve Torrence crew member), she’s also wildly popular on YouTube.
Exploding down the 1,000-foot track in her Papa John’s dragster at more than 331 mph, Pritchett has left naysayers choking on skepticism and nitromethane fumes.
The rest is spent in sales, media engagements, elevating the Papa John’s brand and working exhaustively with the crew team.
“I’m the face and voice, but people just don’t realize all the work and attention it takes behind the scenes,” she said.
Whether it’s honing the motor or building that blower or putting in a rock or mounting the tires, it all takes precise, detailed perfection.
When she was 15, she was cold-calling businesses for sponsorship money.
Late in 2010, she’d run out of money while racing in the Heritage Funny Car Series.
On a whim, she called Deja Vu Showgirls, a strip joint, and it agreed to back her.
Ultimately, she said, her deep passion for the sport provided her almost all the fuel she needed to succeed.
If you love cars, you love power, engineering, that is what is going to drive you through all the trials and tribulations.
Schedule: qualifying 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday; qualifying 1:10 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. Saturday; eliminations 11 a.m. Sunday
J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
More...