{"id":53755,"date":"2021-08-02T08:03:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T12:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=53755"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:21:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:21:08","slug":"mopar-and-dodge-srt-double-up-with-hemi-powered-victories-by-pruett-and-capps-at-rescheduled-nhra-winternationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/racing\/2021\/08\/mopar-and-dodge-srt-double-up-with-hemi-powered-victories-by-pruett-and-capps-at-rescheduled-nhra-winternationals.html","title":{"rendered":"Mopar®<\/sub> and Dodge\/\/SRT®<\/sup> Double-Up with HEMI®<\/sup>-powered Victories by Pruett and Capps at Rescheduled NHRA Winternationals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After all four Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> and Dodge\/\/SRT\u00ae<\/sup>-supported NHRA nitro entries qualified in the top-five heading into race day, the performance brands and Don Schumacher Racing doubled-up on Wally trophies this weekend with wins by HEMI\u00ae<\/sup>-powered pilots Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car) at the rescheduled 61st annual Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Winternationals Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leah<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pruett followed up a stout No. 2 qualifier performance aboard her\nDSR Sparkling Ice Spiked Dodge\/\/SRT Top Fuel Dragster with her second trip to a\nfinal round showdown in consecutive weeks. She earned the second place position\non the eliminations ladder, along with five important bonus points, by speeding\nto the provisional pole position on Friday and then posting the second quickest\nrun of Q2 to put her on the starting line for the opening round against No. 13\nseed Steve Chrisman. A 3.906-second elapsed time run by her HEMI\u00ae-powered\nmachine at 268.01 mph gave her the round win and a quarterfinal bye run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leah<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Following another solid 3.931sec.\/272.12 mph pass on her single\nrun, Pruett staged next to her semifinal opponent, No. 3 seed Mike Salinas, and\nran him down at half-track to turn on win lights with a 3.927 sec.\/273.16 mph\npass to advance to her second final round appearance of the season after her\nrunner-up performance last weekend at Sonoma Raceway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leah<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pruett was lined up and ready for battle against No. 7 qualifier\nJustin Ashley in the final Top Fuel showdown in the sweltering heat at the\nPomona dragstrip when her opponent opted to err on the side of caution after\nexperiencing symptoms of extreme heat exhaustion and not take the run. That\nprovided Pruett with her second solo run opportunity of the day, a 4.021\nsec.\/271.52 mph pass, and an uncontested win to officially earn a Wally trophy\nfor the ninth time in her Top Fuel career, the second time at Auto Club Raceway\nat Pomona (2017), and her first victory of the 2021 NHRA season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ron<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Funny Car action, after earning his fourth No.1 qualifier\nposition of the first ten NHRA Camping World Series season events this season,\nCapps powered his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat through the elimination rounds\nwith consistent 4.1-second runs and wins over Bob Bode, Bob Tasca and longtime\nrival John Force to advance to his second final round appearance of the season\nafter his runner-up finish at the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented\nby Pennzoil in Houston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ron<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A three-time winner at Pomona (1998, 2009, 2016), Capps earned his\n66th career Funny Car win against No. 7 seed J.R. Todd by running him with a\n4.151 sec.\/253.09 mph effort to beat his opponent\u2019s 4.289\/249.16 pass. The\nvictory, the 2019 NHRA Funny Car world champion\u2019s first of the 2021 season,\nputs him into the points lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Matt<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The third and final event of the NHRA\u2019s \u201cWestern Swing\u201d didn\u2019t quite end the way No. 5 qualifier Matt Hagan had hoped after earning a coveted win at the Dodge\/\/SRT Mile-High Nationals in Denver, Colorado, and his runner-up performance at the Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Matt<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The reigning Funny Car world champion began the day by staging his DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye next to Force in the opening round. After Force double-bulbed, Hagan hit the throttle first to take the early lead but soon saw his opponent close the gap and edge past him right before the finish to shorten his day and close out three consecutive weeks of racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cruz Pedregon Racing team had another promising weekend as team owner and Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat fourth on the Funny Car eliminations ladder. He faced off against Tim Wilkerson in the opening round and took the win with a 4.103 seconds E.T. at 263.46 mph to advance. The three-time Pomona winner saw Force next in the quarterfinals and had a good run going until tire haze at mid-track saw Pedregon hesitate just enough to make it a close finish posting a 4.361 sec losing effort to his opponents 4.353 second round win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leah<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Competition will resume in two weeks with the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented By PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park near Topeka, Kansas, for the first of just three remaining national events before the NHRA\u2019s seven-race \u201cCountdown to the Championship\u201d playoff series begins September 9 at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil in Reading, Pennsylvania, and concludes with the NHRA finals in November in Pomona, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n