Dirt
LEAH PRITCHETT
Mello Yello Drag Racing Series campaign, Pritch-
ett will join Schumacher and Brown in the Army’s
initiatives away from the track, including local
high school programs at each track on the circuit,
the Army’s Centers of Influence (COI) and the
NHRA’s Youth & Education Services (YES) events
during race weekends throughout the season.
“This is one of the most prestigious partner-
ships of my career and for our team, and we look
forward to joining this very successful Army duo
of Tony and Antron, creating the U.S. Army tri-
fecta,” said Pritchett, who is coming off a powerful
2017 season that included four event titles in six
final-round appearances. “This is a tremendous
opportunity for us, to represent the Soldiers who
serve and enable us to do what we love.
“Tony and Antron have had an insurmountable
impact on my life. I am humbled and honored to
join them in representing the U.S. Army, and our
team is inspired not just rise to our expectations
for next year, but to elevate our training even fur-
ther. On a personal note, Tony was my first favorite
driver in the NHRA. I met him even before the U.S.
Army partnership began for him and watched him
from the other side of the ropes. I’ve always seen
Antron as a role model since his switch to Top Fuel.
As every year becomes slightly more surreal, this
is yet another new chapter, one that carries the
prestige and the honor with my two teammates of
representing Soldiers around the world. Our goal is
to win on the track for my team, win for the Army
in the communities we visit, and represent the U.S.
Army with our entire heart and soul.”
In her first full season with DSR, Pritchett
kicked off 2017 with a victory at the NHRA Win-
ternationals in Pomona, California, her first of
four event titles and six final-round appearances
on the year. She added six No. 1 qualifying ef-
forts and set national elapsed time records twice
– 3.658 seconds in February at Phoenix, and 3.640
seconds in August at Brainerd, Minnesota. She
finished fifth in the final Top Fuel standings after
qualifying for the Countdown to the Champion-
ship playoffs for the second year in a row.
Schumacher and Brown entered the 2017 sea-
son having combined for four Top Fuel world
titles in the previous five years. Schumacher and
his U.S. Army Dragster for DSR scored an early
season victory at the Gatornationals in Gaines-
ville, Florida, among his four final-round appear-
ances to up his record total of event titles to 83.
He added four No. 1 qualifying efforts to raise his
record total in that category to 84. Brown and his
Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR brought
home four event titles among his 10 final-round
appearances and two No. 1 qualifying efforts dur-
ing his 2017 campaign.
“Leah has been a great DSR teammate and
now she is going to strengthen our Army Racing
lineup overall,” said Schumacher, who finished
eighth in the final standings last season. “She and
that team proved their speed right out of the box
and she showed up at the track each weekend as
one of the cars to beat. Off the track, she brings
great marketing capabilities as one of the more
colorful spokespeople in this sport. It’s a win-win
for everybody involved.”
“I think it’s awesome to have Leah join Tony and
me under the Army banner because she has the
attitude and the heart of an Army Soldier,” said
Brown, who was fourth in the 2017 standings
after his back-to-back championships in 2015
and 2016. “She’s resilient, she has the work ethic
and the desire – all the Army traits to be able to
go out there and do battle on the track. She never
quits, never gives up, never says, ‘I can’t,’ just, ‘I
will.’ I’m looking forward to having another great
Army teammate go out there and do battle with
out there.”
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
Virginia Motorsports Park
replaces Englishtown on
Mello Yello Series tour
By Rob King
N
HRA recently announced a new
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Se-
ries event, adding the NHRA Virgin-
ia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports
Park near Richmond, Virginia, to the champion-
ship tour on June 8-10. This event brings the
number of 2018 national events back to 24. Vir-
ginia Motorsports Park (VMP) was one of several
tracks vying to host an NHRA national event after
an opening was created by the cancellation of the
event in Englishtown, New Jersey.
“We’re excited to return to Virginia Motorsports
Park under its new ownership, and the VMP team
is eager to host our drivers, sponsors and fans,”
said NHRA president Glen Cromwell.
The last NHRA national event Virginia
Motorsports Park hosted was in 2009. Track
owner Tommy Franklin and his family re-
cently purchased the track and jumped at the
opportunity to reclaim an NHRA national
event. The Franklins, along with VMP gen-
eral manager Allen Carpenter and his team,
will be busy preparing the track and facility,
including a complete refurbishment of the
track surface.
“We are thrilled to get the opportunity to host
an event in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing
Series,” Franklin said. “We want to have the fast-
est track in the series and make this a premier
destination for drivers and fans alike. It’s going
to be a fantastic event!”
Tickets for the NHRA Virginia Nationals will
go on sale in March.
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
34 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
DI DI DI
Issue 130
NHRA Returning to VMP