NHRA Reading Qualifying Report

Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals
Presented by Pennzoil
Event 14 of 20
Countdown Event 1 of 7
Maple Grove Raceway
Reading, Penn.
Sept. 10 – 12, 2021

DSR Qualifying Updates:

• Tommy Johnson Jr. clocked the second-quickest Funny Car pass during Q1 to earn the provisional No. 2 spot and two bonus points for defending series champion Matt Hagan who remains sidelined due to COVID-19
• Johnson’s Q1 pass of 3.895 seconds at 333.82 mph is recorded as a career-best speed for the stand-in driver of the Mopar Dodge Funny Car
• No. 1 Funny Car seed Ron Capps kicked off his 2021 Countdown campaign by powering to the fifth-quickest run of the session to earn a provisional qualifying spot in the top half of the field
• Aboard the Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fueler, Leah Pruett leads DSR’s Top Fuel tandem by posting an E.T. that provisionally places her in the quick half of the field (7th) going into Saturday. Antron Brown occupies the No. 11 spot with two more qualifying opportunities to improve upon his position

Driver Information:

Top Fuel:

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 11

The Results:
Q1: 3.871 E.T. at 302.14 MPH

LEAH PRUETT
Driver of the Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 7

The Results:
Q1: 3.733 E.T. at 323.89 MPH

Funny Car:

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 5

The Results:
Q1: 3.932 E.T. at 325.06 MPH

TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 2

The Results:
Q1: 3.895 E.T. at 333.82 MPH (Two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session)

Note:
Tommy Johnson Jr. is competing on behalf of defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan who remains sidelined as he recovers from COVID-19. The points Johnson accumulates during the race weekend will be awarded to Hagan, who started the Countdown ranked fifth.

ABOUT DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Established in 1998 as a single-car Top Fuel team, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) has grown to become the winningest organization in NHRA Drag Racing history, and further cemented its position as one of motorsports’ elite teams when it surpassed the ‘350 wins’ milestone during the 2020 season. DSR owns 18 world championships in three different NHRA categories, and including hall-of-fame team owner Don Schumacher’s five NHRA Funny Car triumphs from the 1970s, DSR has been successful in capturing 363 national event victories overall.

Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR fields four professional teams competing in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Three-time world champion Antron Brown, and double-duty driver Leah Pruett headline DSR’s Top Fuel dragster team. DSR’s two Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars are driven by 2016 Funny Car world champion Ron Capps, and Matt Hagan, who earned his third NHRA series title in 2020.

DSR also campaigns three entries in the NHRA Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series. The trio of DSR Dodge Drag Paks is piloted by Pruett, the 2018 series champion, former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk, and David Davies who made his FSS debut in 2021.

Follow Don Schumacher Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at@shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

Photo Credit: Auto Imagery via Don Schumacher Racing, Driver photos: NHRA