Tag: NHRA

Racing on TV, November 9-12

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted. Thursday, November 9 Pro Spec, Pro 2, Pro 4 11:00am-12:00pm (D) COTA TA2 6:00-8:00pm (R) COTA TA 8:00-10:00pm (R) Sunday, November 12 Malaysia 1:30-3:00pm (SDD) Pomona qualifying 1 2:00-4:00pm (D) …

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted.

Thursday, November 9

Pro Spec,
Pro 2,
Pro 4		 11:00am-12:00pm
(D)

COTA TA2 6:00-8:00pm
(R)

COTA TA 8:00-10:00pm
(R)

Sunday, November 12

Malaysia 1:30-3:00pm
(SDD)

Pomona
qualifying 1		 2:00-4:00pm
(D)

Pomona
finals		 4:00-7:30pm

Key: SDD: Same day delay; D = delayed; R = Repeat/Replay

A variety of motor racing is available for streaming on demand at the following sites:

  • SRO-america.com
  • SCCA.com
  • SpeedSport1.com
  • Ferrari Challenge
  • The Trans Am Series airs in 60-minute highlight shows in primetime on the MAVTV Network. For those wishing to tune in live, the entire lineup of SpeedTour events will stream for free on the SpeedTour TV YouTube page. SpeedTour TV will also air non-stop activity on Saturday and Sunday (SVRA, IGT and Trans Am). You can also watch all Trans Am event activity on the Trans Am YouTube page and Facebook page.
  • All NTT IndyCar Series stream live on Peacock Premium.

Rain postpones Epping NHRA finals to Monday

With continuing precipitation in the forecast, Sunday’s activities at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway have been postponed until Monday. Gates will open at 8:00 a.m. ET with competition beginning at 11:00 a.m. with Top Fuel …

With continuing precipitation in the forecast, Sunday’s activities at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway have been postponed until Monday.

Gates will open at 8:00 a.m. ET with competition beginning at 11:00 a.m. with Top Fuel eliminations.

Today’s tickets will be honored on Monday. Walk up adult tickets will be $25 and kids 12 and under under will get in free.

For Sunday ticket holders who cannot attend tomorrow, the NHRA credit policy will be in effect.

Q&A: NHRA Top Fuel drag racer Leah Pruett on what it takes to pilot a car ‘faster than a rocket ship’

For The Win got tips on how to be a professional drag racer from Top Fuel star Leah Pruett.

MORRISON, Colo. — With more than 1,000 feet of straight track ahead and NHRA Top Fuel drag racer Leah Pruett coaching me from the passenger seat of a souped-up 2021 Dodge Charger Scat Pack, I floored it.

Literally.

I completed a mostly stationary burnout to scrub debris from the tires and heat them up a bit, as the pros do before a race, and was patiently waiting for the lights in front of me to signal when to hit the gas. Working with both feet, per Pruett’s instructions, I simultaneously released the brake and slammed into the throttle as my right foot literally hit the floor of the car when the lights turned yellow.

If they switch from yellow and you see green, you’re already late, Pruett says, offering up tips as a veteran driver with nine Top Fuel event victories who’s now competing for first-year NHRA team Tony Stewart Racing, owned by her NASCAR Hall of Fame husband.

“As soon as I see any yellow, it’s an explosion, kind of like kickboxers and being an explosive tight end or something,” Pruett said. “Exactly wherever their cue is, it’s hitting it, and my queue is the yellow, amber lights.”

With Leah Pruett (Pat Caporali, Mopar Dodge//SRT Motorsports)

Of course, Pruett drives a dragster with 11,000 horsepower that can reach more than 330 miles per hour and pull up to seven g forces (it reverses to negative seven when the parachute releases to slow the car, according to her Funny Car teammate Matt Hagan). And reaction time is crucial in trying to out-duel the racer in the next lane to the finish line first.

The Charger Scat Pack we were in Thursday at Bandimere Speedway — which will host the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals this weekend and where the speeds might be a tad slower because of the 5,764-foot elevation — was a far cry from what Pruett usually pilots.

In 2018, she won at Bandimere — where she also has a career-best 69.2 Top Fuel round winning percentage — going 316.45 miles per hour in 3.831 seconds, and enters this weekend ranked 10th in the standings.

On a smoking sunny day outside of Denver with temperatures pushing 100 degrees, it felt like 1,000 in the car. The windows needed to be up and the air conditioning off because we couldn’t risk condensation hitting the race. Plus, I was a nervous with a professional racer riding with me, ready to critique.

My reaction time off the start could have been better, but when Pruett shouted, “Go!” I was gone. It took about nine seconds for me to break 80 miles an hour, and suddenly, my thrilling run was over. No parachute needed, as we coasted up a hill at the end of the track and I gently pushed on the brakes while we quickly opened the windows.

Not nearly as impressive as my first ride with Pruett in the driver’s seat when she got us to 91 miles an hour in a smidge more than nine seconds. But she complimented my run — maybe she was just being nice — so I’ll take it.

After our jolts of exhilaration, I chatted with the Arizona-based racer about the NHRA’s mind-blowing speeds, how she trains to handle them and what she wishes people knew about drag racing.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Tony Stewart and NHRA racer Leah Pruett announce they’re getting married

“So excited to spend the rest of my life with a truly amazing woman,” Tony Stewart said about Leah Pruett.

Retired NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is getting married, and the Stewart-Haas Racing team owner and his fiancee, NHRA Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett, announced their engagement on their social media accounts Thursday night.

On both their Twitter and Instagram feeds, 49-year-old Stewart and 32-year-old Pruett shared some sweet photos of them checking out cars together, and in their respective captions, they celebrated each other and announced their engagement.

No word on when they plan to tie the knot, but it might be too soon for them to know that just yet.

Stewart and Pruett were originally introduced in 2019 on FaceTime thanks to legendary drag racer Don Prudhomme, but their first date was the week before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the U.S. down in March 2020, the Associated Press reported in January.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMlQs7FpcDl/

In Stewart’s Instagram post, he included several photos of the couple together, showing off the drag racer’s massive engagement ring. In the caption, he wrote:

So excited to spend the rest of my life with a truly amazing woman. She’s motivated, hard working, funny as hell, and as dedicated to her sport as anyone I’ve ever known. Love you babe.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMlQor6FzoB/

Pruett’s Instagram post shared some of the same photos, though not as many, but she went a little more in-depth with what she said, writing:

Thought no better time to share our engagement than right now, after the Tour De Florida clutch dust settled 🥰 …. Checking out hot rods and cruising the Havasu strip with my husband to be @tsrsmoke 🤍 The undeniable level of love, happiness, and soulfulness we have together is monumental. He might run in circles, but is the straightest shooter and the salt of this earth… looking forward to a lifetime of sunrises and sunsets that the Lord has gifted us together. Love you babe!

Earlier this year, Stewart opened up about his goals for NASCAR as a team and track owner, clashes with the sport’s executives and his personal life, which he said includes learning more about drag racing and the NHRA, as Pruett is still racing. Per the AP, that ultimately pushed him to a couple practice sessions at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, and the couple has been working to mesh their schedules so Stewart can go to as many of Pruett’s drag races as possible.

More from the AP:

“My personal life is the best it’s ever been, by far,” he said. “She gets me. And I enjoy going to her events and being the one doing the supporting. I mean, if she wanted me to support her at basket-weaving competitions I probably wouldn’t enjoy it, but I am very happy with this relationship and where my life is right now.”

Here’s a quick look at Stewart and Pruett together, thanks to their social accounts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJPsg5IFoBA/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLU5KC3lFds/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMN85QRl1gN/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJgcCowg8EZ/

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