DENVER, CO – July 12, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Coming off the best race of her 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, Leah Pruett is ready keep that momentum going at one of the Top Fuel standout’s most important races of the season, this weekend’s 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
It’s her sponsor’s race, as well as the first race in the famed three-race NHRA Western Swing. Winning on Thunder Mountain has always been important for Pruett, who grabbed a Denver victory in 2018, and that’s especially true during the 2022 season.
She’s the Top Fuel driver in the 11,000-horsepower Dodge Power Brokers dragster for the first-year Tony Stewart Racing team, which puts the spotlight on Pruett for several reasons. After advancing to the semifinals at the most recent race in Norwalk, Pruett is ready to embrace that spotlight in what she hopes is her first winning weekend of 2022.
“Our minds are on Mile-High and the necessary changes the car needs from different pistons, the uniqueness of the event, how the car has cooperated in the last couple races, to fuel adjustments are all just precursors for the Dodge Power Brokers event,” Pruett said. “It is going to be one to win, I’ve always said it. Some people think the U.S. Nationals are a big one. Winning the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals would be the pinnacle of the year, in my opinion. That is where our backbone is, on top of that mountain.”
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won the 2021 event, and this year’s race will be broadcast on both the FOX broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including live eliminations coverage starting at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 17 on FOX. It is the 11th of 22 races in 2022, marking the halfway point of the season, and Pruett is eager to make it a memorable second half.
There’s been the expected ups and downs of a new team, but Pruett has stayed positive throughout, praising the work ethic of a team continuing to grow together. She believes the payoff will come soon and it could happen in Denver, though there are several challenges. The first is the racing conditions unique to Thunder Mountain, where the NHRA stars will race at an elevation of nearly 6,000-feet. Pruett will also have to deal with the likes of points leader Mike Salinas, who has four wins this season, four-time defending world champ Torrence, Brittany…
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