Leah Pritchett packs NHRA schedule by racing in 3 events
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Leah Pritchett stepped out of her old-school sneakers, slipped into her racing shoes and zipped up her fire suit.
She pulled on her helmet and gloves, pounded fists with every crew member, climbed into the cockpit and started tightening safety belts.
She's done the routine hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times - just not this often in the same weekend.
Drag racer Leah Pritchett tightens her helmet before making a pass at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. Pritchett is pulling triple-duty at Gainesville Raceway by competing in her normal Top Fuel class as well as the Factory Stock Showdown and the Papa John's Charity Challenge. (AP Photo/Mark Long)
Pritchett is pulling triple duty at Gainesville Raceway, making her arguably the busiest driver at the NHRA Gatornationals. She's doing her normal stint in her Top Fuel dragster and also racing in the Factory Stock Showdown and the Papa John's Charity Challenge.
"I feel like I'm probably going to have the most fun out of anybody on the property this weekend," Pritchett said.
The packed schedule had her in Florida for testing weeks before the event and will have on the strip twice as often as usual.
In all, the 29-year-old driver expects to make as many as 20 passes over three days. That equals about a minute's worth of racing, but countless hours of preparation.
"I love it," said Pritchett, driving her second full season for NHRA powerhouse Don Schumacher Racing. "I feel like I'm able to do it because my whole drag-racing career has been about jumping into different kinds of cars I have never driven before. My learning curve, I've never had a lot of time to work on a learning curve. I think that is one of my talents.
"It's like: 'Here's this race car. Here are these switches. Here are these shift points. Here's this tune. Here's what this vehicle needs. Go do it and you don't really have any room for error.' I think that's one of the things I thrive on."
Pritchett enjoyed a career year in 2017, winning four of 24 events, finishing fifth in points and breaking Top Fuel's low elapsed time record twice.
She's considered one of the top championship contenders in 2018, even though her results in the first two events - she failed to get past the second round of eliminations at either the Winternationals or the Arizona Nationals - were far from ideal.
"We might have had not the best start to this season, but I've got zero reservations about the performance of this car and the capabilities to ramp back up," she said.
Still, chasing a title wasn't enough for one of the more determined and marketable drivers in the sport.
So Pritchett began racing full time in the Factory Stock Showdown, a popular series that features heads-up competition between modern-day muscle cars. It expanded from four to five events in 2018 - beginning in Gainesville - and is as much for bragging rights among American automakers Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford as it is for competition.
Pritchett drives a Dodge Challenger, the automaker that also sponsors her Top Fuel ride.
"Driving that car is really fun, but what the program is about is developing parts for one of the three largest manufacturers and be able to make them so that anybody can put them on their car," she said.
Her third racing venture is the most unusual.
Pritchett will face off in a series of charity races against Papa John's founder John Schnatter to benefit the Infinite Hero Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps returning military members and their families deal with mental and physical issues.
"Papa" John Schnatter sold his 1971 Camaro to buy equipment and began selling pizzas in 1983. He tracked the car down a few years ago, bought it back and now races it against Pritchett's COPO Camaro. Their first race is Saturday.
It's just one of many passes for Pritchett in Gainesville, helping to keep her busy while giving her exactly what she wants.
"I feel like drag racing, as far as I'm concerned in my life span, has never been so strong in growth," she said. "From professional drag racing to grass roots to streets, whatever you want to call it, it's growing for a reason. The foundation is fast cars and competition and there's a billion ways to go about it, and I just think that's the coolest thing in the world and I want to share that.
"I'm in the middle of it. I'm in the eyehole of this hurricane, and I love it."
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Drag racer Leah Pritchett does a burnout before making a pass at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. Pritchett is pulling triple-duty at Gainesville Raceway by competing in her normal Top Fuel class as well as the Factory Stock Showdown and the Papa John's Charity Challenge. (AP Photo/Mark Long)
Drag racer Leah Pritchett pulls a wheelie during a practice run for the Papa John's Charity Challenge at the NHRA Gatornationals Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. Pritchett is pulling triple-duty at Gainesville Raceway by competing in her normal Top Fuel class as well as the Factory Stock Showdown and the Papa John's Charity Challenge. (AP Photo/Mark Long)
Drag racer Leah Pritchett takes a selfie while waiting to make a pass at the NHRA Gatornationals Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. Pritchett is pulling triple-duty at Gainesville Raceway by competing in her normal Top Fuel class as well as the Factory Stock Showdown and the Papa John's Charity Challenge. (AP Photo/Mark Long)
Driver Leah Pritchett waits in her dragster before making a pass at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. Pritchett is pulling triple-duty at Gainesville Raceway by competing in her normal Top Fuel class as well as the Factory Stock Showdown and the Papa John's Charity Challenge. (AP Photo/Mark Long)
