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| Despite all of this, even though they may not see a dime of pay, these guys are here to make sure Leah has the best chance to further her career in Top Fuel. Dote Racing is spending a fortune, but they wouldn't have it any other way. Well, except maybe to have a major sponsor for the entire Mello Yello season in 2013 and beyond. |
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| We should all hope to have this kind of dedication from the people we've gotten to know in our lives. |
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| It really is a tremendous thing that Dote Racing is doing for Leah Pruett and she knows it. |
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| Now that we have covered Dote Racing, let's talk to Leah. What made her get into drag racing and where did she make her start? “I got my start 17 years ago at Pomona racing Jr. Dragsters,” she begins our interview. Jr. Dragsters are the karts of the drag racing world. Kids as young as 9 or 10 years old hop into these little cars powered by a 5 horsepower single cylinder, single spark plug, flat head engine or a sealed Briggs & Stratton 206 engine and run to the eighth mile. I even got a chance to drive one when I was in elementary school, probably the most exciting thing a kid can do if they are interested in drag racing. Leah continues, “it's what our family did as a hobby. (We competed) for 8 years and learned the basics: sportsmanship, the ins-and-outs of drag racing and what it's like to be competitive in this sport. Then I upgraded to an alcohol altered in Nostalgia Eliminator 1. Then entered into Nostalgia Funny Cars, which I happened to be really successful and in 2010 won the NHRA Heritage Series Funny Car Championship with wins at the March Meet and at the Hot Rod Reunion.” |
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| This is where she got her first Pro license, “I acquired my Funny Car license with Don Shumacher back when Gary Scelzi.” Scelzi retired in 2008, for those of you who want a better time frame. “All the while, I was able to keep that racing in Pro Mod with R2B2 a couple of years ago.” Pro Mod is similar to Pro Street that I covered last year at the NMRA event, also at Pomona. Her car was bodied as a 2010 Ford Mustang and was able to capture 2 wins in her first year in Pro Mod in 2011. “I have a passion for Pro Mods, but unfortunately, we couldn't continue with (R2B2) this year and I met up with the Dotes late last year. They were looking for a driver for Top Fuel for this year, I got my crossover license and here we are and once again I'm debuting as a rookie at Pomona!” |
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| So, upon her first passes into a quarter mile, what is it like based on her previous experiences? “I wish I could really compare it to something, at the moment, I can't.” Remember, this is her first year and her first full event for her Top Fuel career and I had got her just after Final qualifying. “I've never been in a fighter jet, but people tell me that it's very similar to that experience. For the first 100 feet, it's such an adrenaline rush and the G-forces against your body, you may think you are strapped into that seat as tight as it can and there is no room to give, and all of the sudden, you find yourself slammed against it and it never stops pulling. You know how you get on the highway and start speeding, you get that gradual pull and just imagine that times, maybe, 100 to 200 percent, just slammed back into the seat, or even the 'Superman' ride at Six Flags, and you're pulled back in that seat for 10 seconds, it's kind of what it's like.” |
