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| So, while acceleration is fun in a Top Fuel car, it has to be really boring to stop right? Pull the 'chutes and hit the brake, boom, done. Hah, hardly. Keep this image in mind; these are the front wheels. Notice what's not there? A rotor and caliper. To stop a Top Fuel dragster, you only have the parachutes and the rear brakes. That's it. Here is how Leah describes that feeling, “It's about 8 G-forces when you leave the start line, they say it's the same when you pull the 'chute and you're decelerating.” |
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| Leah further adds, “The key here is to pull the 'chutes while you're still on the throttle. So, you pull them and as they deploy and blossoming, is when you are actually coming out of the throttle. It's called 'driving the 'chutes,' and your head gets flung forward and it's restricted by your safety equipment, but it's still 8 G-forces going forward and then your hand lands on the brake, and you just grab brake. There are no second chances. You got to get it right the first time.” |
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| “You pull the 'chute, grab the brake, (Pomona) is the shortest track in the tour and you have seen what happens when it goes wrong.” When it does go wrong, you end up in the sand trap and many had that weekend as well, even in the Sportsman categories. It's pretty much that same sand trap you may hit if you over-cook your brakes trying to go deep into a turn, except there are also safety nets to stop you, too. There is a wall also. That wall is why all Nitro classes now only go to 1000 feet. As I mentioned in the Winternationals coverage, these cars explode with tremendous force. If a driver got knocked out and couldn't stop that wall could kill you if you didn't get enough run off room and has many times before. “It's just as important to stop on time as it is to leave on time in NHRA Drag Racing,” Leah points out. |
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| Considering she's run a full quarter mile in her previous careers and Top Fuel only runs to 1000 feet, does she think the extra 320 feet are needed again? “That is a debate to be had,” she says enthusastically, “I was never able to compete in a quarter mile in the Nitro classes,” she didn't have a Nitro license before the change to 1000 feet, “I believe that, no matter how many feet that we're given to race in, these crew chiefs are taking these cars to their maximum. I agree with 1000 feet, I really do. I mean, if you love drag racing, if you love nitro, I think 320 feet isn't making the difference.” The reality is, she's right, doesn't matter how far it take to make a race, you still have to reach the finish line first. While the speeds have slowed, the competition, the margin of victory, the excitment has not changed. If anything, it has gotten better. Yeah, they aren't at 350 MPH in the quarter mile, but, that's not what's important. If all you are concerned with is speed, go to Bonneville. If you want competetion between two cars, or four if you are in Charlotte, in a drag race, you go to NHRA. |
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| Leah adds, kind of dissapointed, “I don't see us ever going back to quarter mile racing, which is a bit of a drag, but, when it's all said and done, it's still the greatest motorsport and the power is still there. We're going faster than ever! So, if it keeps us safe to race another day, then I guess I'm for that.” |
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Final question I ask Leah is about Dote Racing. Just who were they and how have they helped her get here to this point. “First, I have to thank Connie and Mike Dote, that is the family that owns this race team. They are hard workers at what they do in New York in order to do this. This is their dream, to own a Top Fuel team. So, they are first and number one. The company who has helped us get there are FX Cabrera in New York, they are the largest and most sucessful dealer of Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler Vehicles. They also provided us with our tow truck.” This truck actually pulls the rail from the pits to the start, then from the finish area back to the pits. You can't exactly drive a Top Fuel car around. “Next is Spectro Oils, they are new and just breaking into motorsports and they are backing us. Korek Designs in Pennsylvania who will be redesigning the car soon.” That's it, those are the only people who make sure she gets to the track for every event. “I would love to add some more, but I would like to thank all of the racers and teams who taught me all the way through my career. How to be composed, how to learn to win, how to learn to lose. Now it's a new chapter and our biggest goal is to find a sponsor that wants to stick with us and help us get to that next level and really compete against Brittney Force for Rookie of the Year! That's what we're after, if we can't run all of the races, we can't compete against her. Right now, we're only racing 14.” |
To end this article, I would like to point out that Leah Pruett and Dote Racing were able to out qualify Force at the Winternationals and both were eliminated in Round 1 Eliminations. At Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, AZ, stop 2 of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Championships took place this past weekend and Leah and her Dote Racing crew were able to qualify 7th seed and get to Round 2 Eliminations in Top Fuel in just her second event. Brittney Force qualified 13th and was eliminated in Round 1 Eliminations in Top Fuel.
