News

NHRA U.S. Nationals
Event 18 of 24 (Indianapolis)
Lucas Oil Raceway
Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, 2019

Highlights:

• Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car) enter the race weekend as the most recent winners on tour 
• Capps is seeking his third consecutive final round appearance of 2019
• Capps has been victorious at every track on the current NHRA tour with the exception of Indianapolis and is focused on that elusive first U.S. Nationals win during his 25th season of nitro racing
• Matt Hagan raced to the Indy Funny Car final in 2018
• Hagan made his NHRA Funny Car debut at the 2008 U.S. Nationals 
• Tommy Johnson Jr. returns to the annual one-off Riley Kids livery, a DSR/U.S. Nationals tradition benefiting Riley Hospital for Children since 2014
• Antron Brown has both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle victories at Indianapolis
• Pritchett and Mark Pawuk return to Factory Stock Showdown competition; Pritchett will pull double-duty, competing in both Top Fuel and Factory Stock
• Pritchett drove from the pole to her career-first FS/XX triumph at the 2018 event; Pawuk recorded a runner-up finish
• Team patriarch Don Schumacher raced his Funny Car to the winner’s circle at the 1970 event
• All DSR drivers have clinched a berth in the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship and will be jockeying for final playoff starting positions
• Hometown event for DSR which is headquartered two miles away from the famed Indy dragstrip

Note: 
DSR is hosting its annual Open House to benefit Riley Children’s Foundation, this Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., 1681 E. Northfield Dr., Brownsburg. The Open House will feature a driver autograph session, car show, food trucks, and a silent auction. To bid on Open House auction items, please visit: https://e.givesmart.com/events/dD4/
 

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster

• Three-time event champion 
  • Top Fuel (2011)
  • Pro Stock Motorcycle (2000, 2004)
• Four-time No. 1 qualifier (2009, 2011-2013)

• Has both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle victories at Indianapolis
• Hometown event for the Pittsboro, Ind. resident

Quotable:
“The U.S. Nationals is a big race, and our Matco Tools Toyota team is primed and ready. We stayed behind in Brainerd and tested. We got our car back on the right track, and it was the perfect way to get some good momentum going into Indy. This is the biggest race of the year. If you win Indy, it’s almost like winning the championship. Our main focus is to qualify well and bring a win home. If we can bring a win home, that will set us up for a good Countdown run, and it all starts here in Indy.”

 

• Enters the event as the most recent Top Fuel winner on the tour
• Will pull double-duty, competing in Top Fuel while defending her 2018 Factory Stock Showdown series event title

JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

• 2015 event champion and No. 1 qualifier
• Two-time runner-up (2008, 2013)

• 2017 event runner-up

• Enters the race weekend as the most recent Funny Car winner on tour
• Has raced to the final at the past two events (Brainerd, Seattle)
• Capps, who is celebrating his 25th season driving a nitro car, is laser-focused on his first U.S. Nationals victory

Quotable:
“You can always judge how a season is going by seeing where you’re at come Indy. For our NAPA team, it’s been a great season so far, but coming into what we consider to be our ‘Super bowl’ event, everything is heightened. Indy is points-and-a-half, and we’re trying to move up in the Mello Yello standings. Second place is the goal going into the Countdown to the Championship. Besides that, this is a race I’ve never gotten to win. We’ve come very close in the past, had great race cars where I thought we had the best chance ever to be able to hold a U.S. Nationals Wally, but for whatever reason, it just hasn’t happened. Indy is a long, grueling race weekend but I definitely like our chances at finally getting that win this year.
 
“Our team is in a good spot, and it’s hard to not look ahead to the playoffs and think about what it will take to win a championship, but right now, (crew chief) Rahn Tobler, and our NAPA AutoCare team, and myself are focused on qualifying well Friday night and holding the Wally on Monday evening.”
  

• 2016 event champion
• 2018 runner-up
• Five-time No. 1 qualifier (2010, 2013-2014, 2016-2017)

• 2018 event runner-up
• Recorded his career-best E.T. and speed during the 2017 event, resetting both ends of the Lucas Oil Raceway Funny Car track records
• Made his NHRA Funny Car debut at the 2008 U.S. Nationals 

Quotable:
“Indy is our biggest race of the year. I won it a few years back, and we’ve come close a time or two since. It’s going to be a long week. We start with our annual Riley Children’s Hospital visit on Wednesday, and then we have our Open House at DSR all day on Friday and then start making runs later that evening. Our car has been running strong, we’ve had some wins, a couple of semifinals, finals and I think that we’re in a good spot. Capps just won, T.J. and Jack have been running well, so all in all, DSR cars are coming around when they need to. It’s time for us to put some more W’s on the board and have a good Indy race and then get ready for the Countdown.”

 

• 2002 event runner-up
• Two-time No. 1 (1999-2000)

• Since 2014, the Doug Chandler-funded Make-A-Wish Dodge has donned a special Riley Kids livery during the annual Indy event as a way to bring exposure to the locally-based Riley Hospital for Children 
• As a resident of nearby Avon, Ind., Johnson considers Indianapolis to be a hometown event
• Secured his first Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier at Indianapolis in 2000

Quotable:
“Really looking forward to Indy; it’s the biggest drag race of them all and the one you want to win. Right now, the way our car is running, coming off that runner-up in Brainerd and seeing the way our new chassis is performing, I’d say this year we have our best shot at taking home the Indy crown.
 
“I’m especially looking forward to Friday night; we’ll be the last pair to run, and we’re going for that No. 1 spot. We’ll see if we can’t put together a strong weekend and finish off our regular season on a really good note. We have a competitive car that’s capable of winning the race.”

 

MARK PAWUK
Driver of the Empaco Equipment MOPAR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak

• 2018 event runner-up

• 2018 event champion and No. 1 qualifier

• Returns as the defending event champion
• The 2018 Indy race was the first time Pritchett visited the winner's circle in a Factory Stock machine; the triumph kicked off a string of three consecutive FS/XX wins and helped secure the 2018 series crown