NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Leah Pritchett and Terry McMillen are currently tied for 10th in points heading into the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and battling for the final spot in the Countdown to the Championship in Top Fuel.

Pritchett, pilot of the Papa John’s dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, raced to the first victory of her career in Phoenix and also posted two semifinal finishes so far this season. McMillen, driver of the Amalie Motor Oil Xtermigator dragster, powered to his first final-round appearance in Gainesville.

Both drivers took part in an NHRA teleconference to discuss their battle for the final position and the big event ahead.

Q: Leah, this has been quite the year of ups and downs for you. Through it all, what are you most proud?

Pritchett: I think I’m most proud of being able to work with the number of different teams this year. I’m not necessarily proud of myself, but proud of everybody else giving me the chance and the opportunity to continue to keep racing and working with me on that. That’s what I’m proud of. The vision and the goal from the beginning was a really, really big long shot, and for the Laganas and Schumacher and everybody involved with all of that to see that and give me a chance and help me bring it to fruition, it was a dream. So, already part of that dream has been accomplished. I’m really proud of the progress that we have made so far to date, and everything at this point is icing on the cake, but we’d like to sweeten it up. We want that icing.

Q: You’ve had to bounce from team to team this year. Does having multiple stakeholders create more incentive to succeed?

Pritchett: I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself. This is what we’ve created; this opportunity has come. It’s here now and it’s time to deliver, and sometimes it gets to me. Even when I think that feeling is completely off, it’s not. It’s not out of my head yet. This has created a new element for me, a new mental racing space that I’ve never had before. I always say there are new challenges all of the time, and whether you fail or succeed, you’re going to succeed no matter what as long as you learn from it. In these last couple of months, one of the most challenging things for me is to do my best at the racetrack with everything that we have going on to fulfill our obligations, while at the same time racing the car like I know how to. It’s just a couple of extra things on my plate that I look forward to conquering. That’s what I think has been the most challenging, not letting down everybody along the way that has helped me get here.

Q: One thing has stayed consistent, though, and that’s your fans. How have they shown their support for you throughout the season?

Pritchett: They have shown support not only all over every social network, through direct messages to posting pictures of our time together and inspirational quotes, but also in person. I think we’re just out here with the team doing what we’re doing, chasing a goal, not realizing that everyone in their life is going through something. To be at least a little bit inspirational to them, in whatever way it may be, whether it be sports or going through a hardship or some disaster in their life, and help them to look at the bright side of whatever they have going on in their life and pushing forward, makes me really proud. I’ve seen a lot of messaging from them that the situation my team has gone through has given them inspiration. That’s how they show it.

I was at the Big Go Block Party and a gentleman came up and gave me a bouquet of flowers. I remembered who he was, and he said, "Leah, remember, I told you for your first win I was going to give you flowers." And here he was, a whole year later. I hadn’t seen him in a year, and he brought them, and he remembered, and I remembered him. I try to be very personable with my fans because I am a fan and always was a fan and for them to really enjoy the journey and feel like they are a part of this being successful is true. They are a part of it. There have been times where I have gotten down, and they’re out there and they’re the ones that want to see me on the track just as bad as I do like, "That’s right. We’re going to do this together." They show their support online, in person, and even more, I think they show their support when the times are down. When it looks like we don’t know what’s next or I fail my team or my crew or we don’t turn that win light on, the fact that they’re still there and they know that we can do it, we know we can do it, and they know we can do it, too, there is no stopping.

Q: You raced to your first career victory earlier this season in Phoenix. What did you learn about yourself and your team that weekend?

Pritchett: I learned that I could overcome any negativity that is in my mind because I had been coming off one of my worst races in Pomona. I learned early in the season, which I think is going to help hopefully later, to put the confidence in me as a driver and confidence in my team, which I still have part of now. I know why that win happened so early in the season because it gave me a taste of what winning at the toughest level in drag racing in the world is like. Because I still have that taste in my mouth, it has driven the hunger more and more to where we are today. I think that’s why that win happened then and that’s what I learned that everything that we are going through to make this happen – and I don’t say that negatively, a lot of awesome, great, positive things with new sponsors, new protocols, new teams, learning everything – is worth it. I know what it tastes like to win, and that was just one. I want hundreds more. I think it served a purpose to help me not get down on the dream by thinking, "Man, we’re going after this and I don’t even know what it’s like to win." No, I know what it’s like to win, and it’s totally worth it.

Q: You’re currently tied for 10th in the points standings and fighting for your first career appearance in the Countdown to the Championship. Do you feel added pressure heading into Indianapolis for the last race of the regular season?

Pritchett: I do feel added pressure. It’s added and it’s really staying up. You ramp up with your rpm for a run, and it’s kind of at the rev limiter and we’ve been at the rev limiter for a long time, so not sure how much more pressure could be put on us at this moment. I can’t think of a more pressurized situation. All of this was for the opportunity to be in the top 10, and here it is, a make-or-break type of situation. We just kind of look at each other, laugh about it, and ask each other, "Really? Would we expect anything less at this moment?" And actually, I’m happy about it. It’s excitement for Terry [McMillen’s] team, for us, for the sport, for the fans. More than just the top guys in the points, I’m glad that there is a fight going on for 10th. By all means, we will have our game faces on to get it.

Q: Your partnership with Papa John’s began at just the right time in the season. How did that come about?

Pritchett: When I first met John [Schattner, president and CEO of Papa John’s Pizza] a couple of months back, the situation was trying to get into the Countdown. He wants to be a part of that. The reason that the car is gold, and there’s more to it than the ’71 Camaro that he had to sell to help get his dad out of debt, when we met, he saw something. He saw the drive and the situation, and it reminded him of a time he was stuck between a rock and a hard spot – helping his family, wanting to create Papa John's, didn’t know how to do it. When he had to sell that Camaro, that was the money that he had to finally create that upswing that he needed. At this point, that’s what Brainerd and Seattle and Indianapolis represent. That gold car is the upswing. It’s that push. It’s what we needed to be able to go after our dreams and goals and he was successful. He created Papa John’s into a $4 billion company, and our dreams are extremely huge for a world championship some day, and he sees there’s so much parallel to his story and mine.

Above and beyond that, just when I think it can’t be any greater and more prestigious and honorable to be running in his car, that gold Camaro represents his dad and his papa. That’s what’s No. 1 in his life, and to race a car that means so much to him is very honorable. On the second part of that, he is a very inspirational person, not only with his stories but the person that he is is somebody we would hang out with all the time. He cares so much about our Top Fuel team and the entire Don Schumacher organization, just like he cares about his own people. I can say that because I’ve seen that for the last couple of months. We’ve had a lot of conversations about mental stability, and he’s helping me more than just on the financial sponsor direction with Don Schumacher Racing. He wants to help me get into that right mindset of what it takes to conquer some of the world’s biggest goals. I’m honored to be able to have this opportunity and learn from somebody like him.

Q: The Indy race is the longest race of the year. Do you have to change your approach at all in preparation for the long weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway?

Pritchett: I do. I do have to change my approach for one, but I don’t know what to change it from because I’ve never even been in the regular situation of the U.S. Nationals with so much pressure. It is a big week, and I think what is helping with that is the organization that Schumacher has with putting those days together and what they look like.  It’s not just me, it’s all of the drivers. Every single day our itineraries are filled out to the 15 minute, maybe half an hour, of media appearances, Riley Children’s Hospital, radio interviews, charity go-karting appearances, different cable channels that are doing a couple features coming up as well as time with the fans and time with the race car and doing some of the maintenance that I do on it and special guests and groups of guests coming in.

There are a lot of extra things that happen, and it’s great, it’s fun, and I’m looking forward to it. You want to talk about loading up all the cheese onto a plate, this is it. How much can you take? For a person that likes to constantly challenge myself to make myself better, that’s what I’m looking forward to. I really can’t think of a bigger platform to have so much going on. I have raced this race, two years in Pro Mod and this is my fourth year in Top Fuel at this race, so the longevity is there, the additional participation is new, but like I said with Schumacher helping map out those opportunities, that really helps, and sleeping in your own bed at night, because I live 10 minutes from the racetrack, is really awesome.

Q: Have you thought about how special it would be to win this race given its history and how many of NHRA Drag Racing legends have made a name for themselves at the event?

Pritchett: At this point, you might as well close up the book because there wouldn’t be anything bigger that I could think of than winning the U.S. Nationals with this collaborative team of 50-plus people that have helped make this happen. In my opinion, just as big if not bigger than winning a championship. I’m going to take myself back to Phoenix real quick. I went into Pomona thinking, "Win the race. Win the race." All that. I changed my mindset in Phoenix to one round at a time. "Don’t think about anything else but one round at a time." Thinking about the win of U.S. Nationals is huge, but I’m not even at that table yet. I’m barely inside the restaurant. So, it would be big, but obviously I’m not even trying to be in that head space besides getting this car qualified. Even that, in and of itself, is going to be a task. And, more importantly, qualifying points.

Because of the situation we are in, they really count. If other teams think their qualifying points count and they can get a better spot heading into the Countdown, no. Our qualifying points count, so I’m going to start right at the beginning of the race of that’s where my head’s at. If we’re able to do what we know how to do then we will have success and then I will tell you how special it is if I could fight through some tears and tears and screams and fist pumps
 

Q: Terry, you’re having the best season of your career. Does it feel that way?

McMillen: It does. Certainly, the team and [crew chief] Rob Wendland have done a great job getting the car prepared to go down the track more consistently, and now we are starting to run bigger numbers. While it’s taken some time to get there and with the mishap of losing the car in Houston, that setback, we’ve recovered from that, and I think we are on track to certainly have a good opportunity to compete for the top 10 there in Indy.

Q: You raced to the first final-round appearance of your career in Gainesville and came up just short. Is that elusive first win right at your fingertips?

McMillen: Well, I think the one thing about NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing is the competition is extremely tough. At any given day anybody can win. I’ve seen cars win the race with four-second elapsed times. It can go anybody’s way. We came up a little bit short in Gainesville, but being the Amalie event, it was still a great showing for us. We walked away not disappointed, but we walked away wanting more. We want that first win. We are hungry for that first win, and we are driven to get there. The short-term goal has always been to get in the top 10 by going rounds, and if we are doing that well, then sooner or later we will have that opportunity to get that first win. We’ve had one, but there are plenty more on the horizon.

Q: How was your team feeling after that successful race day in Gainesville?

McMillen: I think they were wore out because it was the first time they have been that far, with the exception of Rob and a couple others. I think they were tired, but the momentum of just going rounds and just having the opportunity to win the race was enough to push them over the edge and keep going. Like I said, we’re not disappointed, but the icing on the cake would’ve been to win the race. To get that far was a huge accomplishment, and it’s just a compliment to Rob on giving us a car that was consistently going down the track and that led us to the opportunity. We’re hungry for more because now that we have a taste for it, we’ve realized what it takes to get there. The hard work, the effort, and the determination to never be a group to quit working on it but rather keep working hard and trying to excel at what we’re doing. We’re going to get there. It’s just a matter of time.

Q: The U.S. Nationals is right around the corner and you are in a tough battle for the final spot in the Countdown to the Championship. Is this race the most important race of the year with the playoff implications?

McMillen: Absolutely. We’ve been close before. In my first couple of years, I was in the top 10 in Indy, and then we oiled at the end of the track and ended up not making the top 10 by eight points. So, it’s been a while since I’ve been that close. We’re just a small team with some really big dreams, and our focus right now is to not make any mistakes, not oil down the track because it’s disappointing sometimes when our championship hunt is determined by penalties and things like that. Those are the rules, and we all have to abide by them. Our focus is to try to run the car as hard as we can but take every effort we can; if we have to back it off a little bit to make sure we don’t oil the track and give up 15 points, then that’s what we have to do. Right now we are all hands on deck. The guys are at the shop working extremely hard getting everything ready to go. We’re going to go there, and at the end of the day, however it ends up, we’re going to just know in our hearts that we gave it everything we had.

Q: Are you making any special preparations for the long weekend of racing or do you treat this as any other race?

McMillen: For our team, we are going to approach it as any other race. Yes, there is an extra round of qualifying in there, but I think that right now the part that has taken us to this level has been the fact that we’ve just been trying to go down the track and be consistent. If we try to push that envelope, we’re going to push ourselves into a situation where we could oil the track or we could have a situation that could adversely affect us. The key right now is to stay focused, keep doing what we’re doing, and let the cards fall as they may. We have just as good of a chance as everybody. Leah [Pritchett] has surrounded herself with a great team. Don Schumacher Racing has been truly responsible for helping us get back on our feet after the crash, and Don and his team have helped us throughout the year. While I know that all of Don’s cars are top-five contender cars, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have the want or the will to go out there and win. Given all the facts, I think we have a great opportunity.

Q: The best of the best have come through Indy and left their mark on the event. Does Lucas Oil Raceway and the U.S. Nationals have a certain aura to it being such a tradition-rich event?

McMillen: It certainly does. There are two things that at the end of the year people look back on. That’s who won Indy and who won the champion. Anything that you can do in Indy is huge, and this is a dream-come-true opportunity to place ourselves in the top 10 and also have the opportunity to win the race. While competition is fierce right now, race day can be anybody’s day. We’re all running these cars on such a fine line. It can drop a cylinder that it hasn’t dropped all weekend long and not get you down the track and you get beat. It’s a situation unlike any other and that’s why we have to run the race. We don’t have 500 miles to fix problems. We have three seconds, and you have to be perfect. The guys have to be perfect, and that’s what it takes to win in NHRA Drag Racing. I think when you look at that and the prestige of the U.S. Nationals, it’s certainly on my bucket list, and it’s got a lot of very deep meanings. I lost my son, and that was one race that we wanted to race at, and he never got to see it. It’s pretty special to me.

Q: You’re so close to your first Countdown to the Championship appearance. How eager are you to make that championship chase dream a reality?

McMillen: We want to do whatever we got to do. My guys are working twice as hard as everybody else out there, not taking anything away from the other teams, but maybe we don’t have the manpower and we build a lot of our own stuff to make it right for us and our situation so there is a lot more pressure on the overall team in general to go there and be as prepared as we possibly can and put our best foot forward. Right now I believe in my guys. I believe in my team. They’re the ones that allowed us an opportunity to get to this level. We have probably one of the youngest teams out there on the NHRA circuit right now as far as working on the car, so they have a lot to be proud of, and they have a big fight on their hands. Each one of them are up and willing to go to battle, so let’s duke this thing out at the U.S. Nationals, and hopefully the cards fall our way.