NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

A season that started in extraordinary fashion continues to move along at an impressive pace for Leah Pritchett. The Top Fuel points leader won the first two races of the year in her 10,000-horsepower Papa John’s dragster and has since added a third victory, holding onto the points lead in a star-studded Top Fuel class.

As the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season heads into a stretch of four straight races, starting with this weekend’s fifth annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, Pritchett knows maintaining that early-season consistency will be key. Thus far, the rising star has zero first-round losses and just one second-round exit, a pace Pritchett would love to keep heading to the midway point of the season.

"It's continuing to show how healthy this car is," Pritchett said. "For us, it's not only the consistency, but how healthy the car is. Our team is together on all aspects. I'm figuring out a few things I can improve at the starting line. We've made some headway. We have some things to test so hopefully we will see some type of significant difference for the next time we get back on the track. Not to say we're not happy with what we have delivered this weekend, but we have to get better.”

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of the event that will be televised on FOX Sports 1, including finals coverage starting at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 4. It is the ninth of 24 events during a 2017 season that has produced a standout start for Pritchett in her first full year racing for Don Schumacher Racing.

After winning in Houston for her third win of the season, Pritchett was in the final foursome at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and followed with back-to-back semifinal performances in Atlanta and Topeka, where she qualified second. Leading the likes of back-to-back world champion Brown, who won in Topeka, and eight-time champ Tony Schumacher, who are both DSR teammates, as well as standouts Steve Torrence, a two-time 2017 winner, and Doug Kalitta is still an adjustment, but Pritchett continues to make strides there as well.

"From a points leader standpoint, it's much easier to be the underdog,” Prichett said. “It's much easier to race in the capacity of constantly chasing something. I've figured out that I've lately been sometimes operating with a fear of losing instead of the aggressiveness of chasing. I walk away from (Topeka) identifying what I personally need to work on and it's a mindset. And it's something that we will see come Epping."

Thoughts of a world championship are off in the distance at the moment, but Pritchett has positioned herself well with the hot start. The Houston victory made her the 10th driver in Top Fuel history to win three of the first five events. Six of the first nine captured the world championship – the other three ended up in second – but Pritchett and her team, led by crew chief Todd Okuhara, know there is still an immense amount of work to be done, starting this weekend in Epping.

"We are a very long way from winning a championship, but it's very nice to be able look at the standings and think about it,” said Pritchett, who has four career wins. "This team shows me how good they are every day whether we're at the track or back at our DSR shop. We can still get better, and as tough as the competition is out here, we have to keep working to do that."

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Friday, June 2 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, June 3, at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 4.

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