NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Deploying equal parts race strategy, gut feelings, and a little rivalry reborn, the top seeds in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout made public their first-round callouts for the big-dollar showdown that will take place on Saturday of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

In the highly-charged atmosphere of the Gainesville Raceway Top Eliminator Club, with the fans cheering wildly, No. 1 seed Steve Torrence, the four-time and reigning Top Fuel world champion, picked the No. 6 seed, longtime rival Leah Pruett and her Dodge Power Brokers team, as the first opposition for his Capco Contractors team.

“We put it out on Instagram, we gathered up as a crew. I got with my crew chiefs,” Torrence explained to emcee Brian Lohnes. “I thought about it, they thought about it, the fans thought about it. We felt like we needed to broker a little bit of power our way, so we’re calling out LP.

“LP has been one of our fiercest competitors for years, and we've gone at it head-to-head, so to put on a show for all these fans, that's awesome. We'll have a good time between us and we'll put on a good show for you guys, and it'll be a lot of fun.”

Pruett emerged from backstage to respond, passing through the stage doors to loud applause.

“When I heard [the callout], my first emotion was just excitement. That's what this platform is for, and I feel like it's a sign of respect to Tony Stewart Racing to Neil Strausbaugh, my crew chief. You know, we are technically a rookie team and didn't have two great races this season, so I see kind of where you're at, but we do have something to prove, and I would love to do it against nobody else but Steve. I couldn't be more excited about it.”

No. 2 seed Brittany Force took the stage next and immediately called out Antron Brown, the No. 5 seed.

“There's no easy guys,” she explained, “so I guess we just take them in order, and A.B. is at the top of the [alphabetical] list.”

Brown, who was a bit of a mentor to Force when she started racing Top Fuel, wasted no time weighing in.

“You know I'm just thinking about all the [advice] I used to talk to Brittany about; don't listen to it girl. I lied to you,” he said. “When you get to come out here and you get to race these competitors, I like this. This is like as a kid growing up on the basketball court. You get to talk a little smack and I'll tell you, the hardest part is when you go race against a girl that looks like Brittany, it's hard to whip up on Barbie. She's so pretty but I'm gonna pretend like Barbie stole my lunch money.”

No. 3 seed Mike Salinas, winner of the recent NHRA Arizona Nationals, then called out the No. 8 seed, Shawn Langdon, saying he was looking for the toughest competition left.

“I think Shawn is one of the best leavers in the game, and I always step to rise to the occasion,” he said. “I want to go for the best guys. I think Shawn is one of the best drivers out here and that we can take him down. That's saying something.

Retorted Langdon, “He’s obviously coming off a win in Phoenix and did an exceptional job but, you know, I think, when we go pound for pound, hopefully my reaction time advantage, and if we get into a pedaling scenario, we're going to try to take advantage of that.”

Justin Ashley, the No. 4 seed, did not get picked and, with only Doug Kalitta left, earned a match with Kalitta in round one.

“I was all mentally prepared to be called out or do the calling out, one way or another, I had every situation in my head, and I'm the last one back there, so it's just me against Dougie. It's gonna be a good show. It'll be fun for the fans.”

The first round takes place at 11:45 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 12, with the semifinals set to follow at 1:30 p.m. The final round is slated for 3:15 p.m. The FOX broadcast network will have coverage starting at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 12. 

PEP BOYS NHRA TOP FUEL ALL-STARS FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
Steve Torrence vs. Leah Pruett
Brittany Force vs. Antron Brown
Mike Salinas vs. Shawn Langdon
Justin Ashley vs. Doug Kalitta