The Charger Scat Pack we were in Thursday at Bandimere Speedway - which will host the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals this weekend and where the speeds might be a tad slower because of the 5,764-foot elevation - was a far cry from what Pruett usually pilots. And reaction time is crucial in trying to out-duel the racer in the next lane to the finish line first. Of course, Pruett drives a dragster with 11,000 horsepower that can reach more than 330 miles per hour and pull up to seven g forces (it reverses to negative seven when the parachute releases to slow the car, according to her Funny Car teammate Matt Hagan). With Leah Pruett (Pat Caporali, Mopar Dodge//SRT Motorsports) “Exactly wherever their cue is, it’s hitting it, and my queue is the yellow, amber lights.” “As soon as I see any yellow, it’s an explosion, kind of like kickboxers and being an explosive tight end or something,” Pruett said. If they switch from yellow and you see green, you’re already late, Pruett says, offering up tips as a veteran driver with nine Top Fuel event victories who’s now competing for first-year NHRA team Tony Stewart Racing, owned by her NASCAR Hall of Fame husband. Working with both feet, per Pruett’s instructions, I simultaneously released the brake and slammed into the throttle as my right foot literally hit the floor of the car when the lights turned yellow. I completed a mostly stationary burnout to scrub debris from the tires and heat them up a bit, as the pros do before a race, and was patiently waiting for the lights in front of me to signal when to hit the gas. With more than 1,000 feet of straight track ahead and NHRA Top Fuel drag racer Leah Pruett coaching me from the passenger seat of a souped-up 2021 Dodge Charger Scat Pack, I floored it.
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