Leah Pritchett
Leah Pritchett, NHRA drag racer, will be in Chattanooga Wednesday to preview the 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals to be held at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga., the seventh race of the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, the second most popular motorsport in America. The race is May 15-17 and is broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
Pritchett is the driver of the 10,000 horsepower Gumout/Dote Racing Top Fuel dragster for Dote Family Racing. This is her third season in the nitromethane fueled Top Fuel category. Last year, Pritchett had a career-best weekend at the Fall Las Vegas race, reaching the semifinals and recording her career-best elapsed time of 3.755 seconds. At the 2015 season opener in Pomona in February, she set a career-best in speed at 323.66 mph.
Pritchett is looking to become the 16th different female driver to win an NHRA Mello Yello Series event.
She began racing as a child at age eight when she competed in the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League in her home state of California. Pritchett is the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Funny Car champ and has competed in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Series with three wins.