POMONA >> It’s just the start of the 2017 NHRA drag racing season, but it’s pretty clear what the battle lines will be in the three major profession classes over the next 23 national events.
And Don Schumacher Racing figures to be in the thick of most of it. The organization started the new season by scoring Winternationals victories in Top Fuel dragster with Leah Pritchett and with Matt Magan in Funny Car. DSR won both classes in 2016 behind Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car).
In 2016, Brown won the championship over Doug Kalitta of Kalitta Motorsports. On Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at the L.A. County Fairgrounds, it was Pritchett from nearby Redlands who carried the DSR banner for her second career win.
In Pro Stock, the Summit Racing team belonging to Ken Black Racing served notice it doesn’t plan to rest on its laurels. Defending class champion Jason Line opened the new season by turning back teammate Greg Anderson.
In a rather storybook chapter, Pritchell returned to the winner’s circle in Pomona after a 21-year wait. She first won as an eight-year-old in Jr. Dragster. She competed last year at Pomona, the first of four race teams after funding virtually dried up midway through the campaign. In 2016, after leaving Pomona, she recorded her first national event win at Phoenix.
The Cal State San Bernardino graduate never gave up.
“You’ve got to have confidence if you’re going to run one of these beasts and confidence is contagious,” said Pritchett, who recently signed a four-year deal with sponsor Papa John’s Pizza. “(Crew chief) Todd Okuhara and (assistant) Joe Barlam have confidence in the car and that’s contagious to me as a driver.
“That’s how we’re jelling so well.”
Boosting her confidence was the view as she approached the track on Sunday.
“Every time I turn off onto Fairplex Drive and go up this road I’m in a different car and it kind of represents where I’m at in my life,” Pritchett said after her victory. “In my opinion it doesn’t get any better than that, which is a representation of my current situation. It doesn’t get any better than that.
“I’m looking off at the mountains and I’m like, ‘those are my mountains, these are my streets, that’s my taco stand, this is my house,’ and that’s how I talk to myself.”
Winning on Sunday was very therapeutic for Hagan, a two-time champion for DSR. He lost his brother in the off season soon after the birth of a son, his third child.
“It’s just a real special race for me. A lot of stuff happened over the off season and I’m just coming out motivated,” said Hagan. “My lights have been great, the car is running great. We’ve just got a real powerhouse team right now. I’m just excited. This is the first race of the year and you chalk it up to, ‘okay, yeah that’s great, but there’s a long season ahead of us.’ We’ve just got to keep some of this momentum going.
“I’ve got to say thank you to Don Schumacher. There’s a line of drivers that would sit in that car and take my job tomorrow. But he keeps me in the car and I just try to do a good job for him. Anytime we can put those Forces on the trailer, that’s what we need to do. We’re here to win and Don expects us to win.”
Hagan defeated Courtney Force in the finals after putting DSR teammates Jack Beckman and Capps in the second and third rounds.
“This is the first race of the year and you chalk it up to, ‘okay, yeah that’s great, but there’s a long season ahead of us,’ “ said Hagan. “We’ve just got to keep some of this momentum going.”
Line and Anderson swept through the class before meeting in the finals. Line knew what waited.
“You know you have to be close to perfect on the tree or else you’re not going to beat him,” said Line, who recorded a very quick .005-second reaction time. “I know how much power he has; he’s got the same stuff I have, so it’s really who lets their foot off the clutch first. That is a lot of pressure as a driver, which I don’t like,” said Line. “But today I was able to do a good job and get it done. If there’s one person I don’t want to race in the final, it’s him. He wants to win more than any person I’ve ever met in my life. He’s very driven, very motivated.”
Elite Motorsports, which won titles in 2014-15, returned to the picture after a dismal 2016. Erica Enders, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Vincent Nobile all reached the second round.
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