New name, new sponsor, same fast track
The drag-racing facility in Baytown has received a makeover. The color scheme has gone from purple to yellow.
Even the name has changed. Previously known as Royal Purple Raceway, the track’s new name isHouston Raceway Park powered by Pennzoil.
What will remain the same for this weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series SpringNationals is the close side-byside racing at speeds near 330 mph.
And during Friday night’s qualifying session, spectators have the added visual of flames coming out of exhaust headers of the nitro-burning Top Fuel and Funny Car racers.
“It’s something special, especially if you can see some flames coming out of these cars,” said two-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan, who won at Phoenix earlier this year. “There’s only 24 events on the circuit, and to have night sessions, it’s spectacular and puts people in awe.
“These cars are already loud and fast. But when you see a sixor eight-foot flame coming out of the side of these things, it puts in perspective how cool these (dragsters) are.”
Track suits Pritchett
Hagan, along with Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett, race for Don Schumacher Racing, and both drivers are excited to be racing at their sponsor’s track over the weekend.
“There are some weekends that we get really excited, like this one,” said Pritchett, 31, who has 10 career NHRA wins. “About being the flagship for Pennzoil, and having a race car that is capable of being No. 1 (qualifier) and taking it all the way to the final round and winning.”
Pritchett, who is fourth in points heading into the fifth race of the season, has been successful at the Baytown track. Pritchett won here in 2017 and was the No. 1 qualifier last year with an elapsed time of 3.680 seconds at 326.00 mph. She reached last year’s semifinals.
“It’s been good to us,” Pritchett said. “We have much greater data than maybe some other teams in recent years that we pull from. So right out of the gate come Friday, hopefully we can
get to No. 1 (qualifier) or stay low.”
Friday’s first qualifying session
starts at 4:30 p.m., with the second session scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
A 10,000-horsepower dragster reaching speeds from zero to 330 mph in under four seconds makes quite an impression with fans.
“You can’t feel that rumble through the TV or smell the nitro, and it’s burning your eyes. It’s one of the coolest fan experiences,” said reigning Funny Car champion J.R. Todd, who won last year’s SpringNationals.
After racing four-wide in Las Vegas, the series returns to conventional two-wide racing this weekend. In addition to a different format from a week ago, there is an elevation change. Las Vegas’ altitude is 2,000 feet, while Baytown is near sea level. That means with the favorable air conditions, there is a natural increase in horsepower, which results in lower elapsed times and higher speeds.
At last year’s SpringNationals, Doug Kalitta had the top speed at 329.02 mph.
“We’re going to put on a great show for these fans, and there’s going to be some great racing,” said Hagan, driver of the Pennzoil Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.
Hagan earned the first of his 30 career Funny Car victories in Baytown.
“That’s something you’ll always remember in you racing career,” Hagan said. “It’s nice to win a bunch of races and put a bunch of Wallys on the shelf, and this one will always stick out because it was the first.”
Competition is keen
Both Top Fuel and Funny Car classes are ultra-competitive. In Top Fuel, Kalitta (319) leads second-place Mike Salinas (286) by 33 points. Robert Hight of John Force Racing has a 66-point lead over second-place Jack Beckman in Funny Car. Hagan is fifth, 92 points behind Hight.
“It is more doggie-dog than it’s ever been,” said Pritchett, whose career-best ET is 3.631 seconds with a top speed of 334.15 mph. “You used to have maybe a couple of hundreds, maybe the race car is better than the other ones, but now across the board, it is straight.”
Pro Stock is running in 18 of the 24 national events in 2019 but will not run this weekend. The next race for the class is at Richmond, Va., in May.
Joining Top Fuel and Funny Car in the professional categories of the SpringNationals are Pro Modified and the Top Fuel Harley Drag Racing Series, in addition to Sportsman racing.