For now, Gary Pritchett feels content running alongside a Top Fuel dragster instead of behind the wheel of one. 

Pritchett proudly plays his role as a crewman on the multi-time championship-winning dragster driven by Steve Torrence. 

However, this doesn’t mean he won’t take a lap when the opportunity presents itself. 

Pritchett first drove a fuel car back in 2015, behind the wheel of the Connie Dote-owned Top Fueler, where he made three laps to procure his driving credentials. 

“Dom [Lagana] always said for years, ‘We’ll get you a lap someday,” Pritchett said. “When I worked with him in Martin, Michigan, they had to make a test lap. It had been about six years since I drove so it was my fourth lap and it was an experience of a lifetime. But on this day, it was more about Dom and not me. He is so special to me; just seeing him happy with doing this was what it was all about, not me getting to drive.”

Behind the wheel of the Lagana Nitro Ninja Dragster at US 131 Dragway in Martin, Mich, Pritchett drove to half-track and carded a 3.22, 265, and a 4.16 while coasting through the 1000-foot timers. It was the first pass for the dragster in nearly two years. Clay Millican then took over the driving chores for the weekend at the independent Northern Nationals event. 

Pritchett gladly stepped aside for the more experienced driver, but this doesn’t mean one day he doesn’t aspire to be on the same level of driving experience. 

“That’s the ultimate goal one day down the road is maybe to enter a Top Fuel national event, but for right now, I’m full-time with the Capco boys. We’re building a legacy here and making history and I want to be a part of that,” Pritchett said. “I want to make the car go fast. I get the same feeling working on the cars as I do driving. When we win, when Steve wins, I feel like I’m driving.”

For the record, Pritchett does climb behind the wheel of a race car when he can. He drives the tribute alcohol-burning Funny Car of his late godmother and drag racing legend Carol “Bunny” Burkett.

“We have a race coming up on October 2nd,” Pritchett said. “It’s a Bunny tribute race at Maryland International Raceway. We got 32 cars coming for a tribute. Maybe one day I’ll enter a national event if this car’s not racing., Maybe one day, we’ll see. But for now, I got that lap. Maybe next year I might get to run the Martin Match Race, we’ll see.”

When Burkett mentored Pritchett, one of Torrence’s original crewmembers, she mentored him the right way. 

“I started racing with her when I was 18 months old,” said Pritchett, who is now 34. “That’s all I know. Live and breathe and did everything drag racing. Right out of high school I moved to Brownsburg, Indiana. When I was 18 years old started with David Powers. 2006, 2007 with Rob Flynn and Hot Rod Fuller, and the rest is history. I have been Top Fuel racing ever since then.”