Leah Pruitt delivered the  first Top Fuel victory for Tony Stewart Racing at the Mile-High Nationals

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won at the 11th of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. The stop in Denver marks the first event in the three-race NHRA Western Swing.
 
 

Final round-by-round results from the 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, the 11th of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

Brittany Force had a lousy Friday.



It was far from a typical opening day for the best qualifier on the NHRA tour. Coming into the weekend having qualified in the top half of the field at every race this year, Force struggled during both of her runs - puting a hole out early in Q1 and then seeing her machine shut off due to a mechanical issue during Q2 - leaving the second place driver in Top Fuel points 14th on the ladder.

There are dominating efforts, and then there is what Elite Motorsports did on Saturday.

Elite Motorsports held the top three positions in qualifying and six of the top eight slots on the ladder as youthful stalwart Aaron Stanfield paced them all.

Matt Smith wasn’t taking any chances in Denver, although a nearly .08 qualifying advantage suggested there was nothing conservative about his first-day efforts at the NHRA Mile High Nationals. 

The only thing Smith wasn’t taking chances with was having enough parts to race for a championship. 

That’s why Smith left the 4-valve Suzuki he’s been developing in the trailer and instead rolled out his proven Buell. 

After rain put a stop to Friday qualifying, additional thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon forced Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) officials to postpone eliminations to Sunday at the Drag 965 Summer Shootout presented by Classic Graphix at Virginia Motorsports Park. All classes completed one round of qualifying, and some classes started or completed a second session before the rain started. All fields are set for Sunday eliminations. 
 
The No. 1 qualifiers in the professional classes are Jim Halsey in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, Melanie Salemi in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Elijah Morton in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition, Daryl Stewart in $hameless Racing Pro 632, Chris Garner-Jones in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, Nick Agostino in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by AFCO, and Ron Rhodes in AFCO Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports. 

To this point in the season, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for Leah Pruett and her brand new Dodge Power Brokers team with Tony Stewart Racing.

A string of qualifying woes and early round exits has left the nine-time national event winner hovering around the bottom half of the Top Fuel playoff picture with seemingly no end in sight. But the joy of drag racing is that it can all turn around in one night.

One year ago Matt Hagan checked a very important race off of his bucket list when he earned his first-ever victory atop “the mountain.”

One of the trickiest tracks on the NHRA calendar due to its unique conditions in the high altitude air of the Colorado mountains, Bandimere Speedway and its challenge is a nightmare for some and a welcome respite for others. That is why Hagan’s victory at the facility was such an accomplishment and one he is hoping to replicate this weekend.