(Photos by Mike Burghardt)

Top Fuel racer Leah Pritchett received an extra-large boost this weekend when Papa John’s International Inc. announced it will sponsor her Don Schumacher Racing Top Fuel dragster team at this weekend’s NHRA national event at Pacific Raceways near Seattle and two weeks later at Brainerd, Minn.
Pritchett, 28, will started the Protect the Harvest NHRA Nationals in Kent, Wash., ranked 10th in championship points in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. She won this year’s second event title near Phoenix and after Friday Qualifying sat seventh running a solid 3.781 elapsed time at 319.45 miles per hour.

“This means so much to me, our team and the sport of NHRA drag racing,” said the graduate of Cal State San Bernardino. “We are huge fans of Papa John’s Pizza and are confident it will help fuel us to victory,” added Pritchett. “My dream is one day to walk into a location and order a ‘Leah’s Nitro Pizza’ on the Papa John’s menu.  One requirement – it has to be spicy!”

Pritchett’s Papa John’s branded Top Fuel dragster was be unveiled Friday near her pit area at Pacific Raceways.

Papa John’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer, John Schnatter, visited DSR headquarters a few weeks ago and got his first experience with nitro when DSR fired up Pritchett’s dragster.

“I am excited to add another quality ingredient to our Papa John’s team with our sponsorship of Don Schumacher Racing and Leah Pritchett,” said “Papa John” Schnatter.  “Leah’s passion for racing is like my passion for pizzamaking; always looking for ways to improve and get better.”

Schnatter founded Papa John’s in 1984 when he knocked down a wall to a broom closet in his father’s tavern in Jeffersonville, Ind.. He then sold his prized 1972 Z28 Camaro to purchase $1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern’s customers out of the converted closet to help save the business. Today, Papa John’sis the world’s third largest pizza delivery company with over 4,900locations in 50 states and 40 countries and territories.

Pritchett’s dragster will be a salute to his iconic, gold muscle car that he reacquired and owns today.

Don Schumacher was a successful pioneer Funny Car driver/owner in the early 1970s before he took over his family’s Schumacher Electric Corp. in 1974 and guided it to become the world’s largest and most innovative manufacturer of battery chargers (BatteryChargers.com). Since reopening DSR based near Indianapolis in 1998, the Chicago native created what has become an eight-car drag racing organization that has produced 281 NHRA event titles and 14 world championships.

“Our partnership with John is very, very exciting for DSR and the entire sport of drag racing,” Schumacher said. “We’re thrilled for Leah. Papa John’s support for the next two races gets her closer to clinching a spot in the Countdown (to the Championship six-race playoff) which would have all eight of our teams running for NHRA championships.”