PHOTOS : JOE MCHUGH , NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER

She had just advanced to her first final round that year and was on the verge of becoming a full-time racer in the class — just not in the route she expected . Still , that very much represents Pruett ’ s journey . She ’ s found her destination and crossed off one impressive goal after another , even if the route has been a little more circuitous than she imagined .

Through that , though , she ’ s become one of the biggest stars in the sport . She ’ s marketable , has a huge social media following and , most importantly of all , is successful on the track . That expectations are so high that a fourth-place finish for the third straight year isn ’ t quite what Pruett had hoped for should indicate just how much things have changed in five years .

“ Our fourth-place finish on the season is a direct reflection of our overall performance ,” Pruett says . “ It ’ s very respectable , of course , but it ’ s not the best on the track . We truly feel like we were completely in-stride and making progress as a championship contender , and once our St . Louis incident happened , we lost our consistency .”

The St . Louis “ incident ” as she called it was one of the most unbelievable Top Fuel crashes in recent memory , with the chassis and body breaking in half , shooting Pruett skyward . The video went viral , but Pruett ’ s resolve couldn ’ t be questioned . The team had the car back together and Pruett was racing again just a handful of days later , exemplifying her fighting spirit .

It ’ s evident in more than Top Fuel , too . She has become one of the biggest faces of the burgeoning Factory Stock Showdown series , winning the championship in 2018 .

Rule changes and the rest of the field catching up have made for a tougher go in the past two years , but Pruett remains a major fan of the class . It ’ s cast her in a different – yet equally exciting light – in the motorsports and car culture world , leaving her amped for a 2021 campaign that will feature a new 2021 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak .

“ El Bandito finished off strong [ in 2020 ] and the new Drag Pak is very exciting and we ’ re ready to show off some new Mopar muscle ,” Pruett says .

It ’ s a class Pruett likely didn ’ t expect would become a second home once she joined Don Schumacher Racing during the tail end of the 2016 campaign , but she ’ s made the most of the opportunity and then some .

The same goes for her Top Fuel career as well .

She quickly opened 2016 with her first career win , but things went awry when Bob Vandergriff Racing closed up shop . Pruett , though , pushed forward and her appeal to fans – especially the younger generation – and sponsors brought her to DSR , where she ’ s been a top-five finisher the last four seasons .

She now has eight wins and 16 final-round appearances – a far cry from where she was just five short years ago – and a hectic lifestyle Pruett likely wouldn ’ t change for anything .

It ’ s raised expectations , but Pruett has never been one to set the bar low .

“ I think overall the beauty of the 2020 season for us is that we had shown glimpses of a championship-caliber performance , and we ’ ll be working to get it back ,” Pruett says . “ We made it the entire season and didn ’ t lose first round , and next year we have to make it to at least the semis at every race .” – JOSH HACHAT DI

November 2020

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