NHRA U.S. Nationals: Three Top Fuel Drivers to Watch at the Big Go

The 75th Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals brings together one of the strongest Top Fuel fields of the season, but three drivers arrive at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park with particularly compelling storylines.

Leah Pruett enters Indy with momentum after a strong Brainerd Nationals weekend. Pruett reached the semifinals and produced the event’s quickest elimination run with a 3.702-second pass. She also recorded a career-best 341.08 mph, which was the event’s top speed. The Dodge Top Fuel team remained at Brainerd to test Monday, giving the organization another opportunity to prepare for drag racing’s biggest event.

“Testing went excellent,” Pruett said. “We worked closely with Dodge and their team on a couple long-term projects. We were also able to make some large swings, so I would say, it was a highly educational test day. Personally, I had been sick all race weekend and was at the height of fighting off the yuck on Monday, which meant the inside of my visor got to see a lot of snot time when the chutes hit. Looking forward to a healthy fun fast U.S. Nationals this weekend.”

Pruett has already won at Indy in Factory Stock Showdown, but a Top Fuel victory at the U.S. Nationals remains missing from her résumé. Her best Top Fuel finish came in 2020, when she was runner-up to Shawn Langdon after recording the quickest run of the event.

TJ Zizzo brings a different kind of storyline to Indianapolis. The second-generation driver and Zizzo Racing team have spent years building their program, and the U.S. Nationals represents an opportunity to turn that work into one of the biggest victories in drag racing. Zizzo qualified No. 10 at the Route 66 Nationals earlier this season before losing a close opening-round battle to Antron Brown.

“Indy is a magical event and to be a part of the 75th anniversary season at the U.S. Nationals will be awesome. We have run well at this race, and we are looking forward to building on our momentum from the Chicago race earlier this season. This Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster will be ready to make some noise for sure.”

Then there is Doug Kalitta, who arrives with perhaps the strongest combination of momentum and championship pressure. Kalitta enters Indy leading the Top Fuel standings by 67 points over teammate Shawn Langdon. He also carries a three-race winning streak into the event after victories in Sonoma, Seattle and Brainerd. Kalitta has four wins and four No. 1 qualifiers this season.
Kalitta has also won once in four U.S. Nationals final-round appearances and has two No. 1 qualifying positions at the event. His crew chief, Alan Johnson, has eight Top Fuel victories at Indianapolis with four different drivers.

“It’s cool that, one way or the other, we’re gonna bring that regular season title back to Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) and Chad (General Manager Chad Head) who’s done a hell of a job putting everything together that we’ve been trying to build here for years. It’s cool to see both our cars running like they are. You know Shawn; he’s tough so we have to go to Indy with the intent of winning the U.S. Nationals and see how it all unfolds.”

Pruett has the speed, Zizzo has the opportunity and Kalitta has the momentum. But this is the U.S. Nationals, where the unexpected has a way of becoming reality. At the Big Go, what seems impossible before the weekend can become history by Monday night—and for these three drivers, the opportunity to make that happen is waiting at the end of the track.