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NHRA’s Leah Pruett loves racing in the Valley

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

GetOut Editor

Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett and the Valley have a mutual love.

She has won the NHRA Chandler event twice and recently joined Tony Stewart Racing’s new drag racing team.

“Phoenix is in my top three racetracks and races,” said Pruett, who married Tony Stewart in 2021. “There’s always an extra amount of excitement. Phoenix fans have always made me feel like I was their champion.

“A lot of it has to do with winning. I won in 2016. When you go to a track only one time a year, that’s why they remember. If you have a repeat winner, it creates a big buzz. The next year, when I go back there, it’s like I never left. That’s a really cool feeling they definitely instill.”

The NHRA Arizona Nationals are set for February 25 to February 27 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. The NHRA Arizona Nationals traditionally serve as the second event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour. The facility has seen record-breaking performances and is a fan-favorite of the circuit.

“With over 35 years of NHRA racing history at the Motorsports Park, we are eager for the Arizona Nationals to return to Wild Horse Pass and the Gila River Indian Community,” said General Manager Henry Moreno. “We are dedicated to making the event the best possible experience for the fans and racers alike.”

“We missed the NHRA Arizona Nationals in 2021,” adds Glen Cromwell, NHRA president. “We are thrilled to return to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and put on a great show for the Phoenix fans.”

Updates for 2022 include free event parking at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with the purchase of an NHRA Arizona Nationals ticket.

The Redlands, California, native, started racing when she was 8. Her father, Ron, who died in early 2021, was a land street racer and a street racer but, she’s quick to add, not a drag racer.

He wanted Pruett and her sister to start something “safe.” So, Pruett ventured out on her own and built cars.

“It was my father who put the mechanical aptitude within me,” she said.

From there, she sat behind the wheel to drag race. She said she enjoys her career because her job description changes. Previously it was “just,” she said, a racecar driver. Now she’s a team manager and in business development.

“The hardest thing about my job right now is making sure that I haven’t dropped any balls,” she said. “We want to hit the scene running as a new team while not looking like a new team. We want to look like veterans, experience championship caliber team.

“For me as a ‘professional racecar driver,’ I want to be the best in the world. That’s what I think is the most challenging.”

To maintain levity, she’s living in a motor home in the parking lot of the race shop. Pruett, who otherwise resides in Lake Havasu, Arizona, works with her team daily to order parts and take care of other maintenance and organizational issues.

Pruett said she’s ready for “a fresh breath of Phoenix air,” and hanging out at the Sandbar in Chandler and Radford Racing School, formerly known as Bondurant. She “keys up” there to form a road course perspective and get a feel for the high horsepower car. “It’s usually what I do on Thursday,” she said. “I get some horsepower time in there. It puts me in the zone.” The same goes for a little gift she sees along the I-10 and Loop 202. “For the second or third year, they’ve had billboards along the freeway with my car and I on it,” she said with a laugh. “I think that really helps drive the fanbase. It’s seen for two months, and they get to see me until I get there. There’s extra enthusiasm by the fans because I’ve been in their face for two months. It’s totally weird. At least I’m not up there pimping attorneys at law. I’m trying to help people know about drag races.”

Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett can’t wait to put her peddle to the metal at the NHRA Chandler event next weekend. (Special to GetOut) IF YOU GO NHRA Arizona Nationals When: 7:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 25, to Sunday, Feb. 27 Where: Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, 20000 S. Maricopa Road, Chandler Cost: Tickets start at $44 for adults; $20 for juniors ages 12 and younger Info: nhra.com/schedule/2022

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

Homemade peppermint patties make life sweeter

Valentine’s Day may be over, but homemade peppermint patties are always a special treat for the sweetest person – or persons – in your life.

If you love store-bought peppermint patties, you’re going to flip over the homemade version. The best part is, it only takes five simple ingredients to win someone’s heart.

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons softened butter 2 teaspoons peppermint extract 4 tablespoons cream 12 oz. Melting Chocolate Wafers (dipping chocolate)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract and cream. On medium high, beat with a paddle attachment. (Mixture will be crumbly at first.) Turn mixer on high and beat until it becomes creamy and smooth. Candy should be soft but not sticky. If too sticky, add more powdered sugar, a little at a time, until the consistency is that of Play-Doh. Roll out a long piece of plastic wrap. Scoop out mixture onto the wrap and form into a long thin roll about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. (This will be the size of the inside of your peppermint patty.)

Roll it up tightly in the plastic wrap and twist or tie off the ends. (Jan’s Note: I divided the mixture up into two logs and wrapped each in plastic wrap to keep one log chilled while working with the other.

Tip: To keep your candy round, cut a slit all the way down an old cardboard paper towel tube, and put the candy inside which will help keep the bottom from flattening as it sits in the refrigerator.

Chill the candy until it is very firm, at least one hour. Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and place in refrigerator to chill. When candy has hardened, remove from plastic wrap and, using a sharp knife, slice off rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Melt the dipping chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring to prevent overheating.

Using a fork or dipping tool, dip a patty into the melted chocolate, coating completely. Let the excess coating drip back into the bowl. Set on chilled parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the candy slices. Immediately refrigerate to harden.

Store in airtight container in frig or at room temperature. Servings approximately 30.