Leah Pritchett vs. Papa John in a Charity Race Anyone Can Get Behind!

As the driver of the Papa John’s Pizza sponsored top fuel dragster, Team Speed Society driver and all around badass Leah Pritchett has the unique opportunity to line up with Papa John himself, John Schnatter and race his iconic gold Camaro. Obviously the fueler would be a little overkill, so Leah instead jumped behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger, a much more even match for Schnatter’s F-Body.

With $20,000 and much more importantly, bragging rights on the line, Leah and John lined up at the Gator Nationals for a winner take all race in front of the huge crowd packed into Gainesville Dragway. Leah shrugged off the thought of letting the boss man win, opting instead to give him everything she and her Challenger could muster. When the green light dropped, Leah was all over the tree, as a professional driver would expect, while John was a tad late. Leah’s Challenger left hard and ran strong, extending  the lead she gained at the start through the 1320 to take a sizable win.

Of course, the $20,000 purse was for charity, so the real winner was the Infinite Hero Foundation, a charity started by Terry Chandler to help combat veterans deal with the challenges faced by the veterans and their families. The Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car driven by Jack Beckman carries the Infinite Hero logo proudly on it’s side, but the foundation itself doesn’t financially support the team, ensuring they are able to use as much of the money as possible to continue their mission of helping those in need. Chandler, the daughter of a self-made oil field worker-turned-billionaire funds those teams out of her own pocket, providing funding for both Beckman and the Make A Wish funny car driven by Tommy Johnson Jr on her own dime. That, my friends, is the definition of a true hero.