July 16, 2023 , Morrison, Colo. –
Matt Hagan drove his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Hellcat Funny Car to the final win light in the 43-year history of the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at famed Bandimere Speedway on Sunday.
Hagan, the No. 1 qualifier in the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals for the third consecutive year at “Thunder Mountain,” defeated Alexis DeJoria in the final round with a 4.135-second run at 304.25 miles per hour, to DeJoria’s 4.217 effort. The victory was Hagan’s fourth in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and his 47th career NHRA national event win.
Earlier in the event the Virginia racer defeated Chris King, and after a bye run took down reigning NHRA Funny Car World Champion Ron Capps to advance to the final race against DeJoria.
Hagan completed a weekend “Grand Slam” by also taking the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the Funny Car Class on Saturday with a win over Bob Tasca.
On Sunday, Hagan recorded a 4.041 against King, 4.280 in a second-round bye run and a 4.107 against Capps paired with a remarkable starting line reaction time of 0.008 seconds to take out his closest rival in the point standingsr. The Mile-High Nationals win extended Hagan’s point lead in the NHRA Funny Car standings to 45 over Capps heading to next weekend’s Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
“This was a magical weekend for me and very emotional,” said Hagan. “It was my mom’s birthday and she passed away six months ago, so I was thinking about that throughout the weekend. But I also knew this is the last time I’d race at Bandimere Speedway and it was a Dodge-sponsored race. I’ve been on fire here before and we’ve blown up a lot of things on the ‘Mountain,’ so getting the quick qualifying time three years in a row and winning in 2021 and now today is very special. I don’t think it will sink in for a few months. Wow, I took the final win light at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals. That’s something they can never take away from me.
“(Crew chief) Dickie Venables, Mike Knudsen, Alex Conaway and the rest of the crew were phenomenal this weekend. We were down one crew member (Josh Munoz) due to a car incident back in Indy, but everyone pitched in all weekend here. Heck, even the Bossman (Tony Stewart) was helping with fuel and preparing the equipment for the final round. It was a thrash getting everything ready. Leahs (Pruett, Hagan’s TSR teammate) crew helped us too. I still can’t believe this is the last one at Bandimere Speedway.”
Pruett, the defending Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals Top Fuel champion, suffered an extremely close loss in the first round of competition Sunday when she lost to Josh Hart although both posted identical 3.905-second passes.. Pruett recorded a sensational 0.036 second starting light in the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection dragster but lost by inches at the finish line. Despite the loss, Pruett remains in the third position in the current NHRA Top Fuel point standings.
“The conclusion to our final Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway was less than ideal with the first-round exit, but there is still a lot of value in it for us for us as a unit,” said Pruett, who won her first NHRA “Wally” trophy at age eight at Bandimere Speedway in Junior Dragsters. “You can’t curb the heartbreak. Unfortunately, our competitor, Josh Hart, had an insane .021 light to my .036, which were both low of the round. I knew when I hit the gas that I had a good reaction time and I thought I had him.
“We know that we have a good race car and a car that’s capable of winning races and preparing for championship contention. I would’ve loved more than anything to win again at Bandimere, with such an emotional connection. For us, the TSR team and Dodge, this is a chapter in our life that’s just beginning, and I couldn’t be more proud of the progress that we have made given our challenges this weekend.”
Team owner Tony Stewart was excited for Hagan’s win, which marked the final NHRA race at Bandimere Speedway.
“The Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection Funny Car team won the race and had a great weekend,” said Stewart. “Leah cut a .036 light, which was awesome. Unfortunately, her opponent guessed and beat her off the line, so she went out the first round. For Matt to win the last race at Bandimere Speedway, it is so special. The Funny Cars were the last pair to go down the track. It’s an epic event. It’s the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals.
“To be able to finish it off for our partners is a great day. I appreciate everything they do for our Funny Car and Top Fuel teams. This is the first stop on the Western Swing with us going to Seattle and Sonoma after this. You can’t win them all if you don’t win the first one. Dickie and the whole team are very excited. Leah and her crew are excited also. They had some challenging moments, but we made big gains and learned from it. I feel like we’re in a good spot. I’m really proud of our team.”
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series now moves to the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals next weekend, July 21-23, at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.
Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT Hellcat versions of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Durango, as well as an R/T plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version of the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet, representing the brand’s first-ever electrified performance vehicle. Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock; the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world; and the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever; and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet. Combined, these four muscle vehicles make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.
In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news, including daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis (NYSE: STLA).
Mopar
This year marks the 85th anniversary of Mopar, the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic accessories.
A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.
Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.
Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:
Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Dodge brand: www.dodge.com
DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge and www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: @DodgeMoparMotorsports, @DodgeOfficial and @OfficialMopar
Twitter: @Dodge, @OfficialMopar and @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge, www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA