October 29, 2023 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Three-time NHRA World Champion Matt Hagan missed advancing to his third straight Funny Car final by inches (.009 seconds) in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat at the NHRA Nevada Nationals on Sunday. Despite the semifinals exit, Hagan continues to lead the NHRA Camping World Funny Car points standings entering the final race of the 21-event national tour at the NHRA In-N-Out Burger Finals on Nov. 10 -12 in Pomona, California.
Hagan, seeking his third consecutive NHRA national win, won two rounds of competition in very cold 50-60 degree temperatures and windy conditions Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before losing to Bob Tasca III in the semifinals with a 3.901 to Tasca’s 3.886. Hagan’s brilliant 0.049 starting line light held the lead over Tasca for most of the 1,000-foot track before being nipped at the finish line. Hagan holds a 15-point margin over Tasca in the standings and 17 markers over the third-place Robert Hight .
Hagan, who qualified third at a 3.871 on Friday with support from his Dickie Venables-led TSR crew, entered Sunday’s eliminations with two straight NHRA victories at St. Louis and Dallas and had also captured wins at the last two Las Vegas events, last October in the Nevada Nationals and last April in the Four-Wide Nationals. Hagan’s Sunday runs produced very consistent times with a 3.889 over Terry Haddock and 3.892 over Paul Lee.
“We struggled a little bit in qualifying,” said Hagan. “Dickie always regroups and puts a great race car underneath me on Sunday. We have a good TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat car, but we were just on the backside of a good drag race. At the end of the day, this is a team sport, and we are surrounded by the best people. We all try to do the best job we can, and I’m super proud of my guys. We have a big road ahead of us to try and win this championship in Pomona. That close loss is a tough one to swallow. We will get back to work this week, and I’ll keep working on my lights. We are still holding the points lead headed to Pomona.”
Hagan’s TSR teammate, Leah Pruett, came to Las Vegas as the NHRA Top Fuel points leader following her impressive victory at Dallas two weeks ago. The win gave Pruett a four-point advantage over Doug Kalitta with just two races remaining, Las Vegas and Pomona.
After qualifying fifth at 3.704 with her TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster, Pruett ran a stellar 3.699 in the opening round eliminations but also lost by inches (.002 seconds) to Josh Hart.
Pruett, the Norwalk and Dallas Top Fuel winner in 2023, now ranks third in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings, just 34 points behind leader Steve Torrence entering the final event.
“My Dodge//SRT Direct Connection team posted our quickest run of the weekend today with a 3.699 and was quicker than our opponent (Hart),” said Pruett. “However, he was quicker off the line and was able to nudge us out by two thousandths of a second. Coming into this race, we knew that anything could change, but the focus was on expanding our points lead, and we couldn’t do that with a first-round elimination. We are still very much in the mix, in the top and in the hunt coming down to the final race with points and a half.
“As a driver coming off of a win in Dallas and a ‘hole-shot’ victory final round, I had confidence coming into battle this weekend, but it’s difficult to do when the best light of the round is in the other lane. My team has my back in a way where I’m going to be able to not only bounce back, but thrive. We win as a team, and we lose as a team. We have a very consistent and well-performing car that’s very capable of gathering qualifying points and winning the final race of the season. Ultimately, that’s what we plan to do.”
The event schedule for the NHRA In-N-Out Burger Finals will have two nitro qualifying sessions on Friday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. PST and two nitro qualifying rounds on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. PST. The final eliminations will begin on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. PST.
The Fox Sports 1 telecasts for the NHRA In-N-Out Burger Finals will air qualifying rounds on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. EST. The final eliminations will be televised on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. EST.
@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
Mopar is 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 more than 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.
Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at www.blog.mopar.com.
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