Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Win in Four-Wide Nationals
- Matt Hagan notched the third NHRA national event win of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Sunday in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Haas Automotive Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
- Hagan, who qualified third, recorded his fifth Las Vegas victory of his career and second consecutive after winning last October in the Nevada Nationals
- In the final round Sunday, Hagan, seeking his fourth NHRA Camping World points championship, defeated Tim Wilkerson, John Force and Chad Green to score his 46th career NHRA Wally trophy
- The win for Hagan also extended his current point margin to 105 points
- Hagan’s TSR teammate, Leah Pruett, put in consistent runs all three days with strong qualifying passes and a first-round victory Sunday with 3.74, 3.75 and 3.77 times, as well as 3.79 when she lost in a close second round race
- TSR team owner Tony Stewart also scored his first NHRA national win Sunday by driving to the Top Alcohol Dragster class title
- Cruz Pedregon recorded his second straight No. 1 Funny Car qualifying position Saturday with his Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with a time of 3.910 seconds
Hagan, the three-time NHRA world champion, qualified third in the 16-car field and advanced to the final round with solid, consistent runs of 3.997 and 3.968 seconds to set up a third finals appearance in the opening four races in 2023.
Competing against John Force, Tim Wilkerson and Chad Green in the final, Hagan posted a winning time of 3.943 at 326.79 m.p.h. for his 46th career Funny Car victory and extended his Funny Car points lead to 105 entering the next NHRA national event at Charlotte, North Carolina, April 28-30.
“It was another outstanding performance by Matt Hagan and his Tony Stewart Racing team this past weekend at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, taking his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the winner’s circle,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand CEO – Stellantis. “Hagan’s crew continues to prove their competitive level, and it is one of the best in all of NHRA drag racing. Led by Dickie Venables’ squad, Hagan is fighting for his fourth NHRA Camping World Series championship. The TSR team has shown that Dodge lineup of vehicles and Direct Connection parts are excellent examples of premier performance. We wish Matt and the TSR team more success this year in his quest for a fourth Funny Car title.”
Hagan’s Funny Car victory was his second straight at the Strip after winning last October in the Nevada Nationals and his fifth Las Vegas triumph of his career. This is Hagan’s seventh win with TSR dating back to the 2022 Gatornationals.
“This is so special to share the winner’s circle with my boss, Tony Stewart, and his first NHRA national win too,” said Hagan after his third 2023 victory and Stewart’s first Top Alcohol Dragster win. “It’s funny because I never followed Tony’s oval racing career, and I actually had to look up his achievements when I talked with him about this new team.
“After he won here, he came to my car and said, ‘Now it’s your turn to win!’ Wow, I wasn’t feeling any pressure until then. But our crew, led by Dickie Venables, has been so good this year that I just needed to be good on the line. And that car ran strong to the finish.”
TSR team owner Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup champion, captured his first NHRA national event Sunday by taking the Top Alcohol Dragster victory. It was Stewart’s fourth race in NHRA national event competition. The Columbus, Indiana, driver has now won at all four Las Vegas Motor Speedway tracks in 1.5-mile oval, 3/8-mile Bullring, half-mile dirt oval and the Strip.
“This is the most fun I have had in a long time,” said Stewart in victory lane with Hagan. “Matt and his crew are doing a tremendous job with three wins already and Leah’s crew has been outstanding in this early portion of the season. Yes, it is exciting to win my first NHRA national event, but the double is very special today.”
Pruett, the 10-time NHRA national winner, recorded a solid showing in qualifying to place fifth entering Sunday’s eliminations with her Code 3 Associates Dodge//SRT Mopar Top Fuel dragster with runs of 3.746, 3.747 and 3.753. In Sunday’s competition, Leah posted a 3.779 to win against three other drivers before falling in the second round with a 3.798 to eventual winner Antron Brown and Brittany Force.
“Our team did a great job all weekend here in Las Vegas,” said Pruett, now fifth in the NHRA Camping World Top Fuel point standings. “We ran great times in the heat and the track was getting tricky. But Neal Strausbaugh and his crew really gave me a solid, strong car in every run here at the Strip. They work so hard for me and our sponsors. I’m pleased with the momentum we are making. Both Antron and Brittany are world champions, and we ran right with them. So, we may have lost that round, but we were so close to advancing to the next one. We had a very positive weekend.”
Cruz Pedregon, a four-time winner at the Strip, recorded his second consecutive NHRA Camping World Funny Car pole position Saturday in the qualifying rounds for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Pedregon took his Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat machine to a time of 3.910 seconds to pace the 16-car Funny Car field.
@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).
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