Short Day for Hagan, Pruett Sunday at Seattle; Hagan Keeps Funny Car Points Lead, Pruett 3rd in Top Fuel

July 23, 2023 , Kent, Wash. -  Coming off the excitement of winning last week’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals, Matt Hagan was on an “emotional high” entering this weekend’s Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals with his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car.

Unfortunately, Hagan’s winning streak the previous week at Denver ended quickly Sunday when the three-time NHRA World Funny Car champion smoked the tires in the first round of eliminations at Pacific Raceways. Hagan, a four-time 2023 NHRA national event winner, lost to eventual race winner Tim Wilkerson, 3.928 to 5.068.

Despite the early round defeat, Hagan remains the Funny Car points leader with a 17-point advantage as the NHRA Camping World drag racing series travels to Sonoma Raceway in Northern California next weekend,July 28-30, for the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

“There are some weekends where things are just off, and this was one of them,” said Hagan. “It makes you appreciate when things go well. I hate that we didn’t have a great weekend for Dodge between Leah and myself. It was a tricky race track out there. One thing I do know is that I have one of the smartest crew chiefs out there in Dickie Venables. He’ll figure out whatever is wrong, and it won’t be long before we’re back on top having a good run at it. We usually do pretty well in Seattle, so it was surprising a little bit. I’m excited about going to Sonoma now.” 

Hagan’s TSR teammate, Leah Pruett, the recent Summit Nationals Top Fuel champion in the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection dragster, also lost in the first round in a very close race with Mile-High National winner Clay Millican, 3.763 to 3.765.   

Pruett, an 11-time NHRA national event winner in Top Fuel, held her third position in the NHRA Camping World Top Fuel points with one race remaining in the three-event “Western Swing.” .

“Coming up on the short side of another extremely close race first round is where our patience and work ethic get tested,” said Pruett. “The sting is sharp and the frustration of how to get better as a driver is thick, but the perseverance of this team to keep digging together out of this hole is the prevailing attitude and direction we have.”

Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway will be Friday, July 28, at 8 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. EDT and Saturday, July 29, at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. EDT. Sunday’s eliminations will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Coverage of next week’s action at Sonoma Raceway is set for Friday, July 28, with qualifying at 4:30 p.m. EDT on FS2 and Saturday, July 29, at 2:30 p.m. EDT on FS1. Final eliminations are scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT Sunday on the FOX Network.
 
@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 Mission 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
For 112 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Today, that legacy roars louder than ever in the next-generation lineup of Dodge, America’s performance brand.

The next-gen Dodge Charger multi-energy lineup features:

• the 550-horsepower Dodge Charger Scat Pack, powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo SIXPACK high-output (H.O.) engine — the most powerful Hurricane engine in production
• the SIXPACK-powered standard-output (S.O.) 420-horsepower Dodge Charger R/T with standard all-wheel drive and the highest entry-level horsepower of any muscle car 
• the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car in the all-electric 670-horsepower Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack

Every Charger comes standard with all-wheel drive and offers two-door coupe or four-door sedan configurations — because with performance comes choice.

The Dodge lineup is also fueled by the fastest American gas-powered SUV ever, the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, powered by the legendary supercharged HEMI V-8 engine, now available in all 50 states. The new Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak breaks free from conventionwith the three-row SUV, unlocking  more than13 million potential customization combinations. The 360-horsepower 5.7-liter Durango GT HEMI AWD remains the most affordable AWD V-8 in the industry.

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.

Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
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