NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS PREVIEW

LEAH PRUETT AND MATT HAGAN LOOK TO CARRY MOMENTUM TO NEW TRACK

ADEL, Ga. (April 30, 2026) – Tony Stewart Racing will take on a new race track on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule. The NHRA Southern Nationals, previously contested at Atlanta Dragway, returns to the NHRA national event schedule at South Georgia Motorsports Park, just outside of Valdosta, Georgia.

With his win at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, the 1,000th NHRA Funny Car race winner, Matt Hagan and the Dodge//SRT Hellcat team extended the sport’s longest active winning streak to 14 seasons. This weekend they head to a track where Hagan’s already cemented his name in history. The four-time world champion will forever be known as the first driver to make a sub-four-second run in a Funny Car, and he did it at his home race track.

“I remember making that 3.99-pass. We had been saving some parts and pieces towards the end of the season and so I knew that we had some good stuff on the car,” said Hagan of his 2011 3.995-second pass. “It was one of those things where it was night and it was cool, where you could see your breath. You always get those feelings when your crew chief kind of looks at you in there at you and before he turns the knob and walks away, like, ‘hold on, bud.’ That has stuck with me, such a special moment. To break into the 3.99-range in 1,000-feet, that was really cool, especially to do it at Charlotte.”

Hagan, who calls Christiansburg, Virginia, less than three hours away, home, is looking for his fifth victory at the facility just outside of Charlotte. Overall, in 22 four-wide appearances, which includes events at zMAX Dragway and the no longer competed Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, Hagan has raced in the final quad 13 times with three wins and three runner-up finishes. Hagan’s fourth win at zMAX came the same weekend of his historic three-second pass.

“Winning in Pomona was great. Then you come into Charlotte, it’s my home track. It’s just such a great place,” Hagan said. “The Bruton Smith tracks, they’re always just top-notch. The facilities are great. The fans are great. I’ve got a lot of family and friends coming out so we’re going to have a lot of support with us. I’m looking forward to it.”

In Top Fuel, Leah Pruett is trying to become just the third woman to win in the four-wide discipline after six-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders and two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force. When Pruett, who is returning to competition after taking two years off to start a family, last competed in the Charlotte 4-Wide National event in April 2023, she qualified third and was runner-up to now two-time Funny Car champion Austin Prock. It was her first final quad appearance.

“I feel pretty well prepared. Just because I’ve been to all the 4-wides watching, and I actually saw way more racing when I wasn’t in the car than I ever had before; up there waiting for Matt or Tony to run, and really watching what some of my competitors do: who likes to be in early, or who is the most versatile? I took the opportunity to educate myself more, but I also used to wear recording glasses a couple years ago and I have an album in my phone titled ‘race car glasses’ that I can look back on. So, I feel prepared, and the quicker you can feel prepared, the more confidence that can come,” Pruett said. “That’s the spot that I’m racing in right now. I’m looking forward to it. I know some racers hate it and there are racers like (husband) Tony [Stewart] who absolutely love it, but I fall in the category of, you have a situation, you can’t change the situation, what you can change is your attitude about it. We have a premier track ahead of us, premier racing ahead of us, we are able to adapt to any situation, and we have the ability to go very far at this race. To be honest, it’s only three rounds you have to win on Sunday. We can do that.”

Through the first three races, Pruett has been a top three qualifier and picked up the No. 1 spot at the Pomona Winternationals. Her performance has carried over to race day with two quarterfinal exits and a runner-up finish at her home race in Phoenix. Pruett might be fifth in points but she’s only 36 out of the top spot, 15 from third.

Both Hagan and Pruett will have an opportunity to get race day ready with the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Saturday during qualifying. With the four-wide format, not only do semifinalist from the previous race get a rematch, but quarterfinalists as well.

Competition at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway begins with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 4:15 and 7 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Eliminations are slated for Sunday at noon. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at noon ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.