NHRA NATIONALS AT THE ROCK RACE RECAP
NHRA NATIONALS AT THE ROCK RACE PREVIEW
September 23, 2026
MATT HAGAN SOLIDIFIES POINTS LEAD WITH FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Sept. 27, 2026) – Four-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan delivered a relentless performance at Rockingham Dragway on Sunday, driving his Dodge//SRT Hellcat to a victory at the NHRA Nationals at The Rock. The win marks Hagan’s fourth national event victory of the season, his 59th career Funny Car title, and further cements his points lead in the Countdown to the Championship chase.
“What a great weekend, man,” Hagan said. “To come out here for The Rock and to see a sold-out crowd on Saturday, and just to see this sport grow, I think that’s a big thing. We’re here for loud, fast billboards, and people showed up to see it. We had a camera crew here this week doing a mini-documentary. I was trying to explain to them how cool this is, how fast and loud it is. They got in it and were like, ‘Oh my God, you’re right.’ That’s the response we get from everybody who comes for the first time, and then they’re like, ‘I’m buying tickets for next year.'” Hagan said. “That’s been real important to me as far as the fans go and trying to grow the sport. As much as you like winning and holding up trophies and everything else, it’s about what we do for the future of the sport, how we grow it, how we put butts in the seats, and how we put on that show.”
In his fourth consecutive final round, Hagan faced off with Paul Lee. Hagan powered down the track to post a 3.922-second pass at 327.75 mph. Lee, who was making a strong run of his own, lost traction near mid-track for a 4.534 pass at only 183.37.
Hagan opened eliminations with a victory against Dave Richards (3.916 at 329.19 def. 4.407 at 205.48). In the second round, Hagan faced off against his former teammate and title contender Ron Capps in a high-stakes matchup. Hagan secured the win (3.941 at 328.23 def. 4.035 at 309.07) before going on to defeat J.R. Todd (3.916 at 331.86 def. 3.931 at 336.83) in the semifinals.
“We had a great race track out there. (Crew chief) Mike Knudsen navigated it flawlessly. We did a really good job as a team putting four runs together on Sunday and executing on what we needed to do,” Hagan noted. “Mike is super young in this sport, but to get a kid that’s a year and a half in, and we’ve won so many races already together, the 1000th Funny Car race, the regular season championship, and here we are battling it out with four races to go for championship number five—it’s super special. I want it so bad for him because he deserves it and it solidifies him as a crew chief.
“Mentally, this stuff is stressful, man. The older I get, the more stress I feel with it. But you do get to be blessed to be in these situations. Most people kind of win one, and I think this is our 59th Wally, how blessed are we?” Hagan continued. “It’s unbelievable that I get to have a great race car underneath me, and it’s going down the racetrack, and I know that every time I sit in that car every Sunday morning, I have an opportunity to win, and that’s huge.
“The points chase is super competitive. There’s six cars that could just change the landscape at any given moment. As much as I’d love to sit here and say how great we’re doing, it takes one or two races of going out the first round, and it changes it. We have to keep working hard and keep putting that foot forward. I want to win this fifth championship not just for me but for my crew chief and the team. I’m excited for what we have. I’ve been very, very successful in this sport as far as four championships and so many races and a bunch of world records and all other stuff that’s happened, but I’ve never had what I have right now with this group.”
Hagan leaves Rockingham Dragway sitting atop the Funny Car standings, looking to build on his momentum as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season moves down the home stretch. Up next is race three of the six-race Countdown to the Championship, the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, October 2-4.
MATT HAGAN
Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Unofficial Points Standing:
1st
Current Funny Car points leader and regular season champion
Fourth win of the season, also won at the Winternationals, Thunder Valley Nationals, Brainerd Nationals
59th win of his career
112th final round of his career
Fourth consecutive final round, sixth of the seasom
14 season streak with at least three wins
Four-time world champion (2023, 2020, 2014, 2011)
Finished 2025 season runner-up
Qualifying:
No. 8, 3.935 seconds at 330.88 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 3
Q1: 3.982 at 327.27
Q2: 3.935 at 330.88
Q3: 3.970 at 327.99
Q4: 3.958 at 329.91
Race Results:
E1: 3.916 at 329.19 def. Dave Richards 4.407 at 205.48
E2: 3.941 at 328.23 def. Ron Capps 4.035 at 309.07
Semis: 3.916 at 331.86 def. J.R. Todd 3.931 at 336.83
Finals: 3.922 at 327.75 def. Paul Lee 4.534 at 183.37
Quotes:
“What a great weekend, man,” Hagan said. “To come out here for The Rock and to see a sold-out crowd on Saturday, and just to see this sport grow, I think that’s a big thing. We’re here for loud, fast billboards, and people showed up to see it. We had a camera crew here this week doing a mini-documentary. I was trying to explain to them how cool this is, how fast and loud it is. They got in it and were like, ‘Oh my God, you’re right.’ That’s the response we get from everybody who comes for the first time, and then they’re like, ‘I’m buying tickets for next year.'” Hagan said. “That’s been real important to me as far as the fans go and trying to grow the sport. As much as you like winning and holding up trophies and everything else, it’s about what we do for the future of the sport, how we grow it, how we put butts in the seats, and how we put on that show.”
“We had a great race track out there. (Crew chief) Mike Knudsen navigated it flawlessly. We did a really good job as a team putting four runs together on Sunday and executing on what we needed to do,” Hagan noted. “Mike is super young in this sport, but to get a kid that’s a year and a half in, and we’ve won so many races already together, the 1000th Funny Car race, the regular season championship, and here we are battling it out with four races to go for championship number five—it’s super special. I want it so bad for him because he deserves it and it solidifies him as a crew chief.
“Mentally, this stuff is stressful, man. The older I get, the more stress I feel with it. But you do get to be blessed to be in these situations. Most people kind of win one, and I think this is our 59th Wally, how blessed are we?” Hagan continued. “It’s unbelievable that I get to have a great race car underneath me, and it’s going down the racetrack, and I know that every time I sit in that car every Sunday morning, I have an opportunity to win, and that’s huge.
“The points chase is super competitive. There’s six cars that could just change the landscape at any given moment. As much as I’d love to sit here and say how great we’re doing, it takes one or two races of going out the first round, and it changes it. We have to keep working hard and keep putting that foot forward. I want to win this fifth championship not just for me but for my crew chief and the team. I’m excited for what we have. I’ve been very, very successful in this sport as far as four championships and so many races and a bunch of world records and all other stuff that’s happened, but I’ve never had what I have right now with this group.”
LEAH PRUETT
Dodge Top Fuel dragster
Unofficial Points Standing:
4th
13-time NHRA National Event Winner
Finished 2023 runner-up in championship points
Finished runner-up up at the 2026 NHRA Arizona Nationals
Has two No. 1s this season (Winternationals, Thunder Valley Nationals)
Won NHRA New England Nationals with No. 1 qualifying run Friday night at Bristol Dragway
Qualifying:
No. 4, 3.734 seconds at 323.74 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 1
Q1: 8.491 at 79.55
Q2: 3.734 at 323.74
Q3: 4.538 at 169.81
Q4: 11.7189 at 63.25
Race Results:
E1: 3.775 at 324.91 def. Tony Schumacher 3.776 at 330.40
E2: .060 RT, 3.772 at 327.75 lost to Will Smith .013 RT, 3.772 at 333.33
Quotes:
“As the saying goes, ‘It ain’t over till it’s over,’ and it is far from over with technically four and a half races left. The heat was on for us to rebound after Martin, Michigan and we did in qualifying from a number 12 position to fourth,” Pruett explained. “The crew chiefs made some very smart moves. We started the weekend off one run behind because we had no data acquisition from our first run. The recorder cut out so going into the most important qualifying session of pretty much almost any race, Q2, the crew chiefs had to tune by the look of the run, video review, my input of what type of shake it was, how bad it was, how long it was, if it was close to recovering as it went into smoke, etc. Really not ideal situations so for us to gather our momentum with a setback right off the trailer, is testament to our team.
“We’re also learning a lot,” she continued. “Basically, at the end of the day, we’ve got a really tight window of sticking the tire early and having too much wheel speed early, based on the setup that we have. So, there’s a couple new elements into our tuning matrix that these past two weekends—and specifically this weekend—have been put into play and painted a better picture.
“Our team is comprised of individuals that that know what it means to keep your head up and your nose to the grindstone, because like I said, yeah, two guys at the top might be really gathering up points out of the rest of the head of the field, but anything is possible,” Pruett said. “We overall made some really good decisions. Had to be honest, racing Tony Schumacher on the heels of our announcement of next year’s plans a little ironic, especially since it was the first time this year. I think even more impressive is how close that race was. A thousandth apart, and it came down to two drivers, and I was on the good side of that drag race—leaving first, getting there first, collectively moving on to the second round.
“My opinion is that Will Smith is the best leaver in the category consistently, and we knew what we were up against,” Leah continued. “I dug deep and I missed it, but even if I had cut my best light, or really anyone’s best light of the weekend, it still wouldn’t have been enough. I would have had to cut an .011.
“Ultimately, we’re expanding our wheelhouse. We knocked a lot of things off the bingo card, but getting to the semis, unfortunately, was not one of them. This is the time for zero mistakes to happen. We collectively have to move forward and push in ways that show confidence with what we’ve done. We gained a spot in the points and that’s what we need. We need to be able to gather a spot every race. And the next one to get around is our team owner, Tony Stewart, in the Elite machine.
So, although Tony and I haven’t, again, physically matched up head-to-head, side-by-side in competition, this is even more powerful and prominent than any regular season matchup. The support is there—Tony with our car, me with Elite, heck, you’ve even got Dominic rolling tires at the end of the night into the trailer. All that stays the same, but we’re treating the next person in line to knock off the points list just as if it would be anyone else. That’s our projection, that’s our goal. Off we go to St. Louis.”
