Bristol Advance for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan

Top Fuel | Funny Car
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
June 9-11 | Bristol, Tennessee

Event Overview

Friday, June 9 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 5 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q2)/NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations – Round 1: 8 p.m. EDT

Saturday, June 10 (Nitro Qualifying, NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q3)/NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations – Round 2: 2 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q3)/NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations – Round 2: 2:30 p.m. EDT
• NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations – Semi-Finals/Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Round 1: 4:15 p.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q4)/NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations – Finals/Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Finals: 5:30 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q4)/ NHRA New England Nationals Eliminations – Finals/Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Finals: 6 p.m. EDT

Sunday, June 11 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 12 p.m. EDT
• Round 2: 2:10 p.m. EDT
• Semi-Finals: 3:40 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 5:15 p.m. EDT

TV coverage on FS1
• Friday, June 9: Bristol Qualifying (7 p.m. EDT)
• Friday, June 9: Epping Finals – Round 1 (8 p.m. EDT)
• Saturday, June 10: Epping Finals – Remaining Rounds (10:30 p.m. EDT)
• Sunday, June 11: Bristol Qualifying Recap (12:30 p.m. EDT)
• Sunday, June 11: Bristol Finals (7 p.m. EDT)

Notes of Interest

• The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway hosts the eighth event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ 21-race calendar. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two fulltime entries – one in Top Fuel for 10-time Top Fuel winner Leah Pruett and one in Funny Car for 46-time Funny Car winner and three-time champion Matt Hagan.

• Coming into Bristol, Pruett is fourth in the Top Fuel standings, 28 points behind leader Steve Torrence. Hagan leads the Funny Car standings with a 14-point advantage over Ron Capps.

• Pruett enters Bristol representing Rush Truck Centers on her red Top Fuel dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports the red, white, blue and black colors of Operation Healing Forces (OHF) and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG) on his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car.

• Rush Truck Centers is the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America with 140 locations in 23 states and 15 locations in Canada and takes pride in its integrated approach to customer needs – from vehicle sales to aftermarket parts, service and body shop operations, plus financing, insurance, leasing and rental, as well as alternate fuel systems and other vehicle technologies. Rush Truck Centers proudly employs 3,000 talented service technicians and they are the heartbeat of its dealerships. The company is always looking to add the best and brightest technicians to its team. Service technicians interested in looking for the next step in their careers can find additional information and listings of open positions on the Rush Enterprises Technician Careers page.

• Operation Healing Forces was formed in 2011 with the goal of strengthening human bonds amongst the Special Operation Forces (SOF) community. OHF’s programs are specifically designed and tailored to enable war-torn men and women to break through the silence and openly discuss their battlefield and personal hardships and provide needed support. OHF believes in reintegration, rehabilitation and resiliency.

• Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage was formed in 2021 by Jason Johnson and brings a passion and flare to the automotive realm. They aim to inspire, drive and celebrate progress. JHG spans across Johnson’s car collection featuring more than 200 sought after vehicles from classics, to hot rods and supercars. JHG’s mission is to preserve and showcase the automotive industry. The vehicles are driven to and displayed at events by Johnson and his team with the goal of growing interest and keeping car culture thriving.

• The previously scheduled NHRA New England Nationals that will now take place during qualifying at Bristol Dragway will mark Pruett’s 193rd career Top Fuel start. For Hagan, the NHRA New England Nationals will be his 318th career Funny Car start.

• Pruett enters the NHRA New England Nationals at Bristol Dragway qualified in the No. 3 position, where she will face Doug Kalitta in Round 1. Hagan enters the NHRA New England Nationals at Bristol Dragway qualified in the No. 2 position, where he will face Terry Haddock in Round 1.

• The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge that would have been determined following the NHRA New England Nationals and contested at Bristol Dragway will still take place during Saturday’s Semifinals and Finals in Bristol. Since the events will run concurrently, the winner of the NHRA New England Nationals will also be the winner of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

• The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will mark Pruett’s 194th career Top Fuel start and her 10th at Bristol. For Hagan, the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will be his 319th career Funny Car start and his 14th at Bristol.

• Pruett is looking for her first victory at the Thunder Valley Nationals. She has advanced to the finals once at Bristol in 2017, where her 3.881 ET at 307.09 mph run was bested by Clay Millican (3.825 ET at 316.38 mph). Pruett is seeking her first No. 1 qualifier at Bristol.

• Hagan has one career win at Bristol in 2015 (4.164 ET at 303.23 mph) when he defeated Ron Capps (4.186 ET at 307.02 mph). He also advanced to the finals in 2016, but his 4.030 ET at 317.57 mph run fell short of the one from Tommy Johnson Jr. (4.038 ET at 313.22 mph). Hagan is seeking his first No. 1 qualifier at the event.

• Hagan is the current track record holder at Bristol for speed with a run of 330.34 mph, a mark he set on Oct. 16, 2021.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Rush Truck Centers Top Fuel Dragster

With Bristol Dragway being known as the Thunder Valley Nationals, what makes the track so unique from a fan’s perspective?
“The V-shape of the mountains where the track pieces in the valley amplify the percussion of the Dodge HEMI’s like no other experience. The luscious green rolling landscape provides a beautiful arena for fans and campers to explore as they navigate the pit area. There are few tracks where you feel like you are a fan almost on top of the racetrack and this is one of them. Also, the characteristic sounds of the nitro cars are magnified from when the drivers turn fuel on, step off the clutch, launch, the timing is pulled, pedal jobs happen and there are possible explosions. All of it is extremely noticeable and enriches the fan experience from a first-timer to a motorhead.”

The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will mark the completion of the first half of the regular season, prior to the Countdown. By the end of the weekend, teams will have established their routines, so how will that help you and your crew carry momentum through the second half of the regular season?
“Routines were definitely established earlier on in the season, so now it’s more of our tune-up approach that we have been dialing-in and we finally feel we have a raceable program. Our setup is always evolving and learning, so every race we tally off just makes our program even stronger. We have won more rounds by the midpoint of this season than we did our entire last season and we’re not stopping there. That is part of our momentum, but we’re mostly not pigeon-holing ourselves into a tune-up where we can only run well in the heat or mineshaft conditions. With the details of the Bristol weekend events still not solidified, we do know it is going to be monumental and full of battles on three fronts. My blood inside me gets excited thinking how almost every lap we make there has the chance to be a competition round. We’ll be finalizing the Epping #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, ramping straight into Epping eliminations while qualifying for the Bristol race and of course the Bristol race on Sunday. It’s going to be one of the most ultimate race events Bristol has ever had, which in turn is going to be thrilling for fans every single day. I truly believe we will get to prove the culmination of our competition being on Thunder Mountain.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Operation Healing Forces/Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

Bristol is considered a home race for you. What makes the event so special?
“I have a lot of folks that come out to Bristol to support us, with it being one of our home races. Charlotte is also comparable. It’s one of those races you always want to do well at. It’s always special when I can win there. It’s been a little while since we’ve brought home the Wally from Bristol, so we’re going to try and do it this year.”

The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will mark the completion of the first half of the regular season, prior to the Countdown. By the end of the weekend, teams will have established their routines, so how will that help you and your crew carry momentum through the second half of the regular season?
“Whether first half or second half of the season, we’ve always had a lot of great momentum. I don’t feel like we’ve had a streak of races this season yet that have been the same. It’s been hot, cold, different track conditions, you name it. We’re having to dig back through notes to figure out what calls to make on the line, since some races have been so extreme. Weather has been unpredictable. You can have all the momentum in the world, but you have to have good notes to go off of. I feel like we do have great notes, since our team has been together so long. I’m looking forward to getting to Bristol and also getting to run the Epping eliminations as part of the race weekend.”

-TSR-

Contact Ashley Wilson
Tony Stewart Racing
(303) 594-8147 or [email protected]