Las Vegas Event Recap for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Top Fuel | Funny Car
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
April 12-14 | Las Vegas

Event Recap

Tony Stewart, driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster:
• Earned No. 6 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.248 ET at 211.33 mph)
• Earned No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.852 ET at 323.50 mph)
• Earned No. 7 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.807 ET at 324.59 mph). Q3 was also part of the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Stewart faced Justin Ashley, Doug Kalitta and Billy Torrence. Stewart defeated Torrence’s 3.803 ET, 332.26 mph run and Ashley’s 4.590 ET, 172.23 mph run. Kalitta also advanced with a 3.738 ET, 336.82 mph run.
• Secured No. 11 qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Stewart ran a 3.826 ET at 325.30 mph. Q4 also served as the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, where Stewart faced Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon. Stewart finished third to Brown’s 3.792 ET, 330.72 mph run and Langdon’s 3.798 ET, 305.56 mph run. Kalitta finished fourth with a 4.903 ET, 150.75 mph run.
• Advanced to the Finals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.773 ET at 319.29 mph, defeated Antron Brown (3.807 ET at 315.42 mph) and Krista Baldwin (DNF). Clay Millican also advanced to Round 2 (3.773 ET at 335.57 mph).
• Round 2: 3.754 ET at 322.42 mph, defeated Clay Millican (3.789 ET at 336.23 mph) and Terry Totten (4.052 ET at 248.16 mph). Justin Ashley also advanced to the Finals (3.798 ET at 298.01 mph).
• Final: 3.769 ET at 324.51 mph, lost to Doug Kalitta (3.715 ET at 333.58 mph), Justin Ashley in second (3.745 ET at 333.82 mph) and Steve Torrence in third (3.745 ET at 334.40 mph).
• Currently sixth in the championship standings, 145 points behind Top Fuel leader Justin Ashley

Matt Hagan, driver of the Operation Healing Forces/Shelor Motor Mile Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
• Earned No. 18 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.725 ET at 174.44 mph)
• Earned No. 6 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (4.010 ET at 323.12 mph)
• Earned No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.979 ET at 324.20 mph)
• Secured No. 10 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.972 ET at 322.27 mph)
• Advanced to the Finals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.922 ET at 329.91 mph, defeated John Force (4.165 ET at 257.63 mph) and Cruz Pedregon (6.059 ET at 112.15 mph). Jason Rupert also advanced to Round 2 (4.056 ET at 316.90 mph).
• Round 2: 3.938 ET at 327.19 mph, defeated J.R. Todd (3.951 ET at 321.81 mph) and Jason Rupert (4.055 ET at 317.64 mph). Ron Capps also advanced to the Finals (3.932 ET at 331.04 mph).
• Final: 3.895 ET at 328.54 mph, lost to Bob Tasca III (3.915 ET at 329.75 mph), Austin Prock in second (3.904 ET at 318.77 mph) and Ron Capps in third (3.902 ET at 330.00 mph).
• Currently fourth in the championship standings, 106 points behind Funny Car leader Austin Prock

Notes of Interest

• The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals marks the first time Hagan and Stewart have each advanced to the Finals in their respective nitro categories at the same event. They previously doubled-up on wins at the 2023 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals with Hagan in Funny Car and Stewart in the Top Alcohol Dragster.
• Hagan and Stewart both qualified to participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the next event, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Hagan represented Operation Healing Forces (OHF) and Shelor Motor Mile on his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car. OHF 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.
• Stewart represented the Rayce Rudeen Foundation on his Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster. The Rayce Rudeen Foundation is a non-profit organization that works with organizations and programs to encourage a healthy and productive life that is free of addiction. The designated 501(c)(3) is named in honor of Rayce Rudeen, who at age 26 passed away from an accidental Fentanyl overdose. Since its inception, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation has advocated for creating a supportive community in which everyone can access prevention, treatment, recovery and family-support services, all free from stigma. By collaborating with local universities, researchers, organizations, businesses and community coalitions, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is leading communities toward a united and compassionate response to addiction by identifying gaps in care and building educational tools.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster

“I’m proud of the progress this team is making right now. We didn’t qualify as well as we wanted, but, with the Four-Wide, I don’t feel it is that important for eliminations. We were runner-up in the first quad (four cars) on a tie (time) and then, we outright won the next round and that makes us feel like we are gaining on it. I told the team that we are way ahead of where we were last week at Phoenix. And that was way ahead of the runs at Gainesville and Pomona. I feel like the team is doing a great job improving with each race, and we are in the window that we can make some small adjustments and pick speed. I think the crew is a little dejected with the final, but from the boss’ perspective, I can see us gaining on it. And we made great progress in just a week. I like seeing them pout a bit right now because of losing, but I’ll get them smiling again and ready for Charlotte. We will focus on the positive moving forward. On Friday and Saturday, I don’t have a theory on why I was a little late on the lights. But today (Sunday), we were back leaving on good lights and got a 50 (.050 of a second) in the final. I wanted to be consistent on the lights, and that is the best for me as a rookie driver in Top Fuel. I’m happy with that finals light because I did everything as I normally do in every run. I’m looking forward to Charlotte now.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Operation Healing Forces/Shelor Motor Mile Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“Dickie (Venables – crew chief) is always a great racer on Sunday. The TSR team put a great race car under me today and we would have liked to put the Operation Healing Forces (OHF) car in the winner’s circle with the Nellis Air Force base next to the track. We are making progress with the car. We had a lot of stuff going on with engine’s bellhousing and we made some big wholesale changes with what the guys wanted to do. We are getting our race car back to where we want it. After a couple of races being down a bit, we can run some good numbers down. It’s tough when you get beat on a ‘holeshot’ but those four cars in the final were about a foot or 18 inches apart. That’s some awfully good racing. We are happy to be a part of those big ‘heavy hitters’ in the class. You never see the other cars when it’s that close, but you can hear them. Now we want to get this race car more dialed in as we go to Charlotte in two weeks.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals April 26-28 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.

-TSR-

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