Las Vegas Event Recap for the NHRA Nevada Nationals

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan

Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
NHRA Nevada Nationals
Oct. 27-29 | Las Vegas

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster:
• Earned No. 4 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.764 ET at 329.67 mph)
• Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.707 ET at 331.53 mph)
• Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
• Fell to No. 4 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 4.301 ET at 189.47 mph.
• Secured No. 5 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.704 ET at 330.96 mph)
• Ran a 3.699 ET at 332.26 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Josh Hart (3.740 ET at 326.40)
• Currently third in the Top Fuel championship standings, 34 points behind leader Steve Torrence

Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
• Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.909 ET at 324.44 mph)
• Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
• Maintained No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.871 ET at 322.58 mph)
• Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
• Maintained No. 3 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 4.039 ET at 260.36 mph.
• Secured No. 3 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 4.216 ET at 216.48 mph.
• Advanced to Semifinals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.889 ET at 330.72 mph, defeated Terry Haddock (6.844 ET at 98.13 mph)
• Round 2: 3.892 ET at 331.36 mph, defeated Paul Lee (3.947 ET at 317.64 mph)
• Semifinals: 3.901 ET at 328.38 mph, lost to Bob Tasca III (3.886 ET at 332.84 mph)
• Currently leading the Funny Car championship standings, 15 points ahead of Bob Tasca III

Notes of Interest

• Despite losing in the Semifinals, Hagan has advanced to the finals 10 times at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, more than any other venue.
• Pruett and Hagan remain in contention to collect their respective championship titles heading into the season finale in two weeks in Pomona, California.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster

“My Dodge Direct Connection team posted our quickest run of the weekend today with a 3.699 and was quicker than our opponent (Josh Hart). However, he was quicker off the line and was able to nudge us out by two thousandths of a second. What you would do for 2,000 right? Coming into this race, we knew that anything could change, but the focus was on expanding our points lead, and we couldn’t do that with a first round elimination. We are still very much in the mix, in the top and in the hunt coming down to the final race with points and a half. As a driver coming off of a win in Dallas and a hole shot victory final round, I had confidence coming into battle this weekend, but it’s difficult to do when the best light of the round is in the other lane. As they say, heavy is the head that wears the crown. But my head and our team’s heads are not down. My team has my back in a way where I’m going to be able to not only bounce back, but thrive. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We have a very consistent and well-performing car that’s very capable of gathering qualifying points, and winning the final race of the season and ultimately that’s what we plan to do.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“We struggled a little bit in qualifying. We had one good run, but had cylinders out both runs on Friday. We overpowered the track a little bit on Saturday. Dickie (Venables – crew chief) always regroups and puts a great race car underneath me on Sunday. We have a good car, but we were just on the backside of a good drag race. At the end of the day, this is a team sport, and we are surrounded by the best people. We all try to do the best job we can and I am super proud of my guys. They are showing up every run and parts and pieces aren’t falling off the race car. We have a big road ahead of us to try and win this championship in Pomona. That loss is a tough one to swallow. Will get back to work this week, and I will keep working on my lights.”

Next Up

The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season culminates Nov. 10-12 in Pomona, California, with the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

-TSR-

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