MOPAR NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS POWERED BY DODGE RACE RECAP

THE STRIP AT LVMS

LEAH PRUETT
Dodge Top Fuel Dragster

Unofficial Points Standing:
4th
13-time NHRA National Event Winner
Finished 2023 runner-up in championship points
Won NHRA New England Nationals with No. 1 qualifying run Friday night at Bristol Dragway
Finished runner-up up at the 2026 NHRA Arizona Nationals
Has two No. 1s this season (Winternationals, Thunder Valley Nationals)

Qualifying:
No. 6, 3.705 seconds at 332.84 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 4
Q1: 3.734 at 324.51
Q2: 3.720 at 321.65
Q3: 3.705 at 332.84
Q4: 3.717 at 331.85

Race Results:
E1: 3.714 at 332.26 def. Tony Schumacher 11.729 at 81.64
E2: .073 RT, 3.687 at 333.58 def. Josh Hart .092, 3.681 at 339.45
Semis: 4.871 at 223.76 def. Antron Brown 8.902 at 84.38
Finals: 5.751 at 124.89 lost to Doug Kalitta 3.658 at 338.60

Quotes:

“Sometimes you have momentum and momentum propels you forward; other times, you hit speed bumps in your momentum. I say that because we had fantastic momentum in qualifying with four solid passes—a real bracket car. Race day started out with that momentum continuing to build with a 3.71 in the first round—not low of the session by any means, but something to work from. Coming into our second round of the day, the driver, crew chiefs, and team were all on the same page. It feels really good to get a holeshot win, as those are hard to come by. That was a heck of a race in the second round against Josh Hart—both running 3.68s, and we came up on the right side of it.

“Going into the semi-final against Antron Brown, the weather conditions changed drastically which ultimately caught a number of people with their pants down. Both Antron and I had trouble on the track, but I was able to recover, regain traction, and get the win in that semi. That was a pause in our momentum, but we analyzed it. We are constantly learning and tuning on the fly. We realize we’re not just racing to race; we are constantly analyzing how we’re racing.

“Rolling up to the final round against a car and a team that has an absolute stranglehold on these tight, cool conditions, we knew we needed to dive into our Mac Toolbox and optimize our tuning tools for a mid-3.65. Unfortunately, we shook into smoke in the right lane and were unable to capture that Diamond Wally for Dodge and MOPAR at their title race.

“Personally, I go into every single race day with the goal of taking it one round at a time, winning a Wally, and gathering points. But honestly, each race is about doing better and constantly improving. When you do that, you get the results. For the most part, I’m proud of my driving, and overall, I’m proud of our Dodge team and how we navigated this race day. The car’s performance may not have shown it all the way, but if there’s one thing I know, Mike Domagala and Neal Strausbaugh are masters at doing more with less.

“On another personal note, I would absolutely be lying if I didn’t say there were some emotions coming into these final races of the season that present an oxymoron. I’m living through moments that feel immediately nostalgic because I will be looking back on them and knowing I gave it my absolute all. I used all the tools in my toolbox—my mindset, my ‘don’t-give-an-f-ness,’ not sweating the small stuff, and being the powerful racer that I know I am. Mentally, I’m more than hungry—I’m starving for the satisfaction of knowing I’m giving it my all every single time.

“Putting a period on that, as we move into Pomona, our learning curve here this weekend will probably be very beneficial to the cool weather and track conditions that the Pomona Finals serve up. We will take this momentum straight into the World Finals.”

MATT HAGAN
Dodge // SRT Hellcat Funny Car

Unofficial Points Standing:
1st

Current Funny Car points leader and regular season champion
Ended a seven-race semi-final finish or better streak
Four wins this season, Winternationals, Thunder Valley Nationals, Brainerd Nationals, Nationals at The Rock
59 career wins
Has visited six final rounds this season
14 season streak with at least three wins
Tied for winningest driver in Countdown history (19, tied w/ Greg Anderson)
Four-time world champion (2023, 2020, 2014, 2011)
Finished 2025 season runner-up

Qualifying:
No. 2, 3.868 seconds at 332.51 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 3
Q1: 3.945 at 327.03
Q2: 8.315 at 78.66
Q3: 3.871 at 330.88
Q4: 3.868 at 332.51

Race Results:
E1: 3.882 at 332.18 def. Dave Richards 3.928 at 329.10
E2: 3.890 at 331.04 lost to JR Todd 3.883 at 336.40

Quotes:

“Tough weekend here in Las Vegas. We qualified well but obviously race day was a little challenging there. With how the ladder was, we really could have set ourselves up to put our foot on their throats but it just wasn’t in the cards today. Wish we could have gotten the job done for MOPAR and Dodge at their title race but the good thing is, we’ll head into the Pomona Finals with the points lead.

“Last year, heading into the season finale, we felt like we really still had a chance to get it done and we were 90 points back so to go in with the points lead, nothing to hang our heads about. At the end of the day, we just have to keep digging. There are going to be some tight, close races. I think the biggest thing is though, we still need to have fun. You can’t lose sight of enjoying what we’re doing, because when you do and you start getting knotted up about it, that’s when you start making mistakes. We’re blessed to just even be here and have the opportunity to race for a championship and make some history. The field is as tight as it’s ever been, and the competition is as tough as it’s ever been. We just have to keep doing the best job we can, and it’ll be alright.”