NHRA Gatornationals Event Recap

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan

Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers

53^rd NHRA Gatornationals

March 11-13 | Gainesville, Florida

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster:

●  Friday’s qualifying session was canceled due to rain. 

●  The Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout served as Round 1 of qualifying: 5.125 ET at 277.34 mph, lost to Steve Torrence (3.697 ET at 329.50 mph) 

●  Round 2 of qualifying was canceled due to cold temperatures on a rain-shortened day. 

●  With just one round of qualifying due to the weather-impacted schedule, only the top-16 cars advanced to Sunday’s eliminations. Pruett’s time of 5.125 ET at 277.34 mph placed her 18^th, putting her among the four drivers unable to compete on Sunday.

●  Currently 14^th in the championship standings, 180 points behind Top Fuel leader Mike Salinas. 

Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car: 

●  Friday’s qualifying session was canceled due to rain. 

●  Earned No. 4 qualifying position on Saturday (3.898 ET at 320.13 mph)

●  Round 2 of qualifying was canceled due to cold temperatures on a rain-shortened day. 

●  Advanced to Finals on Sunday:

    ●  Round 1: 5.266 ET at 258.57 mph, defeated Dave Richards (9.057 ET at 83.17 mph)

    ●  Round 2: 4.021 ET at 315.42 mph, defeated Terry Haddock (no time)

    ●  Semifinal: 3.894 ET at 332.84 mph, defeated Chad Green (4.011 ET at 288.33 mph)

    ●  Final: 3.910 ET at 339.96 mph, defeated Blake Alexander (9.561 ET at 80.15 mph)

●  Currently second in the championship standings, 11 points behind Funny Car leader Robert Hight. 

Notes of Interest

●  Hagan’s Funny Car win delivered Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) its first victory in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, and it came in just the team’s third start. 

●  This was Hagan’s milestone 40^th career Funny Car win, but his first at the Gatornationals after 13 previous attempts.

●  Hagan has advanced to the semifinals in all three NHRA events this year, and he has advanced to the finals in the last two races. 

●  Hagan’s victory put team owner Tony Stewart in elite company. He is only the fifth team owner to score wins in both NHRA and NASCAR, joining Kenny Bernstein, Raymond Beadle and his fellow NASCAR Hall of Famers Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush.

●  Stewart was a winner in two disciplines on Sunday. In addition to Hagan’s Funny Car victory in Gainesville, Chase Briscoe scored a win for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. It was Briscoe’s first career victory, but the 93^rd overall win for SHR, the team Stewart co-owns with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas.

●  Leah Pruett was one of eight Top Fuel drivers to compete in the inaugural Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout Saturday at Gainesville. The Callout pitted the top-eight Top Fuel drivers against one another in a winner-take all event worth $80,000. Pruett entered the Callout as the sixth seed, and it was reigning champion Steve Torrence who called out Pruett as his competitor. Due to weather, only one round of the Callout was completed, and it also served as the qualifying round for Sunday’s eliminations. The remaining rounds of the Callout will be held Sept. 3 during the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. 

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster

“I have to say the ‘Gators’ definitely got us. When we went up there for the Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout, we went to race, compete and throw down a low 70s or high 60s number. Ultimately, we just didn’t have enough power and that goes back to our database. The positive side of that is we’ve already regrouped and found the issues. It is unfortunate because we didn’t realize that one run would be the final qualifying session. There are a couple of other big teams that also didn’t qualify. We’ll figure it out, it’s just going to take laps. I truly have all the faith in this team and we will get our round wins.” 

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“It was just a matter of time before we got this win. Not to brag or boast, but crew chief Dickie Venables is a genius. Dickie can do things with a racecar and just go off his gut instinct and the things that he does are just phenomenal. When you look at the stats and the numbers, we basically won more races together than anybody else in the last 10 years. It’s chemistry. You can’t buy it. You click and work together and we have a group of individuals that are driven and goal-oriented. It’s exciting for me. It’s one of those things where, when it’s good, it’s just really good, and that’s what we have here with our team.

“There was definitely a different kind of feel to it today because the air was different and the track was different, and a lot of these big hitting cars couldn’t pull their stuff back enough. It’s a testament to Dickie Venables, Mike Knudson and Alex Conaway and what they did to reel my car back in when we were out there. I know we might kind of be in trouble when Robert (Hight) smoked them at the first hit. And then we went up there and I had to pedal it to get it to the finish line. They did a great job this weekend putting a good racecar underneath me to go down the track.

“To get this first win at the Gatornationals and Tony Stewart’s first win in a drag car, it’s pretty awesome. He wants to be here, and it says a lot for our sport. It was a good weekend for Tony, a good weekend for NHRA, and I’m just very blessed and humbled to be here. I want to make sure I’m showing up on the starting line and doing my part and I just know what this team is capable of. It’s a lot of tough competition, but as a driver, that’s exciting.

 

“It was just a big weekend for me, personally. I’ve been wanting to win this race and check it off on my career box, and I think this allows me to accomplish everything I’ve ever set out to do in NHRA.”

Tony Stewart, Team Owner

“I’m very excited about today. TSR got its first Nitro win, and it was pretty cool because Matt Hagan, Dickie Venables and most of the crew got their first win here too. It was a first for a lot of us and a first for the team. It was a special day and the Gatornationals is such a special event for the NHRA. I couldn’t be more proud of our crew and any happier for our guys on the win.” 

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals April 1-3 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.