NHRA Nevada Nationals Event Recap

NHRA Nevada Nationals

Oct. 28-30 | Las Vegas

Event Recap

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

●  Earned No. 14 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (12.009 ET at 55.93 mph).

●  Earned No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.746 ET at 329.18 mph). 

●  Maintained No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.716 ET at 331.69 mph).  

●  Secured No. 11 qualifying position based off Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 3.960 ET at 228.15 mph. 

●  Ran a 4.375 ET at 173.18 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Mike Salinas (3.723 ET at 329.58). 

●  Currently 12^th in the Top Fuel championship standings, 257 points behind leader Brittany Force.  

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

●  Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.898 ET at 333.25 mph).

●  Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session.

●  Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q2 on Friday, Hagan ran 4.353 ET at 199.67 mph.  

●  Fell to No. 6 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 5.066 ET at 147.09 mph.

  ●  Secured No. 2 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.862 ET at 330.23 mph).  

●  Scored three bonus points for quickest run of the session.

●  Advanced to Finals on Sunday:

    ●  Round 1: 4.123 ET at 254.62 mph, defeated Steven Densham (4.121 ET at 275.00 mph). 

    ●  Round 2: 3.909 ET at 331.77 mph, defeated Chad Green (3.940 ET at 320.20 mph).  

●  Semifinals: 3.924 ET at 330.07 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.904 ET at 328.86 mph). 

●  Finals: 3.896 ET at 330.23 mph, defeated Robert Hight (6.157 ET at 111.12 mph). 

●  Currently third in the Funny Car championship standings, 63 points behind leader Hight. 

Notes of Interest

●  Hagan’s Funny Car victory in the NHRA Nevada Nationals was the 43^rd of his career, his fourth of the season and his fourth at the NHRA Nevada Nationals. 

●  Hagan was in a must-win situation coming into the NHRA Nevada Nationals and the three-time Funny Car champion delivered. In defeating points-leader Hight, Hagan remains in contention to collect a fourth Funny Car title heading into the season finale in two weeks in Pomona, California.

●  Hagan and Hight had their 44^th career meeting Sunday at Las Vegas. It was the seventh time this season the two have competed against each other. Hight still leads 23-21 all-time.

●  Hagan has now gone back-to-back in final-round appearances. He advanced to the finals in the NHRA’s prior event at Dallas, where he lost to Ron Capps. 

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

“I always get amped up for Mike (Salinas). I didn’t do a stellar job on the line today and almost double-stepped it up there. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people and that’s exactly what we are. Our Dodge Power Brokers team is going to figure this out and keep going and focus on what we can do in Pomona.”

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

“Anything is possible. Dickie Venables (crew chief), Mike Knudsen (co-crew chief) and Alex Conaway (car chief) are making some real power with this Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, which is running strong. They’re putting a great hot rod underneath me. It’s cool to come out here on Sunday and win with two holeshots and be able to give my team the little extra bump to keep going. Sometimes you have to be a little lucky and sometimes you have to be a little good. You can never count Dickie out. This championship always comes down to the end. You just never know what’s going to happen and that’s what makes it so exciting for us as drivers, the crew chiefs, sponsors and fans.” 

Next Up

The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season culminates Nov. 11-13 in Pomona, California, with the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.