Pomona Event Recap for the Winternationals – HAGAN WINS!

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan

Top Fuel | Funny Car
63rd NHRA Winternationals
March 31-April 2 | Pomona, California

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Rinnai Top Fuel Dragster:
• Earned No.11 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.722 ET at 156.57 mph)
• Earned No. 2 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Saturday (3.725 ET at 331.04 mph). Q2 was also part of the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Pruett faced Shawn Langdon. Pruett defeated Langdon’s 6.908 ET, 91.06 mph run.
• Scored three bonus point for quickest run of the session.
• Secured No. 3 qualifying position based off Saturday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 3.732 ET at 326.48 mph. Q3 served as the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, where Pruett faced Justin Ashley. Pruett got defeated by Ashley’s 3.707 ET, 330.15 mph run.
• Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session.
• Ran a 4.208 ET at 231.60 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Austin Prock (3.739 ET at 331.53 mph).
• Currently sixth in the championship standings, 73 points behind Top Fuel leader Justin Ashley.

Matt Hagan, driver of the Haas Automation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
• Earned No. 6 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.962 ET at 302.46 mph)
• Fell to the No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Saturday (4.555 ET at 184.85 mph).
• Secured No. 10 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.985 ET at 323.89 mph.
• Advanced to Finals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.929 ET at 330.07 mph, defeated Blake Alexander (3.941 ET at 324.36 mph).
• Round 2: 3.950 ET at 324.67 mph, defeated Alexis DeJoria (4.060 ET at 269.62 mph).
• Semifinals: 3.955 ET at 326.40 mph, defeated Terry Haddock (4.110 ET at 299.60 mph).
• Finals: 3.967 ET at 328.06 mph, defeated Ron Capps (4.303 ET at 211.13 mph.
• Currently leads the Funny Car championship standings with a 26-point advantage over Ron Capps

Notes of Interest

• Hagan’s win marks his seventh overall at Pomona and his fourth in the Winternationals. He’s now second-all time in wins at Pomona Dragstrip to John Force, who has 16 wins overall.
• By advancing to the Semifinals, Hagan has secured his position in the NHRA’s #2Fast2Tasty Mission NHRA Challenge, where he will face off against Terry Haddock at Chicago. The semifinalists from Pomona will rematch during qualifying on Saturday, with bonus money and points on the line. The #2Fast2Tasty Challenge will not take place at the next two NHRA Four-Wide events.
• The Winternationals served as Rinnai’s first race as primary sponsor in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series with Pruett.
• Hagan earned Haas Automation their first win in the NHRA as primary sponsor of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car. Haas Automation was founded by Gene Haas, the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Rinnai Top Fuel Dragster

“Leaving the Pomona Winternationals without a win light on Sunday in our Rinnai dragster definitely does sting. However, our overall performance for the week is a projection of how offensive we have been racing as opposed to defensive in the previous year. That’s what it takes to continue momentum. Qualifying third, we were one spot away from what we call the ‘top tiers’ for first and second, especially when you have 14 cars on the property. We were trying to hit that in qualifying and were just shy of it by qualifying third. From there on out, it doesn’t matter who you are up against. Every single one of them is pretty much a marquee matchup. We went up to run a .68. We had very comparable notes to the Finals and other runs from this year. The shaft was fast yearly and it gathered more tire temperature outside of our parameters, which ultimately breaks the tires loose, which is what happened. I peddaled it and gained traction, but Austin (Prock) was on a very fierce run. We do not have our heads held low by any means. We are dedicated to this offensive mentality and maximizing what the track conditions have and to hold. It’s part of the learning curve and we know we have final rounds in us. We’re looking forward to the Code 3 Associates family joining us in Vegas running four-wide. We’re making a lot of power right now and Vegas is one of the places you need it, so we’ll be dialed-in.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Haas Automation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“It was nice to be able to come out here and debut Haas Automation and Gene Haas. I’m very proud to represent such a prominent name in motorsports. It’s great to have Tony (Stewart) come over to drag racing and bring these new sponsors. I feel like it’s going to help our sport grow. Not just with our team, but with other teams also. It’s been a wonderful weekend. The right lane was giving us a tough time all weekend and it was a handful. For Dickie Venable (crew chief), Mike Knudsen (co-crew chief), Alex Conaway (car chief) and all of the guys wrenching on my car, I’m so thankful for them. They always find a way to put a great race car underneath me. I try to rise to the occasion when I can and turn on the win lights. It’s a great day when you can move up from being the No. 10 qualifier and win the race. I woke up this morning feeling like we had a bit of a hill to climb. As the car continues to go down the racetrack, you get more confident. I’m always glad to have Dickie in our corner. I’ve already told him that I hope I can retire my career with him as my crew chief one day. At the end of the day, I’m really proud of our guys. Thank you to Gene Haas for putting his business on our car and allowing us to pull it into winner’s circle.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals April 14-16 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

-TSR-

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