Pomona Event Recap for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals
Nov. 15-17 | Pomona, California

Event Recap

Tony Stewart, driver of the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster:
• Earned No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (6.832 ET at 95.21 mph).
• The second qualifying session on Friday was canceled due to rain
• Fell to No. 10 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Saturday (3.730 ET at 329.34 mph)
• Secured No. 7 qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.694 ET at 333.91 mph)
• Advanced to the Semifinals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.742 ET at 320.74 mph, defeated Billy Torrence (3.949 ET at 260.16 mph)
• Round 2: 3.712 ET at 334.15 mph, defeated Gary Pritchett (3.761 ET at 330.39 mph)
• Semifinals: 3.738 ET at 319.37 mph, lost to Doug Kalitta (3.678 ET at 334.90 mph)
• Finished ninth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 275 points behind champion Antron Brown

Matt Hagan, driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
• Earned No. 6 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.895 ET at 328.38 mph)
• The second qualifying session on Friday was canceled due to rain
• Fell to No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Saturday (4.499 ET at 187.05 mph)
• Secured No. 4 qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.838 ET at 331.94 mph)
• Advanced to the Semifinals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.874 ET at 329.18 mph, defeated Steven Densham (9.978 ET at 85.60 mph)
• Round 2: 3.856 ET at 333.66 mph, defeated Daniel Wilkerson (3.926 ET at 306.88 mph)
• Semifinals: 3.866 ET at 324.44 mph, lost to Austin Prock (3.812 ET at 331.04 mph)
• Finished fourth in the Funny Car championship standings, 298 points behind champion Austin Prock

Notes of Interest

• Leah Pruett and Stewart welcomed their first child on Sunday morning, son Dominic James Stewart. Stewart was able to complete qualifying on Saturday evening, before flying to Phoenix in time for Dominic’s arrival, then back to In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip for eliminations on Sunday.
• Stewart and Pritchett faced each other for the fifth time in NHRA competition this season. The pair previously competed against each other in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, where Stewart won four of the five matchups on his way to clinching the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 3.
• The In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals concludes Stewart’s first season in the Top Fuel Dragster class. He eligible for the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year award, which will be announced at tomorrow’s NHRA banquet. The eight racers eligible for this year’s award include Top Fuel’s Jasmine Salinas, Stewart and Ida Zetterstrom; Funny Car’s Daniel Wilkerson; Pro Stock’s Brandon Foster, Derrick Reese, and Sienna Wildgust; and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Richard Gadson. The NHRA Rookie of the Year award recognizes the top rookie competitor who also represents the future of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The nation’s leading auto racing journalists select the winner through a voting system based on the following criteria: number of events competed in, performance on and off the racetrack, participation in NHRA promotions, and relationships with fans, sponsors, and media.
• Despite losing in the Semifinals, Hagan shares with Robert Hight the record for Countdown wins in the Funny Car division with 16. He has won at least one Countdown race in a category best five consecutive seasons (excluding the Covid-shortened 2020 season in which there was no Countdown). The only active drivers with more Countdown wins overall are Antron Brown and Greg Anderson, each with 18.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster

“I would love to sit here and say I feel like my rookie season was a success, but it wasn’t. I’m proud of how I drove the car. I say that not from my own assessment, but from my team’s assessment – my crew chief, my guys, my wife Leah, and Matt Hagan. That made me feel good as a rookie driver. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t have it all figured out by any means, but for a rookie season and to do what we did, I’m proud of that. Performance wise with the car, it didn’t operate like we wanted it to this year. We lost in the Semifinals today against Doug Kalitta. Since I had very little sleep last night and left the hospital this morning, I feel I still had great reaction times today. I’m proud of the work and the effort we put in today. This weekend, our car performed better and we definitely made improvements. We had the best 60-foot number of the season against Doug. We’re seeing improvements and the needle move the right direction. Now we have to make our program better in the offseason and have room to grow. I think I’ve ran on adrenaline all day with two hours of sleep. I haven’t done near the amount of work my wife has done all year, especially the last ten months. I’m so proud of her and love her to death. I will do down in history until the day I die saying she is a stronger woman than I will ever be as a man. I firmly believe that. I’m proud to be her partner in life and I’m very proud to bring this little boy into the world. The short three hours I got to spend with him overnight was amazing, you couldn’t put a price tag on it. He did so much to make me laugh and pull on my heartstrings. I didn’t win a race or a championship today, but I feel like I put today in the category of wins and championships because we had a good day at the track. In the big picture, I had a great day as a human being and I’m very excited about that. We have a lot to look forward to in the offseason.”

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

“We didn’t get the championship this year after winning the title last year, but we showed we have a great team with the Tony Stewart Racing Direct Connection Dodge//SRT crew. We had three wins, and we battled for the championship to the final race. It’s not easy with the competition in the Funny Car ranks. We had a good day here at Pomona. The Hellcat car was running well. We qualified well and we came up against the toughest car of the class all season. Austin (Prock) is the heaviest hitter in Funny Car right now and we just lost a good drag race in the semis. I guess we have to set world records to beat him. I know we will work hard over the offseason to be ready for a championship run in 2025 at Gainesville. We have a championship crew here. My guys are just as good as the Force guys. We beat them last year for the title. It was a great day for Tony and Leah with their first son being born this morning, and I’m so happy for them. Of course, he was born on race day. That’s fitting. Tony supplies us with great sponsors like Dodge and Direct Connection, and great parts and pieces as well as a tremendous crew. I’m confident we’ll be fighting for the championship in 2025.”

Leah Pruett

“The Pomona Finals always serve lasting memories and today will forever go down in our personal history with our son entering the world on race day. It took a lot of logistical coordination for Tony to be present for his first born during a busy race weekend, and the Top Fuel team to be unaffected. With my water breaking on Saturday and a three hour drive to Phoenix ahead of me, I was confident Tony could get Q3 and Q4 in before the baby arrived. As soon as he was able to, Tony took a flight to Phoenix to be with me as I began labor, and supported me the entire time. We welcomed our son Dominic James Stewart (Dom) at 4:43 a.m. with immense joy, full hearts, and minimal shuteye. Tony was able to return to Pomona in time for warm-up with the team for the first round of eliminations, and was greeted with an immense welcome, then went on to race hard all day. Stepping out of the seat to start our family was not an easy decision, but the support from our crew, sponsors, and fans throughout this year through all of our changes has been greatly appreciated.”

Next Up

The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season kicks off March 7-9 with the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

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