Matt Hagan Drives TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car to 52nd Career Win at NHRA Texas FallNationals
Matt Hagan, the reigning NHRA Funny Car World Champion, fought through a tough field Sunday to capture his 52nd NHRA career victory at the wheel of his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat in the NHRA Texas FallNationals, while TSR teammate Tony Stewart exited in a first-round loss in the Top Fuel division.
Hagan, the 41-year-old driver from Christiansburg, Virginia, enjoyed a stellar weekend at the Texas Motorplex by scoring his second consecutive Texas FallNationals win and fifth overall at the concrete-surfaced drag strip south of the Dallas Metroplex. In addition, the four-time NHRA World Champion recorded his quickest elapsed time of the year with a 3.823 in qualifying for the No. 2 starting position in the 16-car field.
The Texas FallNationals triumph was his third NHRA national event win of the 2024 tour with earlier victories at Charlotte (April) and Joliet (May), and Hagan’s 98th career NHRA final round appearance, all in Dodge//SRT racecars.
In Sunday’s final round, Hagan took on former World Champion Ron Capps in a day of tough conditions that reached 95 degrees and a nearly 130-degree track surface, but the Dickie Venables-led TSR crew fought through the heat issues. Hagan, one of the best Funny Car reaction time drivers, proved his talent again with a “holeshot” victory over Capps, cutting a 0.064 light to a 0.084.
At the finish line, it was Hagan’s 3.943 bettering Capps’ 3.934 to claim the fifth Texas NHRA “Wally” trophy (2010, 2015, 2019, 2023-2024). In the earlier rounds, Hagan defeated Bobby Bode, Cruz Pedregon and Daniel Wilkerson to advance to the final round.
The win for Hagan moved him back in the third position in the current NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings with two races remaining in the 20-event NHRA Mission national series at Las Vegas (Nov. 1-3) and Pomona, California (Nov. 14-17).
“This win was really special,” said Hagan. “We’re always building great relationships with our partners, and we have really great partners with Dodge//SRT in our Hellcat Funny Car. I’ve been with them almost 15 years and won four championships with them. We had JHG on the car and had Andy Ross from American Rebel at the race.
“I love (Ron) Capps, but I was ready to take him out before the final. I’m just like ‘Let’s Go.’ You feel like you’re going in like a gladiator. This is kind of like rodeo stuff. You get in this crazy machine, and you never know what it’s going to do. We have a great crew, and they did a super job this weekend to get this win. Life is about people and those relationships are what really matter.”
In Top Fuel action, NASCAR Hall of Fame racer Tony Stewart continued his professional rookie Top Fuel campaign in the TSR Mobil1 Dodge//SRT dragster, but Stewart lost in the first round Sunday against veteran Shawn Reed with a 3.817 to Reed’s 3.753.
Stewart, the NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion, currently ranks tenth in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points standings with the final two races set for next month.
“This was a very challenging weekend, to say the least,” said Stewart. “We shouldn’t have put ourselves in the position of needing to qualify for the event in qualifying session No. 4. It left us in a tough spot in round one of eliminations. I’m really proud of Matt Hagan and the JHG Dodge//SRT crew for getting the win today. We will look ahead to Las Vegas now.”
Another Top Fuel rookie was in competition at the NHRA Texas FallNationals, as Sweden’s Ida Zetterström, the 2023 FIA World Top Fuel Champion, piloted her JCM Racing/Dodge//SRT against JCM Racing teammate Tony Schumacher in the opening round of eliminations. Schumacher bested his teammate with a 3.801 to a 4.082.
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will feature nitro action with qualifying rounds on Friday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. PDT and 3:30 p.m. PDT with additional qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. PDT and 3:30 p.m. PDT. Final eliminations will be on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 11 a.m. PST.
Fox Sports 1 television coverage of the Las Vegas event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 1, with the final eliminations being shown at 5 p.m. EST.
This story was originally published on October 14, 2024.
The post Matt Hagan Drives TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car to 52nd Career Win at NHRA Texas FallNationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
