Dodge TSR Drivers Stewart, Hagan Dealt Close First-round Exits at NHRA Nevada Nationals
The world of racing is always a game of inches and that was the case Sunday at the NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT drivers Tony Stewart and Matt Hagan with close first-round losses in the Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions, respectively.
Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Fame racer from Indiana, drove his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster to a strong 3.735 run against three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in the opening round with cool conditions at the “Strip” at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the penultimate event of the 20-race NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series. Unfortunately, Brown’s 3.724 elapsed time nipped Stewart right at the finish line, ending the Dodge driver’s day early.
Stewart, who qualified sixth in the 16-car field at 3.703, now heads to the season finale at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals set for Nov. 14-17 in Pomona, California, and remains in the ninth position in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings in his rookie year in the Top Fuel category.
“I felt this weekend started off strong for us,” said Stewart, a champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC competition. “We had three solid qualifying sessions for myself and our Direct Connection Dodge//SRT team. We felt good going into eliminations today. My team put together a respectable car, but we ended up coming up short. Antron (Brown) and I battled it out, but, unfortunately, we blew up at the end. We’re putting today behind us. We’ll look ahead to testing tomorrow to put a good package together for Pomona.”
Hagan, the reigning NHRA Funny Car World Champion, was coming off an NHRA win at Texas last month with his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat and set his sights on another Nevada Nationals victory after four previous wins at the “Strip.”
The four-time NHRA champion looked to be on a strong qualifying run Saturday when an engine explosion slowed his chances for the No. 1 position. However, the TSR crew put in a quick repair, dropping in a new 11,000-horsepower, nitro-burning engine and replacing the SRT Hellcat body with the 50th anniversary Direct Connection livery. Hagan came back for the final qualifying round to drive to the sixth starting position at 3.854.
In the first round of eliminations, Hagan went up against young Daniel Wilkerson in another close decision at the finish line, with Wilkerson nipping Matt with a 3.880 to a 3.901. Despite the first-round exit, the Virginia driver still ranks fourth in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings as he heads to the final race of the season.
“We were just on the wrong side of a good drag race,” said Hagan. “It was a very tough first-round matchup with Wilkerson and his bunch. They can be tough at places like this in Las Vegas. They have been close to winning races. We were a little on the conservative side for the first round. We’re going to stay over and test some things on Monday for the next race, and next year. We still want to win for Dodge and Direct Connection at Pomona in two weeks.
“We had a tough week for the crew guys as we had a big explosion in Q3, and we had to take everything down to the chassis and even pull out the Indy 50th anniversary Direct Connection body. But they fought back, and we ran a 3.85 in the final session for the sixth position in qualifying. We didn’t have a year we wanted like last year with the season title, but I have a lot of confidence with this TSR Direct Connection Dodge team. They have won championships before, and they will win championships again. We’ll be ready for the 2025 season.”
Sweden’s Ida Zetterström, in her first year of NHRA competition, drove her JCM/Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster against defending World Champion Doug Kalitta in the first round, but her car smoked the tires while Kalitta advanced to the Nevada Nationals final round.
“Obviously, Doug Kalitta and his team, they’re the reigning champions for a reason and they are tough,” said Zetterström. “We definitely rolled up ready to put up a fight and just came up short this time. One more race to go but first we’ve got SEMA (trade show in Las Vegas). It’ll be great to spend some more time with our partners and our fans and then it’s back to Indy to regroup and get ready to finish the year strong in Pomona.”
Nitro action for the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals is scheduled for qualifying rounds on Friday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. PST and 4:30 p.m. PST with additional qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16, at 12:30 p.m. PST and 3 p.m. PST. Final eliminations will be on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 11 a.m. PST.
Fox Sports 1 television coverage of the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals will be televised on Sunday, Nov. 17, with the final eliminations being shown at 4 p.m. EST.
This story was originally published on November 4, 2024.
The post Dodge TSR Drivers Stewart, Hagan Dealt Close First-round Exits at NHRA Nevada Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
