‘New Dad’ Stewart, Hagan Advance to Semifinals at NHRA Finals in TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Nitro Machines
Racing legend Tony Stewart had a memorable day Sunday with the birth of his first child and advanced to the semifinals in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster at the In-N-Out NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., while his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT teammate Matt Hagan also scored a semifinal finish in the Funny Car division.
Stewart, a Top Fuel rookie, qualified seventh in the 16-car field on Saturday and then flew to Phoenix to support his wife, Leah Pruett, for the birth of their son, Dominic James, at 4:43 a.m. Sunday morning, before returning to the In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip at 8 a.m. for the final eliminations of the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series finale.
After replacing his wife as the driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster in March when the Stewarts decided to start a family in 2024, the man known as “Smoke” proved to be consistent and quick off the starting line during the season. On Sunday, he scored victories over Billy Torrence and Gary Pritchett in the opening two rounds of Top Fuel action.
With little or no sleep, Stewart advanced to the semifinals to take on defending World Champion Doug Kalitta and held a slight advantage early in the matchup. However, Kalitta’s nitro-burning dragster won the race with a 3.678 to Stewart’s 3.738.
The semifinal finish for the NASCAR Hall of Famer secured him the ninth spot in the final NHRA Mission Top Fuel points standings in his first season at the wheel of a 11,000-horsepower dragster.
“I think I’ve ran on adrenaline all day with about two hours of sleep,” said Stewart. “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. She is a stronger woman than I will ever be as a man. 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 and 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.
“I’m proud of how I drove the car this year in my first Top Fuel season. 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. 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. Now we have to make our program better in the offseason.”
Pruett watched eliminations on television from her hospital room with little Dominic by her side and was proud of her husband ‘s performance in light of the hectic weekend events.
“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,” said Pruett. “It took a lot of logistical coordination for Tony to be present for his firstborn during a busy race weekend, and the Top Fuel team to be unaffected. After my water broke, I was confident Tony could get Q3 and Q4 in before the baby arrived. As soon as he was able, 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) with immense joy, full hearts and minimal shuteye. Tony was able to return to Pomona in time for warm-up with the team and for the first round of eliminations. 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.”
Hagan, the four-time and reigning World Funny Car Champion, qualified fourth in his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat and scored early round wins over Steven Densham and Daniel Wilkerson to advance to the semifinals Sunday.
A six-time winner at the In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip in his Funny Car career, Hagan took on the new World Champion Austin Prock in a classic semifinal matchup, but Prock’s 3.812 run was too much for Hagan’s 3.866. With the semifinal finish Sunday, Hagan finished fourth in the final NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings with a trio of victories during the season, ending just ten points out of third.
“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,” said Hagan. “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 great. We qualified well and we came up against the toughest car of the class all season. Austin 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 off-season 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. I’m confident we’ll be fighting for the championship in 2025.”
Driving the JCM/Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster in her initial NHRA Mission season, Ida Zetterström of Sweden continued her learning curve in the highly competitive Top Fuel category at Pomona, running consistently in the 3.70 range. Unfortunately, she was matched up against Kalitta in the first round of action Sunday and lost when her dragster’s tires lost traction right after the starting line.
The 2024 NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series Awards presentation will take place on Monday, Nov. 18, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.
The 2025 NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series is scheduled to begin at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., on March 6-9.
This story was originally published on November 18, 2024.
The post ‘New Dad’ Stewart, Hagan Advance to Semifinals at NHRA Finals in TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Nitro Machines first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
