- Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Funny Car driver Matt Hagan thought he was beating the reigning World Champion Austin Prock only to get nipped by inches Sunday at Phoenix
- The four-time NHRA World Champion was on a solid run in the second round at the NHRA Arizona Nationals when Prock’s Funny Car beat Hagan by a few inches at the finish line
- Despite clocking a quick elapsed time, Hagan’s TSR Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat lost on a holeshot reaction time by Prock at 0.0036 seconds
- Hagan defeated Bobby Bode in the first round with a strong 3.987 at 324.44 mph to advance to the quarterfinals against Prock in a matchup of the last two World Champions
- Hagan now moves to the NHRA Winternationals this weekend (March 28-30) at the legendary In-N-Out Pomona Drag Strip at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds
- Hagan’s TSR teammate, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, qualified seventh at Phoenix and captured the first-round race against Shawn Reed in Top Fuel action
- Stewart, driving the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fueler, then faced two-time World Champion Brittany Force in the quarterfinals where his car smoked its tires
- Stewart, the champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC competition, is beginning his second season in the NHRA progressional division of 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel
Hagan, the four-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion from Virginia, is a former NHRA Arizona Nationals champion and his Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine looked strong in the first round in defeating Bobby Bode and was set for the challenge of Prock in round two. Always one of the top Funny Car drivers in reaction time, Hagan left the starting line with Prock and the two ran side-by-side the entire 1,000 feet with the decision in Prock’s favor by inches.
Hagan, a crowd favorite, was nipped at the finish line by 0.0036 seconds with a run of 4.005 seconds to Prock’s slower 4.010. Prock’s starting line advantage of 0.070 seconds to Hagan’s 0.078 was the difference in Hagan not advancing to the semifinals.
“It was a tough weekend to go out second round when we’re used to going some more rounds,” said Hagan. “The loss fell on the driver today. We got beat on a little baby ‘holeshot.’ We got to the stripe before he did as far as the ET (elapsed time) says. He had a .070 light to my .078 light, so I didn’t get it done and it falls on me. The ‘kid’ is really good, but we’re just as good and just as competitive. I’m really proud of Mike Knudsen (crew chief), Phil Shuler (co-crew chief), Alex Conaway and all the guys making the calls necessary to be a good racer on Sunday. Everything is coming together, and we’ll be ready for Pomona this week.”
Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer in his second season in the Top Fuel class, qualified seventh in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT nitro-burning Top Fuel dragster and defeated Shawn Reed in the opening round of eliminations. In the second round, Stewart took on two-time World Champion Brittany Force. His dragster lost traction off the starting line, and Stewart was forced to shut down the engine.
Stewart remains positive about the progress with his racecar as the team heads to the historic Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals this weekend (March 28-30).
“It’s disappointing to go out in the second round,” said Stewart. “But we had eight or nine runs between Gainesville and here (Phoenix) where the car didn’t smoke the tires and made it down the track. Looking at the big picture, I’m excited and grateful that we have a car that’s going down the racetrack now. Today was just one of those days where it’s unique conditions, very hot. We won’t have these conditions at Pomona next weekend.
“We have to look at the positives and the gains our TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection team has made since Bradenton testing in February testing. Before you can worry about picking up performance, you at least have to be consistent. I’m optimistic that we’ve made huge strides in a short amount of time. We have a lot to look forward to.”
Ida Zetterström, the European Top Fuel drag racing champion from Sweden, lost out in another close finish in first-round competition against Justin Ashley, 3.805 to 3.818, in her second season in the JCM/Dodge//SRT dragster.
“Overall, I think we had a strong weekend,” said Zetterström. “We ran well in qualifying and found a lot of good things. On race day, we put down a strong run. It’s quite a hot track out here and we just didn’t have enough facing Justin Ashley. It’s hard to lose. I feel like we made really good progress. We are rolling into Pomona with some newfound confidence.”
Alexis DeJoria, Zetterström’s JCM teammate, qualified the Bandero Café Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car in sixth at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, but she lost in the first round to two-time World Champion Cruz Pedregon in his Snap-On Dodge//SRT Hellcat.
The NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series now moves to the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds this weekend for the 65th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at the In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip with nitro qualifying beginning on Friday, March 28, at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. PDT. Saturday’s nitro qualifying rounds are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. PDT with final eliminations set for 11 a.m. PDT.
The NHRA Winternationals finals will be televised on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT.
