Hagan Back in Victory Lane for Third Time in 2023 NHRA Season With Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Win in Four-Wide Nationals

April 17, 2023 , Las Vegas -  Matt Hagan continued his impressive 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series performance Sunday at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Four-Wide Nationals with his third Funny Car win in four events in the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Haas Automotive Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.
 
Hagan, the three-time NHRA world champion, qualified third in the 16-car field and advanced to the final round with solid, consistent runs of 3.997 and 3.968 seconds to set up a third finals appearance in the opening four races in 2023. 

Competing against John Force, Tim Wilkerson and Chad Green in the final, Hagan posted a winning time of 3.943 at 326.79 m.p.h. for his 46th career Funny Car victory and extended his Funny Car points lead to 105 entering the next NHRA national event at Charlotte, North Carolina, April 28-30.
 
“It was another outstanding performance by Matt Hagan and his Tony Stewart Racing team this past weekend at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, taking his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the winner’s circle,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand CEO – Stellantis. “Hagan’s crew continues to prove their competitive level, and it is one of the best in all of NHRA drag racing. Led by Dickie Venables’ squad, Hagan is fighting for his fourth NHRA Camping World Series championship. The TSR team has shown that Dodge lineup of vehicles and Direct Connection parts are excellent examples of premier performance. We wish Matt and the TSR team more success this year in his quest for a fourth Funny Car title.”
 
Hagan’s Funny Car victory was his second straight at the Strip after winning last October in the Nevada Nationals and his fifth Las Vegas triumph of his career. This is Hagan’s seventh win with TSR dating back to the 2022 Gatornationals.
 
“This is so special to share the winner’s circle with my boss, Tony Stewart, and his first NHRA national win too,” said Hagan after his third 2023 victory and Stewart’s first Top Alcohol Dragster win. “It’s funny because I never followed Tony’s oval racing career, and I actually had to look up his achievements when I talked with him about this new team.

“After he won here, he came to my car and said, ‘Now it’s your turn to win!’ Wow, I wasn’t feeling any pressure until then. But our crew, led by Dickie Venables, has been so good this year that I just needed to be good on the line. And that car ran strong to the finish.”
 
TSR team owner Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup champion, captured his first NHRA national event Sunday by taking the Top Alcohol Dragster victory. It was Stewart’s fourth race in NHRA national event competition. The Columbus, Indiana, driver has now won at all four Las Vegas Motor Speedway tracks in 1.5-mile oval, 3/8-mile Bullring, half-mile dirt oval and the Strip.
 
“This is the most fun I have had in a long time,” said Stewart in victory lane with Hagan. “Matt and his crew are doing a tremendous job with three wins already and Leah’s crew has been outstanding in this early portion of the season. Yes, it is exciting to win my first NHRA national event, but the double is very special today.”
 
Pruett, the 10-time NHRA national winner, recorded a solid showing in qualifying to place fifth entering Sunday’s eliminations with her Code 3 Associates Dodge//SRT Mopar Top Fuel dragster with runs of 3.746, 3.747 and 3.753. In Sunday’s competition, Leah posted a 3.779 to win against three other drivers before falling in the second round with a 3.798 to eventual winner Antron Brown and Brittany Force.
 
“Our team did a great job all weekend here in Las Vegas,” said Pruett, now fifth in the NHRA Camping World Top Fuel point standings. “We ran great times in the heat and the track was getting tricky. But Neal Strausbaugh and his crew really gave me a solid, strong car in every run here at the Strip. They work so hard for me and our sponsors. I’m pleased with the momentum we are making. Both Antron and Brittany are world champions, and we ran right with them. So, we may have lost that round, but we were so close to advancing to the next one. We had a very positive weekend.”
  
Cruz Pedregon, a four-time winner at the Strip, recorded his second consecutive NHRA Camping World Funny Car pole position Saturday in the qualifying rounds for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Pedregon took his Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat machine to a time of 3.910 seconds to pace the 16-car Funny Car field.
 
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments in which the brand competes while moving forward to a future that includes electrified muscle in the form of the next-generation, all-new Dodge Charger.

The next-generation Dodge Charger electrifies a legend, with the Charger retaining its title as the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car led by the all-new, all-electric 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack. The all-new Dodge Charger will also offer performance choices via multi-energy powertrain options, including the 550-horsepower Dodge Charger SIXPACK H.O., powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo Hurricane High Output engine.

Dodge also keeps its foot on the gas as a pure performance brand with the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever, and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet.

In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the "#1 Brand in Initial Quality," making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). 

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news, including daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis (NYSE: STLA).
  
Mopar
Mopar is the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic accessories.

A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over more than 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at www.blog.mopar.com. 

Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:

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