• Recent NHRA Northwest Nationals champion Matt Hagan looked to be headed to a third straight Funny Car final at Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals but lost another close race
  • Coming off a Seattle victory last week, Hagan put in another strong qualifying run with the No. 1 position (3.861) in the TSR Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat
  • Hagan, a four-time NHRA World Champion, defeated Jeff Diehl and Bob Tasca in the first two rounds of eliminations before losing a close semifinal with Austin Prock, 3.927 to 3.937
  • The Virginia driver moves to second in the current NHRA Mission Foods Funny Car points standings as the NHRA tour heads to Brainerd, Minn., on Aug. 15-17, the 13th 2025 race
  • NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, Hagan’s TSR teammate, was the only Top Fuel driver to win every first-round race in the TSR Dodge//SRT car, but lost early Sunday
  • Stewart, who qualified fifth at Sonoma, lost traction early against veteran Josh Hart and suffered his initial first-round defeat, but he remains second in NHRA Top Fuel points
  • Stewart, a two-time 2025 race winner, trails NHRA Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon by 48 markers after 12 races in the 20-event NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series
  • Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage.com

July 28, 2025, Auburn Hills, Mich. – Dodge racer Matt Hagan continued to produce impressive results in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals before losing a close race in the semifinals Sunday, while TSR Dodge//SRT teammate Tony Stewart took his first 2025 first-round loss in Top Fuel.

Hagan, winner of last week’s NHRA Northwest Nationals for his 53rd career NHRA Funny Car victory, came to the popular Sonoma Raceway looking for his first NHRA win at the Northern California racing facility and immediately made his presence felt by qualifying in the No. 1 position with a strong 3.861. Hagan had entered the Sonoma Nationals third in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings as he seeks a fifth World title this year.

The Virginia driver started off Sunday in final eliminations with a solid 3.884 in defeating veteran Jeff Diehl in round one, followed by a “holeshot” win over Bob Tasca III in the second round with a 3.937 to Tasca’s 3.936. The quarterfinal triumph then matched up Hagan in the semifinals against reigning World Champion Austin Prock, who nipped Matt in the Summit Nationals final last month.

In another sensational race, Prock, the eventual race winner, edged Hagan with a 3.927 to Matt’s 3.937. Despite the semifinal loss, Hagan advanced to second in the current NHRA Mission Funny Car points with the tour moving to the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn, on Aug. 15-17.

“We had a great weekend overall,” said Hagan. “We obviously would have liked to have been able to pull the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car in the winner’s circle. We were on another back side of a good drag race by a hundredth out there. Those races are tough, but they have to fall our way eventually. I don’t know what we have to do to win a round against those guys (Austin Prock), but it’ll come. It’ll fall in our favor very soon.

“I’ll probably get to shave the mustache now, so I’m kind of excited about that. We’ll flip a coin and see whether I’ll keep it or not. I loved all the media getting behind it and JHG got behind it too. We’ll look ahead to Brainerd and plan on doing some testing there too. We’re getting closer to Indianapolis and the Countdown and then chasing another championship.”

Hagan’s TSR team owner and running mate, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, entered the Sonoma Nationals with 11 consecutive first-round victories this year in his TSR Mobil 1 Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster as he was the only driver to accomplish that feat in 2025.

After qualifying fifth in the Top Fuel field at Sonoma, Stewart was seeking to regain the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points lead, but his dragster lost traction immediately against veteran Josh Hart, snapping his first-round winning streak. Despite the loss, the former NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion remains second in the current NHRA Top Fuel standings, just 48 points behind leader Shawn Langdon after 12 events in the 20-race national tour.

“We definitely didn’t want to lose first round, but to go this far into the season and have a streak of first-round wins like we had is something to be proud of for our organization,” said Stewart. “I’m really proud of our guys and Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) and Mike (Domagala – co-crew chief). It’s always tough when you’re the first pair of the day out on the racetrack. You don’t get a read off of the cars in front of you. We just stubbed our toe in the first round.

“It’s a hiccup, but I feel like our team still had a lot of gains internally. Even though the results didn’t show this weekend, there’s still a lot of confidence for the crew chiefs moving forward. I feel like we’ve addressed some big issues that have been plaguing us in the last couple events. We’ll go to one of my favorite tracks in Brainerd and then head to the U.S. Nationals. I’m excited about the next couple races.”

Former FIA Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström of Sweden continued to make progress with her JCM/Dodge//SRT dragster with solid qualifying passes and a good run in eliminations. Unfortunately, Zetterström faced defending Sonoma Nationals champion Antron Brown in the opening round of action Sunday. Despite running a 3.739 with a mechanical issue, Ida lost a close race to Brown’s 3.718 in round one.

“We want to turn on win lights on Sunday, so when we lose first round, it’s hard to say we’re happy with that run,” said Zetterström. “You saw a lot of teams struggling to get down in qualifying, so the fact that we were able to put together two good runs was good. It’s a testament to our team and makes us feel like we’re moving in the right direction. In the first round today, we had a parts malfunction that caused us to slow. We ran what would have been a good tight race, but that issue slowed us down. But if the part had held up, there’s a good chance we could’ve beat the (race) champion.”

Hagan, Stewart and Zetterström return to nitro competition in three weeks with the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals as qualifying gets underway on Friday, August 15, at 4:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. CDT, followed by Saturday’s qualifying rounds at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. CDT. The final eliminations will begin on Sunday, August 17, at 10:30 a.m. CDT.

The NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals telecast is scheduled for Sunday, August 17, at 3 p.m. EDT on the Fox Network.

Direct Connection
The Direct Connection portfolio, available online and through the Dodge Power Brokers dealer network, includes modern performance, crate engine, race and vintage muscle high-performance products for Dodge performance vehicles, offering factory street, strip and track performance parts developed by SRT engineers and backed by a Mopar® warranty for peace of mind.

Performance enthusiasts and racers can access the Direct Connection hotline at (800) 998-1110 for technical and race support. More information on Direct Connection and Dodge Power Brokers is available at DCPerformance.com.

@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 Mission 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 110 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge, America’s performance brand, 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 2025 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 gas engine SUV ever, and best-in-class standard performance in the compact-utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet.

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 blog.mopar.com.

Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Dodge brand: www.dodge.com
DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge and www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: @DodgeMoparMotorsports, @DodgeOfficial and @OfficialMopar
Twitter: @Dodge, @OfficialMopar and @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge, www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

The post Hagan Advances to Semifinals with TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat at NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Stewart Loses in First Round for First Time appeared first on Matt Hagan Racing.

Continue reading...