- Facing tricky track conditions in the first NHRA national event at South Georgia Motorsports Park, TSR Dodge drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan advanced to the quarterfinals Sunday
- Rain delayed qualifying rounds, but Pruett and Hagan took their TSR Dodge nitro cars to the top half of the Top Fuel and Funny Car 16-car fields for eliminations
- Pruett, the Top Fuel runner-up at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in March, jumped into the top-six in Friday qualifying with a 3.804 pass in the NHRA Southern Nationals dragster lineup
- Battling a tough track, Pruett defeated Josh Hart in round one and moved to the quarterfinals against defending Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta, who was the No. 1 qualifier
- Pruett, in the non-preferred left lane, produced a stunning .027 starting reaction time to gain the jump on Kalitta, but the Arizona driver lost out in a close finish with a 3.864 to Kalitta’s 3.798
- Hagan, the recent winner in the NHRA 1,000th Funny Car race at the Winternationals last month, qualified fourth in the field and scored a solid win in round one over Jack Beckman
- In the quarterfinals, as with Pruett, Hagan didn’t have lane choice and his TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat smoked the rear tires off the starting line, as Alexis DeJoria advanced to the semifinals
- Despite the quarterfinal losses, both Pruett and Hagan are third in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel and Funny Car points standings, respectively, entering the Route 66 NHRA Nationals
- Young Hunter Green drove his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the semifinals with round wins over Dave Richards and his father, Chad, before falling to Jordan Vandergriff
- TSR team owner Tony Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer, suffered similar traction issues as Pruett and Hagan Sunday and fell to Justin Ashley in round one of Top Fuel
May 4, 2026, Auburn Hills, Mich. – Tough track conditions for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan hampered their chances to advance to another final round Sunday in the sold-out NHRA Southern Nationals drag races at South Georgia Motorsports Park, as both racers drove to quarterfinal finishes in the fifth event in the 20-race NHRA Mission Series.
With rainstorms delaying qualifying through Friday and Saturday, the inaugural NHRA national event at the Valdosta, Ga., area drag strip made for a tricky track surface all three days of the nitro action. In fact, the professional drivers only had three qualifying attempts due to the rain.
But Pruett and Hagan qualified in the top half of their respective classes, Top Fuel and Funny Car, and scored first round wins in Sunday’s eliminations. Unfortunately, both TSR American Rebel Beer Dodge competitors did not gain lane choice in the quarterfinals, as the left lane proved to be a disadvantage through Sunday’s racing.
In round one, Pruett defeated John Force Racing’s Josh Hart in a throttle-pedaling battle, as the Arizona driver recorded a 3.996 to advance to the quarterfinals against reigning NHRA world champion Doug Kalitta. Kalitta is the driver who halted Pruett’s 2023 World Championship quest in the final round at the World Finals. And Leah was ready for battle.
Pruett’s spectacular reaction time of .027 against Kalitta had her with the lead by half track, but Kalitta’s 3.798 was too much for Pruett’s 3.864 at the finish. Despite the loss, Pruett remains third in the current NHRA Mission Top Fuel standings, as the NHRA national campaign heads to the Chicagoland area for the annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals on May 15-17.
“Even though we didn’t collect as many win lights on Sunday as we wanted, I feel that we’re farther ahead, progress-wise, than many of our competitors,” said Pruett, the 12-time NHRA Top Fuel national event winner. “Just looking at how soon we were able to adapt to the challenging situations, our crew chiefs really had to detune the engines. On top of that, the track was ever-changing. But one lane (was) being preferred over another by a substantial amount. You look at the second round of eliminations, and we would have beat every single other car but Doug Kalitta.
“In that round against Doug, I cut a great light, but we just didn’t have the speed and the ET (elapsed time) for it. But, like the mantra says, you never give up. We’re making four runs here tomorrow in testing and working on fine tuning our program. I’m looking forward to reaching the winner’s circle soon. I’m ready for that to happen two weeks from now in Chicago.”
Hagan, the four-time NHRA world champion in Funny Car, entered the Southern Nationals after two straight final rounds and the prestigious NHRA 1,000th Funny Car victory at the Winternationals last month, and the Virginia driver piloted his TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat to the fourth position (3.933) in qualifying despite the rain-delayed time trials.
It was a tough matchup for Hagan in round one of eliminations with two-time world champion Jack Beckman as his opponent, but Hagan’s solid starting reaction time and a 3.988 run secured the win and advancement to the quarterfinals. Like Pruett in Top Fuel, Hagan was forced to drive in the non-preferred lane against Alexis DeJoria and his mount lost traction off the start. DeJoria moved to the semifinals.
Hagan, similar to Pruett in Top Fuel, holds down the No. 3 spot in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings, as he heads to a familiar track on May 15-17 at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Hagan is a four-time Chicagoland NHRA national event (2010, 2013, 2014 and 2024), as well as a No. 1 qualifier twice (2016 and 2018).
“Qualifying was a little tricky with the new track and the weather conditions, raining all day Saturday and only three total sessions,” said Hagan, the 56-time NHRA national event winner. “But I’m really proud of my crew guys, as they came in here and really had some big hills to climb. They made some real wholesale changes overnight on Saturday. [Crew chiefs] Mike Knudsen and Phil Shuler, our brain trust, yarded everything out, put everything back in, and we made some really good progress to be able to get that first round win.
“In second round, we didn’t have lane choice, and the left lane was kind of the kiss of death. So, it made things very, very challenging. But we’ll just move on to Chicago and hopefully keep this horse rolling. We have been very successful in Chicago, and I want another silver ‘Wally’ now.”
Young Funny Car driver Hunter Green put in a strong performance with the Chad Green Motorsports Dodge//SRT Hellcat, as the Texas competitor advanced to the semifinals for the first time in his second year of pro racing. A former U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol Dragster champion, Green defeated David Richards in the first round, and then his father, Chad, the No. 2 qualifier, in the quarterfinals. In semifinals, Green lost a close race to eventual event winner Jordan Vandergriff.
“It was really cool to line up against my dad after watching him race for many years,” said Green. “Obviously, I’d rather line up in a final round against him and then win. But it is exciting to reach the semifinals for the first time and battle Jordan, the race winner, right to the finish line. I think we have a good program with our Bond-Coat Dodge Hellcat this year, and I’m ready for more.”
TSR team owner Tony Stewart lost in the opening round of eliminations in his Elite Motorsports R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to reigning U.S. Nationals champion Justin Ashley. Stewart remains fourth in the current NHRA Mission Top Fuel standings entering the Route 66 Nationals on May 15-17.
The next NHRA national event, the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Dragway in Joliet, Ill., brings together Pruett, Hagan and the TSR Dodge nitro squad. Nitro qualifying will get underway on Friday, May 15, at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. EDT, with Saturday’s action set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. EDT. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 17. The Fox Sports 1 broadcast will be telecast at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT.
For more information on NHRA, visit NHRA.com.
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The post Pruett, Hagan Take TSR Dodge Nitro Cars to Quarterfinals in Tough Track Conditions at NHRA Southern Nationals, Remain 3rd in Points appeared first on Matt Hagan Racing.
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