- The NHRA Carolina Nationals near Charlotte, North Carolina, is the 16th race on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race schedule and it serves as the second race in the six-race Countdown to the Championship. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tony Stewart and Matt Hagan are eyeing a title run in their respective Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions. This year’s Countdown marks Stewart’s first appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th.
- Stewart is currently seventh in the Top Fuel standings heading into the second round of Countdown, 94 points behind leader Justin Ashley. Hagan is fifth in the Funny Car standings, 137 points behind leader Austin Prock.
- Stewart comes into Charlotte representing Mahindra on his red and black Top Fuel dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports red on his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car.
- Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America is part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, the No. 1 selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra launched a new line-up of sub-compact and compact tractors in February and offers a range of tractor models under 75 HP. Their farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.
- Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG) was formed in 2021 and brings a passion and flare to the automotive world. They aim to inspire, drive and celebrate progress. JHG spans across Jason Johnson’s car collection featuring more than 200 sought after vehicles from classics, to hot rods and supercars. Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage’s mission is to preserve and showcase the automotive industry. The vehicles are driven to and displayed at events by Johnson and his team with the goal of growing interest and keeping car culture thriving. Johnson’s history in the industry began with Mather Auto Dismantler, Mather Mini Trucks and U-Pull It in Northern California. He later held an instrumental role in the growth and success of Copart, Inc., a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. JHG also serves as a primary sponsor of Elite Motorsports in the NHRA Pro Stock series.
- Stewart and Hagan competed at Charlotte April 26-28 in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Stewart secured the No. 6 qualifying position after four qualifying sessions, and advanced to Round 2 on Sunday. Hagan secured the No. 6 qualifying position at the Four-Wide Nationals and won the event, defeating Daniel Wilkerson, J.R. Todd and John Force in the Finals. It marked the 50th win of his career (he’s now at 51 career wins) and his first win at the track in 10 years.
- The Carolina Nationals will serve as Stewart’s 16th career Top Fuel start. It’ll be his second overall start at Charlotte and his first in the Carolina Nationals. For Hagan, the Carolina Nationals will be his 348th career Funny Car start. It’ll be his 30th overall start at Charlotte and his 16th in the Carolina Nationals.
- Stewart is seeking his first victory in the Carolina Nationals, as well as his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. He made one Top Alcohol Dragster start at zMAX Dragway at the 2023 Four-Wide Nationals, where he was the No. 4 qualifier and finished runner-up.
- Hagan has four career wins at Charlotte – two in the Carolina Nationals and two in the Four-Wide Nationals. His Carolina Nationals wins came in 2011 and 2014 while his Four-Wide triumphs were earned in 2013 and 2024. In his first Carolina Nationals win on Sept. 18, 2011, Hagan’s 4.130 ET at 301.06 mph defeated Mike Neff’s 4.431 ET at 202.79 mph. Hagan scored his second Carolina Nationals win on Sept. 20, 2014 when he defeated John Force. Hagan ran a 4.212 ET at 297.81 mph while Force fouled at the start, negating his run of 4.140 ET at 309.77 mph.
- Hagan has one No. 1 qualifier at the Carolina Nationals, which came on Sept. 17, 2011 (3.995 ET at 316.23 mph).
- Hagan was the first Funny Car driver to break the four-second barrier when he completed a run of 3.995 seconds in 2011 at Charlotte. His milestone run was commemorated with a sign on the retaining wall near the starting line.
- Hagan, Pruett and Stewart will participate in a Mahindra autograph session on Saturday from 12:15-12:45 p.m. EDT. It will take place in the pits at the Mahindra display.
You won at zMAX Dragway in the Spring. How special will it be returning there as you look to earn another win at one of your home races?
“We won at Charlotte earlier this year and have some good juju walking into that race. Hopefully, it’ll be one of those tracks that keeps treating us well. I always like getting back there with family and friends. There are a lot of people that come out and show us love. We’ll put Reading behind us and look ahead to the next.”
The post Charlotte Advance for the NHRA Carolina Nationals appeared first on Matt Hagan Racing.
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