Matt Hagan Secures Top Qualifying Position And Runner-Up Finish At NHRA Carolina Nationals

Published: Monday, September 23, 2024, 22:06 [IST]

Matt Hagan, the reigning NHRA Mission Funny Car World Champion, aimed for another victory at zMAX Dragway. Driving his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT Hellcat, he reached the final round at the NHRA Carolina Nationals. Meanwhile, TSR teammate Tony Stewart was eliminated in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations.

Hagan's performance was strong throughout the weekend. He achieved a season-best qualifying run of 3.832 seconds and secured the No. 1 starting position for Sunday’s eliminations. This marked his second top-qualifying spot this season, following a similar achievement in Pomona in March.

The four-time NHRA world champion defeated Dave Richards and Bob Tasca III before facing Austin Prock, the current points leader, in the final round. Despite hot and humid conditions with track temperatures nearing 130 degrees, Hagan made his 92nd career final round appearance in Funny Car.

In their final showdown, Hagan had a better start with a .051-second reaction time compared to Prock's .070. However, Prock narrowly won by a few feet at the finish line with a time of 3.94 seconds against Hagan's 3.958 seconds.

Hagan expressed optimism about his team's performance: "It was a good weekend for the TSR JHG Dodge team," he said. "We were trying really, really hard to get that win." The runner-up finish moved him to fourth place in the current standings as they head to St. Louis for the NHRA Gateway Nationals from September 27-29.

Tony Stewart, known as "Smoke," faced reigning Top Fuel World Champion Doug Kalitta in his first-round match-up but lost after his car hazed its tires mid-race. Despite this setback, Stewart remains eighth in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points standings with four races left on the tour.

Stewart reflected on his experience: "This just wasn’t our weekend," he said. "We qualified 14th, and the car didn’t make it down the track during the money run on Friday night." He acknowledged an uncommon error but praised his team’s unity and determination to improve for future races.

Challenging Conditions for Zetterström

Sweden's Ida Zetterström faced traction issues during her fourth NHRA professional event against Brittany Force in hot conditions. Despite leading early in their race, her car spun its tires and shut off, preventing her from advancing past the first round.

Zetterström commented on her race: "We made it down the track on Saturday night in really hot and tricky conditions," she said. She noted that she was ahead initially but couldn’t capitalize due to mechanical issues.

Upcoming Events and Broadcasts

The NHRA Gateway Nationals is part of a six-race series called "Countdown." Nitro qualifying begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. CDT and continues Saturday at 1 p.m. CDT. Final eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Fox Sports 1 will broadcast early qualifying rounds on Friday at 7:30 p.m. EDT and air final eliminations on Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT.

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Dodge has been synonymous with performance for over a century since John and Horace Dodge founded it. The brand continues to innovate with electrified muscle cars like the new Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack while maintaining traditional power with models like the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat.

The Direct Connection portfolio offers high-performance parts developed by SRT engineers for Dodge vehicles through online platforms and dealer networks.

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