Matt Hagan Conquers The Strip at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals

Four-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan delivered a masterclass performance at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, scoring his 55th career Funny Car victory and fifth Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals title in his American Rebel Beer-backed Dodge//SRT HELLCAT. It was a critical win for Hagan and Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) as the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series nears its final stop in Pomona, California.

Hagan Delivers When It Counts Most –

Coming into Las Vegas, Hagan sat second in the NHRA Mission Funny Car standings — a tough spot, but not an impossible one. Everyone on the TSR crew knew what had to be done: win.

“It was a have-to-win race for us,” Hagan said after hoisting the Wally trophy. “Sometimes you pull your crew chief aside and say, ‘We have to win this one.’ I’m super proud of my guys – Mike Knudson, Phil Shuler, Alex Conaway and the whole TSR crew. They were making the call for the first time at every racetrack, and to see the potential that Knud has for the future is awesome.”

From the opening round, Hagan’s Dodge//SRT HELLCAT was quick and consistent. He qualified third with a strong 3.897-second pass at 329.75 mph, then blasted through eliminations with clinical precision:

• Round 1: 3.927 sec at 324.12 mph – defeated Cruz Pedregon (4.000 sec)

• Round 2: 3.879 sec at 328.86 mph – defeated Chad Green (4.606 sec)

• Semifinals: 3.912 sec at 327.43 mph – defeated Daniel Wilkerson (4.695 sec)

• Finals: 3.877 sec at 327.03 mph – defeated current world champ Austin Prock (6.424 sec after losing traction)

That 3.877-second run was the lowest elapsed time of the entire event, sealing Hagan’s first-ever final-round win against Prock in NHRA competition.

“Las Vegas has been very kind to me over the years with five wins in the Fall races and one in the Spring,” Hagan added. “It was exciting today because all of our major sponsors were here – Dodge, Direct Connection, American Rebel Beer, Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage – and it’s great to see their excitement in the winner’s circle too. This fight for the championship isn’t over, and we’ll be ready for Pomona in two weeks. I’m hungry to get a fifth world title.”

Hagan’s victory was his third of the 2025 season, and his sixth overall at the Las Vegas facility, where he’s appeared in an incredible 12 final rounds. The win keeps his title hopes alive heading into the final event of the season, trailing Prock by just 101 points.

Stewart Powers To The Semifinals In Top Fuel –

While Hagan was making noise in Funny Car, Tony Stewart was equally impressive in his Rush Truck Centers Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster. Stewart, competing in his second full season of Top Fuel, qualified fifth after a stout 3.741-second, 330.72 mph run on Friday.

He went on to defeat Dan Mercier in the first round and former world champion Tony Schumacher in Round 2, before facing Brittany Force in the semifinals. Stewart launched first but lost traction mid-track, allowing Force to move ahead and eventually win the event.

Even so, the semifinal finish was a big step forward for Stewart after a challenging few races.

“We would have liked to have gone through the semis and to the final, but I feel that we have our race car back now,” Stewart said. “Since the Maple Grove crash, I’m not sure we had the same race car that we had earlier in the season. This weekend Neal (Strausbaugh, crew chief) decided to be more aggressive in qualifying, and even in the semis when we smoked the tires, we were aggressive. I do feel we have our car back. It was a great win for Matt too, at the Dodge event. We had the Dodge executives here, and that is exciting.”

Stewart’s performance bumped him to fifth in the Top Fuel standings, just behind heavy hitters like Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force, as the team looks to finish strong in Pomona.

A Big Weekend For Dodge & Direct Connection –

The Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals powered by Direct Connection was a celebration of horsepower, teamwork, and HEMI heritage. The weekend also featured the world debut of the all-new 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak, marking the first time a Charger has been built as a Drag Pak entry.

Unveiled Friday in front of media and fans, the new HEMI-powered Drag Pak made an impressive exhibition run down the strip, signaling Dodge’s continued commitment to grassroots and professional drag racing. The crowd’s reaction was electric — and Hagan’s win only added to the brand’s momentum.

For TSR, the event brought together major partners including Dodge, Mopar CAP (Career Automotive Program), American Rebel Beer, Rush Truck Centers, Rinnai, and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. Their collective presence underscored how strong the relationship remains between Dodge performance and the broader racing community.

The Road To Pomona: Championship On The Line –

With only one race left on the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series calendar, everything now turns to Pomona, California, for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, set for November 14–16 at the historic Pomona Dragstrip.

The weekend schedule includes:

• Friday (Nov 14): Qualifying sessions at 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. PST

• Saturday (Nov 15): Qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. PST

• Sunday (Nov 16): Final eliminations starting at 11:00 a.m. PST

• Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 coverage of eliminations at 5:00 p.m. EST

For Hagan, it’s all or nothing. One more strong weekend could earn him his fifth world title, tying him with NHRA legends Don Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein for second on the all-time Funny Car championship list.

For Stewart, Pomona represents a chance to close out his second Top Fuel season inside the top five — and to prepare his team for a strong 2026 campaign when wife Leah Pruett returns to the cockpit.