TSR Nitro Teams Struggle At NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Nitro drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan both suffered second-round eliminations from this past weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals held in Bristol, Tennessee.

Pruett, driving the Rush Truck Centers Top Fuel Dragster, had a mix of ups and downs throughout the event. She secured the No. 1 qualifying position with an impressive run of 3.745 ET @ 322.42 mph in the second round of qualifying. This marked her first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 14th of her career. She also earned three bonus points for the quickest run of the session.

Unfortunately, Pruett’s luck took a turn in the second round of eliminations as she lost to Mike Salinas with a run of 3.894 ET @ 298.47 mph. Despite the setback, she maintained her No. 1 qualifying position based on her Friday run. In the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Round 1, Pruett faced Spencer Massey but encountered a malfunction with her mph reading, ultimately losing with a run of 3.824 ET. Currently tied with Antron Brown for fifth in the Top Fuel championship standings, Pruett is determined to identify the issues and bounce back stronger in the upcoming races.

“We might be going 320 plus mph, but that run was slow motion,“ stated Pruett. “I was in as shallow as possible trying to go for that low ET (elapsed time) Sunday morning. About half track, I could tell the car wasn’t charging hard, but wasn’t spinning, so I stayed with it. Then I saw Spencer (Massey) out in front of me and pull away. I was taking it to the finish line and only got one parachute out, which made for a wildly bumpy ride. Bristol has been pretty brutal to us points-wise today. It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to take our Rush Truck Centers dragster further into eliminations. Sometimes you’re the window, sometimes you’re the bug and we’ve been the bug lately for too long. Every round is pretty much a UFC match, whether people racing are full-time or part-time. I look forward to running Spencer again as he’s always a class act, but for now we’ll be getting straight to work finding the culprit of these randomly dropped cylinders.”

In the Funny Car category, Matt Hagan piloted the Operation Healing Force/Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT. Hagan faced some challenges during qualifying, securing the No. 9 qualifying position with a run of 4.051 ET @ 308.50 mph in the second round. 

Hagan’s performance improved in the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Round 2, where he faced Mike McIntire Jr. and advanced to the next round with a run of 4.021 ET @ 324.75 mph. However, in Round 2, Hagan lost to Robert Hight with a run of 3.952 ET @ 330.23 mph. Despite the challenges, Hagan remains in the hunt for the Funny Car championship, currently sitting in second place, just 32 points behind leader Ron Capps.

“It looks like we’re struggling a little bit right now, but we’re actually making really good progress in preparation for the summer months and once we get into the Countdown,“ Hagan said. “We have gathered a lot of great data this season and continue to do so in the heat. We just have to keep working at it, but we’re moving in the right direction. I have full confidence in Dickie (Venables – crew chief), Mike (Knudsen – co-crew chief), Alex (Conaway – car chief) and all of my guys. They’re working extremely hard and I know we will get back after it in Norwalk. I’m proud that we got to represent Operation Healing Forces and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage this weekend.”

During the event, Hagan took the opportunity to represent Operation Healing Forces (OHF) and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG). OHF aims to support the Special Operation Forces (SOF) community by facilitating open discussions about their battlefield and personal hardships. JHG, on the other hand, celebrates the automotive industry through a collection of more than 200 sought-after vehicles.

Looking ahead, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will continue with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals scheduled for June 23rd to 25th at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. You can visit NHRA.com, for more information on tickets for the event.