Short Day for Hagan, Pruett Sunday at Seattle; Hagan Keeps Funny Car Points Lead, Pruett 3rd in Top Fuel

•NHRA Camping World Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan came to NHRA Northwest Nationals on an 'emotional high' after his fourth 2023 win in Denver, but a first-round loss in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat had him packed early

•Hagan, winner at the Gatornationals, Winternationals, Four-Wide Nationals and Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals, lost to eventual race winner Tim Wilkerson in the opening round

•Leah Pruett, the Summit Nationals Top Fuel champion last month, also lost in the first round in her Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel dragster in a close race to Clay Millican

•Pruett continues to hold down the third position in the current NHRA Camping World Top Fuel points standings with the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals on July 28-30

•Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage.com

Unfortunately, Hagan's winning streak the previous week at Denver ended quickly Sunday when the three-time NHRA World Funny Car champion smoked the tires in the first round of eliminations at Pacific Raceways. Hagan, a four-time 2023 NHRA national event winner, lost to eventual race winner Tim Wilkerson, 3.928 to 5.068.

Despite the early round defeat, Hagan remains the Funny Car points leader with a 17-point advantage as the NHRA Camping World drag racing series travels to Sonoma Raceway in Northern California next weekend,July 28-30, for the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

'There are some weekends where things are just off, and this was one of them,' said Hagan. 'It makes you appreciate when things go well. I hate that we didn't have a great weekend for Dodge between Leah and myself. It was a tricky race track out there. One thing I do know is that I have one of the smartest crew chiefs out there in Dickie Venables. He'll figure out whatever is wrong, and it won't be long before we're back on top having a good run at it. We usually do pretty well in Seattle, so it was surprising a little bit. I'm excited about going to Sonoma now.'

Hagan's TSR teammate, Leah Pruett, the recent Summit Nationals Top Fuel champion in the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection dragster, also lost in the first round in a very close race with Mile-High National winner Clay Millican, 3.763 to 3.765.

Pruett, an 11-time NHRA national event winner in Top Fuel, held her third position in the NHRA Camping World Top Fuel points with one race remaining in the three-event 'Western Swing.' .

'Coming up on the short side of another extremely close race first round is where our patience and work ethic get tested,' said Pruett. 'The sting is sharp and the frustration of how to get better as a driver is thick, but the perseverance of this team to keep digging together out of this hole is the prevailing attitude and direction we have.'

Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway will be Friday, July 28, at 8 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. EDT and Saturday, July 29, at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. EDT. Sunday's eliminations will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Coverage of next week's action at Sonoma Raceway is set for Friday, July 28, with qualifying at 4:30 p.m. EDT on FS2 and Saturday, July 29, at 2:30 p.m. EDT on FS1. Final eliminations are scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT Sunday on the FOX Network.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge//SRT

For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.

Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT Hellcat versions of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Durango, as well as an R/T plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version of the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet, representing the brand's first-ever electrified performance vehicle. Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock; the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world; and the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever; and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet. Combined, these four muscle vehicles make Dodge the industry's most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.

In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the '#1 Brand in Initial Quality,' making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news, including daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis (NYSE: STLA).

Mopar

This year marks the 85th anniversary of Mopar, the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic accessories.

A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Photo credit: Dodge
posted on conceptcarz.com

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