{"id":62222,"date":"2022-06-06T06:40:20","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T10:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=62222"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:20:23","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:20:23","slug":"hagan-and-dodge-power-brokers-back-in-winners-circle-with-victory-at-nhra-new-england-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/racing\/2022\/06\/hagan-and-dodge-power-brokers-back-in-winners-circle-with-victory-at-nhra-new-england-nationals.html","title":{"rendered":"Hagan and Dodge Power Brokers Back in Winner\u2019s Circle with Victory at NHRA New England Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tony\nStewart Racing took home their third Wally trophy of the National Hot Rod\nAssociation (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series season after Funny Car\ndriver Matt Hagan powered his Dodge Charger SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Hellcat from the No. 1\nqualifier position to a fourth win in five years at New England Dragway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re\nvery proud to see Matt Hagan drive the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to the\nwinner\u2019s circle at the New England Nationals and earn a third Wally this\nseason,\u201d said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis.\n\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to see Matt and Tony Stewart Racing continue to embody\nDodge\/\/SRT performance and highlight what Dodge Power Brokers and Direct\nConnection can do for enthusiasts and their rides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\nwas just a great weekend,\u201d said Hagan who earned his 42nd<\/sup> career\nFunny Car victory with his team\u2019s performance at the New England Nationals. \u201cI\ncan\u2019t say enough about Dickie (Venables, crew chief). Nothing really needs to be\nsaid \u2013 our Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat speaks for itself. Mike\nKnutson, Alex Conaway, all the boys wrenching on the car, they just do a great\njob. It\u2019s one of those things I don\u2019t even think about anymore because each and\nevery one of those guys has earned my trust with my life. So when I crawl in\nthe car, I don\u2019t think about anything other than just leaving the starting\nline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hagan\nqualified atop the eliminations ladder for a second consecutive event and a\nthird time this season with a 3.878 second run at 332.51 mph, then turned on\nthe win lights against No. 14 seed Dale Creasy Jr, had a bye run in the\nquarterfinals, and defeated No. 10 seed J.R. Todd to advance to his sixth final\nelimination round of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For\na third time in eight events Hagan lined up his 11,000-horsepower Dodge Power\nBrokers Charger SRT Hellcat against Robert Hight in a final, then wasted no\ntime powering to a 3.922 sec.\/ 327.98 mph lap to capture the first victory over\nhis nemesis this year. Hagan\u2019s third win of the season helps him maintain the\nlead in the Funny Car championship standings with 41-point advantage over Hight\nwho sits in second place with three wins of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fellow\nDodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver Cruz Pedregon continued his streak of solid\nqualifying performances with another top-five starting position, his seventh in\neight events, by taking his Snap-on Tools Funny Car for a 3.901 second lap at\n324.28 mph to earn the No. 4 spot on the eliminations ladder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nfaced off against No. 11 seed Bob Tasca III in the opening round and posted a\n3.948 sec. pass at 323.74 mph to beat his opponent and advance to the\nquarterfinals to race No. 10 seed J.R. Todd. Pedregon had the starting line\nadvantage and maintained the lead to half-track when a loss of traction ruined\nhis run and gave his opponent the opportunity to get past him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In\nTop Fuel action, Dodge Power Brokers dragster pilot Leah Pruett and her TSR\ncrew were seeking a strong performance at the New England Nationals to help\nbreak a string of early exits that have plagued the team since the start of the\nseason. They overcame some qualifying challenges with traction issues on the\nfirst lap and then a stuck throttle at the end of the burnout in the second\nsession that forced Pruett to continue down the track and abandon the run. Her\nthird qualifying run was drama free with a solid 3.780 second pass at 323.50\nmph to put the Dodge Power Brokers dragster 11th on the Top Fuel eliminations\nladder and set up a first round matchup against No. 6 seed Tony Schumacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dodge\/\/SRT HEMI\u00ae<\/sup>-powered machine had a solid opening round run with a 3.796-second\/ 322.11 mph elapsed time to defeat Schumacher and give her lane choice in the quarterfinals against No. 3 seed Mike Salinas. However, Pruett had an uncharacteristically late launch against her opponent (a 0.125-second reaction time to a 0.081-sec. start) and her 3.807\/321.27 run wasn\u2019t enough to contend for the win against Salinas\u2019 3.746 sec.\/328.62 mph effort. Despite the difficult start to the season, Pruett sits just outside the top-ten in the Top Fuel standings in an 11th<\/sup> place tie with Antron Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NHRA will race again next weekend at the traditional Father\u2019s Day weekend event, the Thunder Valley Nationals on June 17-19 at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee, for the ninth of 22 national events this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n