Dodge TSR Drivers Stewart, Hagan Dealt Close First-round Exits at NHRA Nevada Nationals
 

November 4, 2024 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  The world of racing is always a game of inches and that was the case Sunday at the NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT drivers Tony Stewart and Matt Hagan with close first-round losses in the Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions, respectively.
 
Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Fame racer from Indiana, drove his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster to a strong 3.735 run against three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in the opening round with cool conditions at the “Strip” at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the penultimate event of the 20-race NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series. Unfortunately, Brown’s 3.724 elapsed time nipped Stewart right at the finish line, ending the Dodge driver’s day early.
 
Stewart, who qualified sixth in the 16-car field at 3.703, now heads to the season finale at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals set for Nov. 14-17 in Pomona, California, and remains in the ninth position in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings in his rookie year in the Top Fuel category.
 
“I felt this weekend started off strong for us,” said Stewart, a champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC competition. “We had three solid qualifying sessions for myself and our Direct Connection Dodge//SRT team. We felt good going into eliminations today. My team put together a respectable car, but we ended up coming up short. Antron (Brown) and I battled it out, but, unfortunately, we blew up at the end. We’re putting today behind us. We’ll look ahead to testing tomorrow to put a good package together for Pomona.”
 
Hagan, the reigning NHRA Funny Car World Champion, was coming off an NHRA win at Texas last month with his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat and set his sights on another Nevada Nationals victory after four previous wins at the “Strip.”
 
The four-time NHRA champion looked to be on a strong qualifying run Saturday when an engine explosion slowed his chances for the No. 1 position. However, the TSR crew put in a quick repair, dropping in a new 11,000-horsepower, nitro-burning engine and replacing the SRT Hellcat body with the 50th anniversary Direct Connection livery. Hagan came back for the final qualifying round to drive to the sixth starting position at 3.854.
 
In the first round of eliminations, Hagan went up against young Daniel Wilkerson in another close decision at the finish line, with Wilkerson nipping Matt with a 3.880 to a 3.901. Despite the first-round exit, the Virginia driver still ranks fourth in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings as he heads to the final race of the season.
 
“We were just on the wrong side of a good drag race,” said Hagan. “It was a very tough first-round matchup with Wilkerson and his bunch. They can be tough at places like this in Las Vegas. They have been close to winning races. We were a little on the conservative side for the first round. We’re going to stay over and test some things on Monday for the next race, and next year. We still want to win for Dodge and Direct Connection at Pomona in two weeks.
 
“We had a tough week for the crew guys as we had a big explosion in Q3, and we had to take everything down to the chassis and even pull out the Indy 50th anniversary Direct Connection body. But they fought back, and we ran a 3.85 in the final session for the sixth position in qualifying. We didn’t have a year we wanted like last year with the season title, but I have a lot of confidence with this TSR Direct Connection Dodge team. They have won championships before, and they will win championships again. We’ll be ready for the 2025 season.”
 
Sweden’s Ida Zetterström, in her first year of NHRA competition, drove her JCM/Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster against defending World Champion Doug Kalitta in the first round, but her car smoked the tires while Kalitta advanced to the Nevada Nationals final round.
 
“Obviously, Doug Kalitta and his team, they’re the reigning champions for a reason and they are tough,” said Zetterström. “We definitely rolled up ready to put up a fight and just came up short this time. One more race to go but first we’ve got SEMA (trade show in Las Vegas). It’ll be great to spend some more time with our partners and our fans and then it’s back to Indy to regroup and get ready to finish the year strong in Pomona.”
 
Nitro action for the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals is scheduled for qualifying rounds on Friday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. PST and 4:30 p.m. PST with additional qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16, at 12:30 p.m. PST and 3 p.m. PST. Final eliminations will be on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 11 a.m. PST.  
 
Fox Sports 1 television coverage of the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals will be televised on Sunday, Nov. 17, with the final eliminations being shown at 4 p.m. EST.

Direct Connection
The Direct Connection portfolio, available online and through the Dodge Power Brokers dealer network, includes modern performance, crate engine, race and vintage muscle high-performance products for Dodge performance vehicles, offering factory street, strip and track performance parts developed by SRT engineers and backed by a Mopar® warranty for peace of mind.

Performance enthusiasts and racers can access the Direct Connection hotline at (800) 998-1110 for technical and race support. More information on Direct Connection and Dodge Power Brokers is available at DCPerformance.com. 
 
@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 Mission 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 110 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge, America’s performance brand, shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments in which the brand competes while moving forward to a future that includes electrified muscle in the form of the next-generation, all-new Dodge Charger.
 
The next-generation Dodge Charger electrifies a legend, with the Charger retaining its title as the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car led by the all-new, all-electric 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack. The all-new Dodge Charger will also offer performance choices via multi-energy powertrain options including the 550-horsepower Dodge Charger SIXPACK H.O., powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo Hurricane High Output engine.
 
Dodge also keeps its foot on the gas as a pure performance brand with 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.

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
Mopar is 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 more than 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.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at www.blog.mopar.com. 

Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Dodge brand: www.dodge.com
DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge and www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: @DodgeMoparMotorsports, @DodgeOfficial and @OfficialMopar
Twitter: @Dodge, @OfficialMopar and @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge, www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA