Antron Brown Makes it to Final Round at Pomona Season Finale

POMONA, Calif. (November 13, 2022) – Toyota driver Ron Capps won his third career NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car Championship on Sunday night with a final round appearance in the season finale at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Capps’ championship marks the fourth Funny Car championship for Toyota, and the first for the GR Supra Funny Car. Capps met race-winner Cruz Pedregon in the final round and lost by only two one-hundreths of a second.

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown made his way to the final round and faced race-winner Austin Prock. Brown ran a 3.701 to Prock’s 3.641 to finish out the racing season.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Auto Club Raceway of Pomona
Race 22 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Final Round	W. 3.704 vs. 4.070 (J. Ashley)W. 3.805 vs. 3.890 (R. August Jr.)W. 3.725 vs. 3.717 (J. Hart)L. 3.701 vs. 3.641 (A. Prock)
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 1	L. 7.377 vs. 3.711 (A. Prock)
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 1	L. 4.267 vs. 3.903 (R. August Jr.)
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 1	L. 4.070 vs. 3.704 (A. Brown)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 1	L. 4.113 vs. 3.801 (J. Hart)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Final Round	W. 3.852 vs. 10.350 (J. Arend)W. 3.865 vs. 3.905 (T. Wilkerson)W. 3.865 vs. 3.905 (B. Tasca III)L. 3.850 vs. 3.839 (C. Pedregon)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 4.014 vs. 4.272 (J. Campbell)W. 3.914 vs. 4.065 (S. Densham)L. 3.880 vs. 3.864 (C. Pedregon)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Round 1	L. 4.349 vs. 3.878 (T. Wilkerson)

TOYOTA QUOTES

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

Final Result: Final Round

What would you say to anyone looking to take a risk like you did to start this race team?

“It’s like anybody in Amrica, anything you put your mind to, you can do with great people around you. I told you earlier I knew we deserved it because of the great group of people I have around me. I can’t even begin to say what it feels like right now. I mean, NAPA Auto Care people, all the NAPA Auto Care owners, 6000 strong and for everybody at home that puts on the Ron Capps NAPA jersey and watching on the couch there on Fox Sports, and GearWrench and Toyota coming on board – to give them a championship means so much. But my family and more than anything we have take on this role this year. That’s been unbelievable. I’m sure you’ve all seen me age quite a but in the last year or so. And I’m sure there were some upset people on the starting like including Slugger (Labbe, TRD) from Toyota and his guys. They thought I was going to shut it off and I planned on it, but I didn’t see Cruz (Pedregon) and I knew I couldn’t get across the centerline so I hugged the wall all the way down. I hope everybody appreciates that. I ran it to the finish line because that was a hard decision to make. For the fans, I did the longest burnout.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Finals

In your round one win, the GR Supra got really close to the center line. What does that feel like from the driver’s seat?

“These are over 11,000 horsepower race cars running on nitromethane – volatile. They don’t want to go straight. Sometimes you’re doing good on the steering and it just wants to push you over. Sometime you’re not as good at staying ahead of the car. But on that one, man, what a mess. That was an ugly run. I was relieved to see the win light come on in our lane. I know the guys give me a great car, but it’s up to me to get down the track and not cross the centerline and not mess up on the starting line. I can tell you that for as calm, cool and collected as I was, I almost double-stepped that car and then we get down there and realized I had to lift and get back on it. But what a weird day of upsets. I’m just so relieved that we’re going onto the second round. Now it’s time to be the quarterback who throws the interception, I just have to forget about it and move on. We have lane choice – amazing.”

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

Final Result: First Round

After losing in the first round in Pomona, how will you and your team reflect on the 2022 season and does this reignite the fire in you for 2023?

“The fire never went out, but I’ll tell you, I’m glad this year is over. It’s been terrible. Couldn’t have been a better way to end it. We’ve stubbed our toe and shot ourselves in the foot time and time again this year and we have to get back to square one and get back to doing what these Capco boys know how to do. We’ll have a good off-season and spend some time with friends and family. We’ll just do the best we can do, but it’s been a great year except for our performance. I’ll go home and spend some time with my family and my little girl and it will all be better.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

• Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan qualified his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car No. 3 on the eliminations ladder at the 57th annual Auto Club National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Finals and remains in the hunt for the championship for a fourth straight year heading into the last race day of the season
• While Hagan has a 62-point deficit to Funny Car championship leader Robert Hight and is five behind No. 1 Qualifier Ron Capps, both of his opponents are on the opposite side of the eliminations ladder to the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat which sets up the possibility of TSR earning their first NHRA world title by advancing to the final or winning the Wally trophy
• No. 2 seed Cruz Pedregon had the best qualifying performance of his Funny Car career aboard the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with four of the quickest passes he has ever run, all of which were in the 3.84-second range
• TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett took her Dodge Power Brokers dragster for their best elapsed-time run of the season to earn the No. 4 position for eliminations at NHRA Finals

November 12, 2022, Pomona, California – Race day at the 57th annual Auto Club National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Finals may offer up a very exciting end to Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) first season in drag racing competition as Matt Hagan qualified his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car No. 3 for eliminations and, with three win lights and a little luck, could end up battling for a Wally trophy and the 2022 NHRA World Championship in the final round of the season.

There are certainly plenty of scenarios that could play out on race day for the points-and-a-half finale at the legendary Auto Club Raceway at Pomona but should current class leader Robert Hight falter in the first two rounds while the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car drives to a final elimination appearance, the world championship title for Hagan and TSR remains a possibility.

The three-time Funny Car World Champion’s best run of the weekend came in Friday’s second session with a 3.669-second elapsed time run at 329.67 mph to put him third on the elimination ladder and earn four of his five total qualifying bonus points. While he wasn’t able to amass enough extra points to put him within two rounds (or less than 60 points) of Hight as No. 1 Qualifier Capps (57 points behind) had done, the good news is that both of Hagan’s opponents are on the opposite side of the eliminations ladder, giving the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver a chance to contend for the crown by advancing to the final round.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Hagan heads into the last race of the season as a title contender. He’ll begin his drive against No. 14 seed Steven Densham. 

Two-time Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon earned the No. 2 Qualifier position for the last race of the 2022 season aboard his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat after putting together the best qualifying performance of his career with four of the quickest passes he has ever run, all of which were in the 3.84-second range. Pedregon ran a career-best 3.840-second run at 322.58 mph with his first lap of the weekend to put himself in the provisional No. 1 Qualifier position on Friday, and had three more great consistent runs that put him first or second in each of the remain sessions to collect a total of 14 bonus points. 

Unfortunately, Pedregon was dislodged from to the top spot by Capps in their final qualifying run. Pedregon will have No. 15 seed Jason Rupert as his opening round opponent.

TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett will go into the last race day of the year as No. 4 qualifier after wheeling her Dodge Power Brokers dragster to their best elapsed time run of the season with a 3.669 second/329.67 mph effort in Friday’s second session. That run put her provisionally third heading into Saturday qualifying where she added two more solid passes but was unable to improve her starting position in a tight Top Fuel field. Pruett will line up next to No. 12 seed Alex Laughlin in the opening round as she works towards earning her second Wally trophy of the year.

The NHRA Finals, the last of six NHRA “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events will air on FS1 with a recap of qualifying on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. ET and race coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET to conclude with the crowning of 2022 NHRA World Champions.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Leah Pruett, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster  

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.669 seconds at 329.67 mph)

Qualifying 1: 9.948 seconds at 69.35 mph

Qualifying 2: 3.669 sec./329.67 mph (2 bonus points for 3rd quickest of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.739 sec./323.12 mph 

Qualifying 4: 3.692 sec./324.59 mph  

“Friday was a phenomenal day. Even though we smoked the tires on the first run, it really wasn’t due to tune-up. It was just an internal error that we identified immediately just like we had in Denver at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-HIgh Nationals where we rebounded and put down a killer time and went on to win the race. It felt so good to go fast and it’s a complete tribute to the dedication that this team has had through our last couple races. We haven’t had the results that we wanted, but the team kept digging and applied all of those performance enhancing ideologies into this. Our goal is to finish out stronger than we’ve raced all year. We’re very happy with our Dodge Power Brokers dragster and we’re excited because we are going in the direction that we’ve been trying for so long. The car is reacting and it’s exciting to be able to continue pushing and not trying to fix problems. 

“To be able to execute like we did in qualifying was awesome. Qualifying fourth in what I would consider to be the toughest and tightest Top Fuel competition season that I’ve ever been a part of feels good. We’re just really focused on making sure that we keep this momentum and that fierce fighting attitude to make sure that we have a very long Sunday drive.”

Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.844 seconds at 323.58 mph)

Qualifying 1: 4.199 seconds at 220.66 mph

Qualifying 2: 3.844 sec./ 323.58 mph (4 points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.867 sec./326.56 mph (1 point for 4th quickest run of session) 

Qualifying 4: 4.057 sec./245.32 mph

“It kind of comes down to if (Bob) Tasca can take Hight out in the second round, we still have a real shot at it. Then it could be a battle between me and (Ron) Capps to see who goes the farthest there at the end of the day. We’ve still got a shot at it. It’s always great to be in the hunt and I’ve got nothing but confidence in my team and Dickie Venables, Mike Knutson and Alex Conway. Those guys always put an amazing race car underneath me and I’m just excited to get to go tomorrow.

“Obviously there’s always pressure at every race but this is just amplified a little bit more because it’s an opportunity for a championship. It always seems to come down to the last race and the last run and the semi-finals or finals so there’s nothing new there. It’s just knowing that we have to go every round and make every round count. Dickie’s a great racer on Sunday. He races the racetrack. He’s good with making the calls up there and the gut decisions that he has to make up there to make the car go down the racetrack. I think that we just gotta go race the track tomorrow, race our race and let the cards fall where they fall.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.840 seconds at 322.58 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.840 seconds at 322.58 mph (4 points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 2: 3.849 sec./327.03 mph (3 points for 2nd quickest run of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.847 sec./323.43 mph (4 points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 4: 3.841 sec./ 330.31 (3 points for 2nd quickest run of session)

“To say I’m happy and excited and relieved all in one would be an understatement. I’ve been surprised before at the finish line. but not like that. [The first pass] was such a great run and honestly, the car had a cylinder out about three-quarter track on that first (run) so had we been able to put the back half of this second run with the first one I would have been a little bit better.”

“To have four great consistent runs like that makes us very excited about our next season because we now know we have a car that can win races. We’re still trying to get faster speeds, That’s something that we know we need to work on but hats off to the team. They did the job and it’s exciting. That’s what you want and that’s what we work for. Tomorrow we’re just gonna go out there and do all we can to outlast everybody.”

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following qualifying at the NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Robert Hight 2649 (8)

2.  Ron Capps: 2592 (5)

3.  Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2587(4)

4.  John Force: 2460 (1)

5.  Bob Tasca III: 2444 (3)

6.  J.R. Todd: 2344

7. Tim Wilkerson: 2313

8. Alexis DeJoria: 2312 (1)

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2290

10. Blake Alexander: 2199

11. Jim Campbell: 2198

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Brittany Force: 2536 (5)

2.  Justin Ashley: 2510 (3)

3.  Mike Salinas: 2461 (4)

4.  Antron Brown 2444 (3)

5. Steve Torrence: 2443 (2)

6. Austin Prock: 2394 (1)

7. Josh Hart: 2359 (1)

8. Shawn Langdon: 2339

9.  Doug Kalitta: 2335

10. Clay Millican: 2318

11. Tony Schumacher: 2277(1)

12. Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 2265 (1)

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.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 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). 

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), visit www.stellantis.com.

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.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.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

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com

DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.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, https://www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

Torrence’s Top Fuel Dragster Scores Number Two Qualifier

POMONA, Calif. (November 12, 2022) – Ron Capps and his NAPA Toyota GR Supra team struggled through Friday’s qualifying sessions and found themselves on the outside looking in at the top-16 cars. But when the final round came about Saturday afternoon, Capps posted the top time of 3.837 to claim the number one qualifier position. Capps now finds himself within 57 points of the Funny Car championship with eliminations starting Sunday morning from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence posted the number two qualifier time with a pass of 3.647, but was behind one of the two championship contenders, Brittany Force, who claimed the number one qualifier spot only six one-thousandths quicker.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Auto Club Raceway of Pomona
Race 22 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force*	Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster*	1st (3.641)	S. Chrisman
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	2nd (3.647)	R. August Jr.
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6th (3.693)	J. Hart
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th (3.696)	J. Ashley
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	10th (3.706)	A. Brown
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	12th (3.751)	A. Prock

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	1st (3.837)	J. Arend
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	6th (3.862)	J. Campbell
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	9th (3.917)	T. Wilkerson

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 1st

Can you talk about the emotion involved in claiming the number one qualifier heading into the championship run tomorrow?

“I got on the radio and I was screaming and yelling, it was like going down the road to Disneyland and getting on Space Mountain for the first time as a kid. I was fighting for my life to keep it between the guardrail and the center line and it was just hunting and moving. A lot of times, you think that would take ET (elapsed time) away, but I felt the clutch come in sooner than normal and today I could just tell. Yesterday we had issues, turned out it was ignition issues and we found it, but today it just had max cackle that Gary Scelzi always talked about. When your car is just banging and popping and sounding good at idle and you do the burnout and you think, ‘This might be too much,’ it sounded like that all day today. We were worried that the conditions might cool off too much with it being late in the day, but it held its own and Guido got in the box a couple times during the oil down and it just got to where I was asking for us just to get down and have a good run. We’re not going to see these conditions again this year so it’s great to end this way. We started the season with the number one qualifier at the Winternationals as a new team owner and I thought it would be crazy and how much better could it get. Then we go on to win five races and get the pole here at the end. This is what I talk about when you get into a race car like this and you wish you could make those big runs at the big moments, but when you actually have the capability and the personnel and the tools and obviously the sponsors with NAPA and Toyota, but you can actually strap in and go not only do I wish I can or do I think we can, but I know we can go out and throw down with the best. It’s a great feeling so what a way to end qualifying.”

What does it do knowing you have a possible match-up with Robert Hight in the semi-finals tomorrow?

“It’s just an emotional roller coaster. First it’s the interview on the top end and then we come up and see my family on the fence – all 80 of them that we got tickets for. That’s all fun and that’s what makes this so special, right? Then to get up here and I forgot all about the math and we get up here and Paul Mecca and our Gearwrench tools guy are like, ‘Did that get us below two rounds?’ So to have you guys tell us that not only did it, but it got us three points under, it gets better and better. Then I find out that we’re on the same side of the ladder so like I said, it’s a different day tomorrow. New track, new people, new opponents, big moments. I’m going to wake up tomorrow in my motorhome trackside and have a chance of possibly winning a world championship once again in NHRA. Possibly not, but there’s a good chance. There’s not a better feeling to wake up and stand here and realize that as a kid I used to watch the big moments and now I’m part of some of them.”

How do you calm yourself down in a situation like tomorrow with the championship on the line?

“Some drivers have to be completely silent and sit in the tow vehicle and I’m sending Instagrams out and tweets. Leah (Pruett) asked me last year when I have the time to do all this stuff and I told her, ‘When I get into the staging lanes.’ I answer my emails and send my tweets and funny Instagrams and Facebook stuff before I get suited up and it keeps my mind calm. And if anyone here is A.D.D., they will understand. It’s backwards, but I just try to stay busy. I’ve been through this moment so many times, it doesn’t matter, you still wake up with a pit in your stomach and bald eagles flying around your stomach. That’s what it’s all about.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 6th

After a career-best pass in this qualifying session with 3.862, what does that say about this race team?

“Well, it definitely lifted up in the front, I could feel it a little bit, but it was nice and smooth. I didn’t get out of the groove too much. The temperature is great right now. Our last one would have been good, but I’m so nervous about crossing the center line or touching it and getting 15 points taken away. So I’m a little gun shy. I can’t say enough about our team, they are so rad and our crew chiefs are so rad. This year has really been building for next season. We have a badass car. We have a badass team and my whole crew is just freaking awesome.”

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

How do you feel about your championship chances with Brittany Force and Justin Ashley running strong in qualifying?

“There’s still a chance, but that door is definitely not open very much. Anytime you can run quicker than that Monster car on any lap, that’s a big deal and it’s crazy to think we ran .64 and we’re still number two. That’s a testament to how bad to the bone those guys are, but these Capco Contractors boys on this Toyota dragster, we definitely want to finish the season on a bang and finish strong. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot and just experimented entirely too long and couldn’t get it back in time. It’s been a good year, but I’m glad it’s over. We still have a shot to play spoiler tomorrow, but it would entail two of the best cars out here to go out early. We’re not going to hope for that, but we’re just going to go out and give it all we’ve got and maybe we can play spoiler.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

• Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) will close out their first season competing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series this weekend with driver Matt Hagan and the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car vying for a championship at the 57th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals
• The three-time Funny Car World Champion has four wins and four runner-up performances this year aboard his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and remains in contention for the championship crown heading into the season finale 63 points behind category leader Robert Hight and two behind reigning titleholder Ron Capps
• Hagan heads into the NHRA Finals with a chance to earn the Funny Car title for a fourth consecutive season and the ninth time in 15 years
• TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett looks to finish off her team’s challenging first year together on a positive note and add to highlights that include a coveted win at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals in Denver and a No. 1 Qualifier position at the Sonoma Nationals

November 9, 2022, Auburn Hills, Michigan – While their first season competing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series draws to a close at the upcoming 57th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) and driver Matt Hagan aren’t easing up on the throttle as the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car remains in contention for the world championship heading into the final event of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Hagan began the year by driving his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the winner’s circle in three of the first eight national events of TSR’s inaugural season, including his first career Gatornationals victory, and led the Funny Car points standings until the halfway point of the season. His playoff performance through five of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship events included three semifinals followed by back-to-back final rounds appearances to stay in the hunt.

His win at the penultimate race of the season, the Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, kept the team’s Funny Car title hopes alive by putting Hagan within 63 points of the category leader Robert Hight and just two points behind reigning world champ Ron Capps heading into this weekend’s points-and-a-half NHRA Finals at the legendary Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

It’s familiar territory for Hagan who comes into the final race as a title contender for the fourth consecutive season after finishing runner-up in the championship last season, earning the Funny Car crown in 2020, and ending up third overall in 2019. The three-time NHRA world champion has driven a Dodge Funny Car to a top-three finish eight times in 14 years.

For a chance to vie for the crown again on race day, Hagan will have to amass all the extra bonus points he can in four qualifying sessions to get within two rounds (or less than 60 points) of Hight. However, no matter what the result, Hagan is proud of what his TSR team has accomplished and looks forward to building on this season’s performance.
 
“It has been a real honor to drive for Tony Stewart Racing this year and I’m looking forward to next year also,” says Hagan who earned four Wally trophies and four runner-up finishes for TSR this year to date. “Obviously, we’re in the hunt to win TSR their first championship this weekend, so that would be huge. It is an uphill battle and we have to come out swinging. We have to gather up those small points to keep it under 60 (points) over two rounds to win. In 2010, when I was the runner-up, all I had to do was show up and go two rounds to win. I was eliminated in the first round, so (John) Force won the championship. I’ve been on Robert’s (Hight) side of it and lost it, so that’s why we’re going to go out there and dig deep to still give ourselves a shot. It’s still very possible.
 
“I’m happy to be a part of it and excited for what the future brings,” adds Hagan. “I think we’ll be in the mix of things for a long time to come. We just have to keep pushing hard and turning win lights on and things will fall into place.”
 
TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett and her Dodge Power Brokers dragster head into the last of 22 national events looking to finish their first year together on a high note. While she sits just outside the Top Fuel top 10 going into Pomona, the team made significant gains throughout the challenging season that had Pruett as high as sixth in points by August.
 
Pruett made her sixth career appearance in the NHRA postseason after she scored a memorable win at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals in Denver and earned the No. 1 Qualifier position at the Sonoma Nationals. The Denver victory wasn’t just the highlight of her season, but also the perfect representation of the kind of year TSR has had.
 
“My most memorable moment of this season has got to be a collage of moments from the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals in Bandimere,” says Pruett of her 10th career win. “Specifically the first qualifier, where we were testing new components at our first mile-high race and ultimately blew the tires off harder than we ever had and were able to immediately make wholesale adjustments that provisionally put us in the No. 1 spot. From there, we worked on consistency. On race day, we had a very potent potluck of a good-running racecar, I was solid on the tree, winning a couple pedal fests, with a sprinkle of luck to cap the day off in the winner’s circle. Our whole season of highs and lows could be illustrated in that one race which is why it is so memorable, besides it being our first TSR Top Fuel Wally.”
 
Looking to close out his 30th season of competition in Funny Car on a good note is driver and team owner Cruz Pedregon. This year the two-time world champ qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the top-half of the eliminations ladder at 14 of 21 events to date and became just the third racer in the pro categories to record 600 race day starts.
 
After contending for last year’s championship until the final race and finishing fourth overall, the Cruz Pedregon Racing team battled among the top-five in the standings for the first half of the 2022 season and began the Countdown from eighth place. While the team hasn’t been involved in this year’s title fight, Pedregon would still like to go four rounds on Sunday and continue to help lay the groundwork for his 2023 season.
 
“It’s my home track and we want to end the year on a high note for Snap-on, Dodge and all the partners that support us,” says Pedregon who sits ninth in points heading into the weekend. “I think we have a good shot at six or seven (in the championship) still with points-and-a-half at Pomona. It gives us an opportunity to right some of the wrongs we’ve had this year. We’re all about trying to finish as high as we can in the points and work on getting a gauge on our clutch program. We plan for that to all come together to get stronger, more consistent runs. We’re ready to finish the season with solid runs and going rounds on the final race day of the ’22 season.”
 
The NHRA Finals, the last of six “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events, will take place Nov. 10-13 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, with a pair of Nitro qualifying sessions scheduled on Friday, Nov. 11, and the final two set for Saturday, Nov. 12. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 13. FS1 will broadcast a qualifying highlights show on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. ET and then begin race day coverage at 4 p.m. ET to conclude with the crowning of 2022 NHRA World Champions.

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following the Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Robert Hight 2592 (8)

2.  Ron Capps: 2531 (5)

3.  Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2529 (4)

4.  John Force: 2406 (1)

5.  Bob Tasca III: 2391(3)

6.  J.R. Todd: 2295

7. Tim Wilkerson: 2261

8. Alexis DeJoria: 2259 (1)

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2222

10. Blake Alexander: 2150

11. Jim Campbell: 2149

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Brittany Force: 2468 (5)

2.  Justin Ashley: 2461 (3)

3.  Mike Salinas: 2402 (4)

4.  Antron Brown 2390 (3)

5. Steve Torrence: 2381 (2)

6. Austin Prock: 2342 (1)

7. Josh Hart: 2307 (1)

8. Shawn Langdon: 2290

9.  Doug Kalitta: 2284

10. Clay Millican: 2269

11. Tony Schumacher: 2224(1)

12. Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 2211 (1)

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.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 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). 

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

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.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.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

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com

DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.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, https://www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA NEVADA NATIONALS
THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
OCT. 30, 2022

Chevrolet drivers hold winning hands at Las Vegas

• Erica Enders wraps up fifth career Pro Stock world championship in Camaro SS
• Brittany Force regains Top Fuel points lead with fifth win of season in Chevrolet dragster
• Robert Hight extends Funny Car advantage with runner-up finish in Camaro SS
• Leo Glasbrenner picks up third Stock Eliminator victory in Chevrolet COPO Camaro

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 30, 2022) — Chevrolet drivers were big winners in Las Vegas.

One Chevrolet driver was crowned an NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series champion and two others took large steps at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to winning world titles.

Erica Enders earned a hat trick in the NHRA Nevada Nationals – yellow hat as the No. 1 qualifier, green hat as the race winner and for the fifth time in her career the white hat signifying the Pro Stock world champion.

Enders, driving the Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS, picked up a personal-best 10th victory of the season by defeating Elite Motorsports teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in the final. She wrapped up the title with a semifinal win over Kyle Koretsky’s Lucas Oil Camaro SS.

Enders’ titles
All with Chevrolet:
2022 – 18 races*, 10 wins, 52-8 round record
2020 – 10 races, 4 wins, 25-6 round record
2019 – 18 races, 2 wins, 32-16 round record
2015 – 24 races, 9 wins, 58-15 round record
2014 – 22 races, 6 wins, 45-16 round record
*one race remaining

“It’s a huge blessing. We came out here ready for battle this year because of the fashion that we lost the championship last year, so hats off to my guys. It’s them that stand behind me. I could not be more proud the be their driver,” said Enders, who has also won Pro Stock titles in 2014, ’15. ’19 and 2020. “This is a testament – not only this championship but all the others as well – that you don’t ever give up. You dig deep, play with all the heart that you have when the cards are stacked against you. It’s like David and Goliath. You go to battle and you have not fear, you have the faith.”

John Force Racing teammates Brittany Force and Robert Hight head into the season finale Nov. 13 with faith in their talents and teams – and with the points lead in their respective classes.

Force earned her career-best fifth Top Fuel win of the season. The No. 1 qualifier for the ninth time this season in the Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, Force turned an 82-point disadvantage in the standings into a seven-point advantage over Justin Ashley as she aims for her second world championship.

“I’ve been saying all season long one weekend at a time. Coming into this weekend, not looking at Pomona until we leave here. Right now, we got the win, we got the points lead and we’re going to get right back on track,” said Force, who reached her 35th career final.

“To come out here and win on a holeshot, it’s giving it back to my guys for all the times they carried me. It’s a thank you to them. We wanted to win today, we chased it down and we got it done. We’ll keep our focus and worry about what we can control as we head into Pomona. I wouldn’t want to go into this battle with anyone else but this Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy team.”

Funny Car No. 1 qualifier Hight, who entered the penultimate event of the 22-race season with a 10-point lead, ran to a runner-up finish in the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to leave Las Vegas with a healthier margin over reigning world champ Ron Capps.

It was the third time this season that Chevrolet swept the top qualifier honors –Richmond (Force and Hight) and Reading (Austin Prock and Hight). Hight, advancing to his 96th career Funny Car trophy dash, was the top qualifier for the sixth time this season and 77th of his career.

The Auto Club Finals will feature 30 points per round win (points and a half). FS1 will telecast eliminations from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, live at 4 p.m. ET.

John Force, the No. 5 qualifier in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro SS, fell in the quarterfinals. He remains fourth in the Funny Car standings.

Austin Prock advanced to the Top Fuel semifinals in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster. Prock, the No. 2 qualifier, moved to sixth in the standings.

Enders advanced to her 12th final in 18 races this season and 73rd of her career, making a pass of 6.640 seconds for her 10th win.

“We won nine events in 2015 when we won the world championship and we were fortunate enough to lock it up here,” she said. “As a personal goal, I wanted to win one more that than so we were able to do that today by securing our 10th victory on the season. We don’t plan on letting up going to Pomona.

“This whole season has been a dream come true for our whole team. This season, like every season, we set out to win races and win a championship and we did just that. We spent the whole season with a No. 2 on the car and that didn’t set well with any of us. It lit a fire under our team to become champs again.”

Leo Glasbrenner of Murrieta, California, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to victory for the third time this season in Stock Eliminator. He also won at Pomona and Phoenix.

“Fortunately, I got the good side of the ladder. I had a single, made some adjustments for the semis and when I let go of the footbrake in the final, I thought it was red and it came up green and the win light turn on for the third time this year,” Glasbrenner said.

An interview with Pro Stock champion ERICA ENDERS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:

THAT WAS QUITE A DAY FOR YOU.

“What an incredible day. We came in and wanted to just semi out so we could keep the points lead and win the championship and my crew chief, Mark Ingersoll, said (no way) we’re going for it. I just had to drive it. I did a marginal job today and we were able to park the Melling Performance car in the winner’s circle.”

TWELVE FINAL ROUNDS AND TEN WINS THIS YEAR AND NOT DONE YET. YOU’VE HAD PRO STOCK DREAMS THAT DIDN’T GO THAT GOOD.

“We won nine events in 2015 when we won the world championship and we were fortunate enough to lock it up here. As a personal goal, I wanted to win one more that than so we were able to do that today by securing our 10th victory on the season. We don’t plan on letting up going to Pomona.”

HOW DOES THIS CHAMPIONSHIP STACK UP WITH THE OTHERS?

“It’s a huge blessing. We came out here ready for battle this year because of the fashion that we lost the championship last year, so hats off to my guys. It’s them that stand behind me. This is a testament – not only this championship but all the others as well – that you don’t ever give up. You dig deep, play with all the heart that you have when the cards are stacked against you. It’s like David and Goliath. You go to battle and you have not fear, you have the faith. I could not be more proud the be their driver.”

YOU WANTED TO BEAT YOUR SEASON-BEST WIN TOTAL AND YOU’VE DONE THAT. WHAT IS THIS FEELING FOR YOU?

“The sky is the limit. We’ll keep on going. What a great day. We did what we call a hat trick – we got the No. 1 qualifier, we got the winner’s hat and we got the white one, which means world champion. To be able to do it five times and join the list of people like Bob Glidden and Jeg Coughlin, couldn’t mean anything more to me. We’re happy to park this Melling Performance Chevy Camaro in the winner’s circle. At the beginning of this year, I though five wins would be sufficient; that’s how tough this class is. When we got to the middle of the season we thought why not ten. Well, now why not 11?”

WHEN WILL YOU BE SATISFIED?

“I don’t know; you just keep going. I drive a really badass Chevy Camaro that Rick Jones built and I’m thrilled. I don’t know if that fire will ever get put out. I’m going to enjoy the ride while it lasts.”

An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER:

YOUR TEAM WAS SLUGGING IT OUT THIS DEEP INTO THE CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTDOWN.

“We’ve really come a long way this season. We’ve had a great season. We carried No. 1 and then we lost it right when it mattered and we got lost for the first three races of the Countdown. Somehow we still hung in there at that No. 2 spot, and then today our goal coming in was let’s do what we do best. Let’s go for low of every session, let’s grab as many points as we can, go No. 1 and try to win this thing.”

JUSTIN ASHLEY GOES OUT EARLY AND YOU’VE GOT TO BE THINKING OPPORTUNITY. WE CANNOT LET THIS GET AWAY.

“I actually didn’t know that he went out until we were back (at the hauler). My focus is once I’m in that car, once I’m in the staging lane, once I’m at the starting line it’s only that. I don’t look around me because it’s another distraction, and you don’t need distractions when you’re trying to cut a light and turn a win light on.”

IN THE FINAL, HOW GOOD IS IT TO HEAR BRITTANY WINS ON A HOLESHOT?

“It feels fantastic. I struggled today, all weekend. We’re closing in on the championship and there is a lot of pressure. There’s a lot on our shoulders, our entire team. I pulled up to that final and I wasn’t proud of my lights all day. I knew I could do better than that, so pulling up to that final round I said let’s get this together because we’ve got to win this race and leave as the points leader.”

ONE RACE LEFT AND YOU’VE GOT A LEGITIMATE SHOT TO BE A TWO-TIME TOP FUEL CHAMPION.

“I’ve been saying all season long one weekend at a time. Coming into this weekend, not looking at Pomona until we leave here. Right now, we got the win, we got the points lead and we’re going to get right back on track.”

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL

AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “Awesome weekend for our Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist team. We backed out No. 1 qualifier from Dallas with a No. 2 and then had a semifinal appearance. We managed to move up in the points again and we’ll be looking for another strong weekend in Pomona.”

FUNNY CAR

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “That wasn’t quite the way we scripted the weekend ending. Still, not a bad weekend for our Auto Club team we were able to grow our points lead which was important, we went rounds and qualified well, every point matters right now. We’re still in control of our own destiny, if we go out and win Pomona, we win the championship. This team knows how to get the job done, eight wins so far this season, one more and we know we have the title. The competition is so intense right now, it’s going to be a fight but this Auto Club team is ready for it.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “Not a bad weekend, not the way we wanted it to end, but we qualified well, went a couple rounds. Overall, it was a good weekend. Brittany with Flav-R-Pac getting the win and the points lead back and then Robert with Auto Club going to the finals and gaining points, making sure we’re all still chasing him. Even Austin Prock over there with Montana Brand, he went some rounds. So, we’re in a good spot. Pomona is going to be exciting, going to be an exciting end to the season.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Remains in the Hunt for the Funny Car Championship Heading into NHRA Finals

• Matt Hagan drove his No. 2 qualified Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to the Nevada Nationals Winner’s Circle at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to keep his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) team in the hunt for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championship with one playoff event remaining
• Two holeshot wins were key in sending Hagan to an important final elimination round with important championship implications against the Funny Car championship leader and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight.
• The three-time Funny Car world champion earned his fourth win of the season and 43rd of his career by defeating the class leader Hight whom he now trails by 63 points heading into the points-and-a-half NHRA Finals at Pomona
• TSR pilot Leah Pruett qualified her Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel dragster 11th but had loss of traction at half-track in the opening round resulted in an early exit

October 30, 2022, Las Vegas, Nevada – From the No. 2 position on the eliminations ladder at the Nevada Nationals, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan muscled his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to the winner’s circle at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to earn a fourth win this season and his first of the playoffs to keep his first-year team in the hunt for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championship.

“Congratulations to Matt Hagan for capturing an important win at the Nevada Nationals,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “It was another outstanding effort by Matt and his Tony Stewart Racing crew to get the most performance out of their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and take home their fourth victory this season. What a great representation of what performance enthusiasts can expect from the Dodge lineup of vehicles and Direct Connection performance parts.”

Hagan started his race day from second place spot on the eliminations ladder and with a little Vegas luck on his side against No. 15 seed Steven Densham. After his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat had the advantage on the start, it dropped some cylinders early but Hagan kept on the throttle until he lost power and coasted across the finish line with a slim 0.0032-second margin of victory to move on to the quarterfinals.

He then took advantage of the opportunity to advance with a good side-by-side drag race against No. 10 seed Chad Green and drove the Dodge Power Brokers machine to a strong 3.909-second lap at 331.77 mph for the round win ahead of his competitor’s 3.940 sec./ 320.20 mph effort.

That set up a semifinal matchup against No. 3 seed Bob Tasca III that provided an exciting battle that began with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat launching first with a 0.040-sec. reaction time (RT) and running a 3.924 sec/330.07 mph to beat a 0.063-sec RT and 3.904 sec./328.86 mph lap.

Hagan’s two holeshot wins were key in sending him to an important final elimination round with important championship implications against the Funny Car championship points leader and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight. The Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car launched first and its driver never looked back on the way to turning on the win light with a 3.896 sec./330.23 mph to earn his 43rd career victory and take home a fourth Wally trophy from the Nevada Nationals in six years.

Hagan’s win comes on the heels of a playoff performance through five of the Countdown’s six events that includes three semifinal performances and two back-to-back final rounds appearances to keep his championship hopes alive.

While the three-time Funny Car world champion remains third in the playoff standings, the win over Hight cuts his deficit to 63 points from the leader heading into the points-and-a-half NHRA Finals at Pomona and two markers from fellow contender Ron Capps in second place.

In Top Fuel action, TSR’s Leah Pruett and the Dodge Power Brokers dragster qualified with a solid 3.716 sec./ 331.69 mph effort that put them in the 11th position for eliminations to set up an opening round match-up with No. 6 seed Mike Salinas. Pruett had a good run going to the dragstrip’s halfway point until the tires lost traction and she tried to pedal it to regain control. A flash of fire ended any chance of catching Salinas and extending her race day. 

Sitting just outside the Top Fuel top-ten, Pruett and her crew will head to the NHRA finals looking for a good result to close out their first season together in which they earned a win at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals in Denver and No. 1 qualifier honors at Sonoma. 

Defending Funny Car Nevada Nationals winner Cruz Pedregon came into race day at Las Vegas ninth in points and qualified 13th with his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. After an early exit in the first round against J.R. Todd, the Cruz Pedregon Racing team is already focused on making performance gains and preparing for next season after not being involved in this year’s championship battle. 

The NHRA Finals, the last of six NHRA “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events, will take place Nov. 11-13 at Fairplex in Pomona, California. FS1 will broadcast a qualifying highlights show on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. ET and then begin race day coverage at 4 p.m. ET to conclude with the crowning of 2022 NHRA World Champions.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Leah Pruett, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster  

(No. 11  Qualifier – 3.716 seconds at 331.69 mph) 

Round 1: (0.117-second reaction time, 4.375 seconds at 173.18 mph) loss to No. 6 Mike Salinas (0.062/3.723/329.58)

“I always get amped up for Mike (Salinas). I didn’t to a stellar job on the line today and almost double-stepped it up there. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people and that’s exactly what we are. Our Dodge Power Brokers team is going to figure this out and keep going and focus on what we can do in Pomona. It felt like two race days for Tony (Stewart) and I. For him to go two rounds on Saturday was phenomenal. The NHRA is a very challenging sport and he understands that and appreciates it. All of the competitors have been so supportive of him being out here and he is just as supportive of us, no matter what is happening.” 

Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.862 seconds at 330.23 mph)

Round 1: (0.089-second reaction time, 4.123 seconds at 254.62 mph) defeated No. 15 Steven Densham (0.094/4.121/275.00)

Round 2: (0.075/3.909/331.77) defeats No. 10 Chad Green (0.063/3.940/320.20)

Round 3: (0.040/3.924/330.07) defeats No. 3 Bob Tasca III (0.063/3.904/328.86)

Round 4: (0.049/3.896/330.23) defeats No. 1 Robert Hight (0.054/6.157/111.12)

“(Crew Chief) Dickie Venables, Mike Nnutson and Alex Conaway, those guys are making some real power with this Dodge Power Brokers cars. It’s running strong. They’re putting a great hot rod underneath me. It’s kind of cool to come out here on Sunday and win on two holeshots and give my team that little extra bump of what we needed to keep going. Sometimes you gotta be a little lucky and sometimes you gotta be a little good.”

“We just gotta keep digging and working hard. Robert (Hight) is a tough customer. We’re gonna give all we got. We’ve had two good races going to the final in Dallas and then the win here.  We actually have a new combo that we’re working with that they threw in there last night for the last run. I’m excited about what we found and how the car’s running and what we’re doing. I do feel the momentum building back up. I feel like these are our type of races, our type of conditions. I’ve done really, really well and won at Pomona a bunch. We don’t have anything to lose. We have to throw down and we have to scoop up as many points as we can and we have to be aggressive.

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 13 Qualifier – 3.945 seconds at 318.77 mph)

Round 1: (0.115-second reaction time, 3.992 seconds at 281.54 mph) loss to No. 4 J.R. Todd (0.058/3.944/328.54)

“What happened today was a prime example of what happens when you qualify 13th; You go up against a car that you know you’re gonna have to have your best stuff to compete and we just got it handed to us. The car moved over on me a little bit, I saw the DHL car (J.R. Todd) out ahead so I didn’t run it all the way to the end because we got the data we needed. I think this weekend was just growing pains for us. We made just one out of four qualifying runs and we need to be on the other side of that. We’re just gonna take our lumps and, and move on to Pomona.

“We’re in the development stages for 2023, so the good news is that our car went down the track and it was a competitive run. We’re still very optimistic and we’re really changing everything about the car like the clutch and the way we run the motor. We’re gonna test Monday and just get ready for Pomona. we’re gonna roll out at Pomona really ready to go. It’s my home track and we want to end the year on a high note for Snap-on, Dodge and all the partners that support us. 

“I think we have a good shot at six or seven (in the championship) still with points-and-a-half at Pomona. It gives us an opportunity to right some of the wrongs we’ve had this year. We’re all about trying to finish as high as we can in the points.”

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following the Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Robert Hight 2592 (8)

2.  Ron Capps: 2531 (5)

3.  Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2529 (4)

4.  John Force: 2406 (1)

5.  Bob Tasca III: 2391(3)

6.  J.R. Todd: 2295

7. Tim Wilkerson: 2261

8. Alexis DeJoria: 2259 (1)

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2222

10. Blake Alexander: 2150

11. Jim Campbell: 2149

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Brittany Force: 2468 (5)

2.  Justin Ashley: 2461 (3)

3.  Mike Salinas: 2402 (4)

4.  Antron Brown 2390 (3)

5. Steve Torrence: 2381 (2)

6. Austin Prock: 2342 (1)

7. Josh Hart: 2307 (1)

8. Shawn Langdon: 2290

9.  Doug Kalitta: 2284

10. Clay Millican: 2269

11. Tony Schumacher: 2224(1)

12. Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 2211 (1)

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.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 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). 

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Mopar

This year marks the 85th anniversary of Mopar.

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.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.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

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com

DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.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, https://www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
NHRA Nevada Nationals
Oct. 28-30 | Las Vegas

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster:

● Earned No. 14 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (12.009 ET at 55.93 mph).

● Earned No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.746 ET at 329.18 mph).

● Maintained No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.716 ET at 331.69 mph).

● Secured No. 11 qualifying position based off Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 3.960 ET at 228.15 mph.

● Ran a 4.375 ET at 173.18 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Mike Salinas (3.723 ET at 329.58).

● Currently 12th in the Top Fuel championship standings, 257 points behind leader Brittany Force.

Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:

● Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.898 ET at 333.25 mph).

● Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session.

● Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q2 on Friday, Hagan ran 4.353 ET at 199.67 mph.

● Fell to No. 6 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 5.066 ET at 147.09 mph.

● Secured No. 2 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.862 ET at 330.23 mph).

● Scored three bonus points for quickest run of the session.

● Advanced to Finals on Sunday:

●  Round 1: 4.123 ET at 254.62 mph, defeated Steven Densham (4.121 ET at 275.00 mph).

●  Round 2: 3.909 ET at 331.77 mph, defeated Chad Green (3.940 ET at 320.20 mph).  

● Semifinals: 3.924 ET at 330.07 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.904 ET at 328.86 mph).

● Finals: 3.896 ET at 330.23 mph, defeated Robert Hight (6.157 ET at 111.12 mph).

● Currently third in the Funny Car championship standings, 63 points behind leader Hight.

Notes of Interest

● Hagan’s Funny Car victory in the NHRA Nevada Nationals was the 43rd of his career, his fourth of the season and his fourth at the NHRA Nevada Nationals.

● Hagan was in a must-win situation coming into the NHRA Nevada Nationals and the three-time Funny Car champion delivered. In defeating points-leader Hight, Hagan remains in contention to collect a fourth Funny Car title heading into the season finale in two weeks in Pomona, California.

● Hagan and Hight had their 44th career meeting Sunday at Las Vegas. It was the seventh time this season the two have competed against each other. Hight still leads 23-21 all-time.

● Hagan has now gone back-to-back in final-round appearances. He advanced to the finals in the NHRA’s prior event at Dallas, where he lost to Ron Capps.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster

“I always get amped up for Mike (Salinas). I didn’t do a stellar job on the line today and almost double-stepped it up there. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people and that’s exactly what we are. Our Dodge Power Brokers team is going to figure this out and keep going and focus on what we can do in Pomona.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“Anything is possible. Dickie Venables (crew chief), Mike Knudsen (co-crew chief) and Alex Conaway (car chief) are making some real power with this Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, which is running strong. They’re putting a great hot rod underneath me. It’s cool to come out here on Sunday and win with two holeshots and be able to give my team the little extra bump to keep going. Sometimes you have to be a little lucky and sometimes you have to be a little good. You can never count Dickie out. This championship always comes down to the end. You just never know what’s going to happen and that’s what makes it so exciting for us as drivers, the crew chiefs, sponsors and fans.”

Next Up

The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season culminates Nov. 11-13 in Pomona, California, with the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

TODD HAS STRONG RUN ON A MILESTONE DAY
Several Team Toyota drivers in contention for the championship

LAS VEGAS (October 30, 2022) – J.R. Todd had a milestone day in Las Vegas as the Indiana-native earned his 300^th round win before leading Toyota with a semi-final finish. Ron Capps goes into the season finale in second, still in contention for this third championship

In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon, Antron Brown and Steve Torrence all scored first round wins. Justin Ashley, Brown and Torrence are all still within championship contention heading into Pomona.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Race 21 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.770 v. 3.879(Baldwin) L. 3.762 v. 3.764(Holeshot Loss – Schumacher)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.709 v. 3.751(Kalitta) L. 4.156 v. 3.732(B. Force)
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.690 v. 3.719(Hart) L. 3.733 v. 3.732(Prock)
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.754 v. 3.695(Millican)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.751 v. 3.709(Brown)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 3.944 v. 3.992(Pedregon) W. 3.889 v. 3.957(J. Force) L. 3.898 v. 3.878(Hight)
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.891 v. 4.008(Campbell) L. 3.938 v. 3.914(Tasca)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.906 v. 9.415(Lee) L. 3.907 v. 3.894(Hight)

TOYOTA QUOTES

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Finals

How do you feel going into the last race of the year?

“I’m really proud of the effort the guys put forth this weekend. I’m mad at myself for the semifinals. Rounds like that, late in the day – you have to be on your game on the starting line. I can be way better than that. I messed up on my part, but at the end of the day, we’ve got a good DHL Toyota heading into Pomona. It would be nice to close the season with a win for sure.”

ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, AB Motorsports

Final Result: Second Round

How was your race?

“Certainly not the weekend we wanted here at Las Vegas for the fall race. We wanted to get back to the final round like we did here at the spring race. We have to qualify better. That’s key. We had a solid opening round lap with that 3.70 against Dougie (Doug Kalitta) with the tool wars and that’s always important to us and our Matco family. Round two was tough. Brittany (Force) was a juggernaut all weekend in qualifying and we were just a tad too aggressive. Our Matco dragster was trucking early, but the track just wouldn’t hold it. It’s tough. We’ve still got a shot going into Pomona (Calif.) in two weeks and that’s all you can ask for. We’re going to test here tomorrow and dial our tune-up in for the Pomona Finals.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.  

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants.  By 2025, Toyota’s 14^th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.  With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Hagan and Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car Qualify No. 2 at Nevada Nationals, the Penultimate Event of NHRA ‘Countdown to the Championship’ 

• Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan qualified his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car No. 2 for the 22nd edition of the Nevada Nationals and heads into the penultimate event of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) “Countdown to the Championship” still in contention for the crown
• Hagan earned the second place position on the eliminations ladder with the quickest run of the final qualifying session
• A three-time event winner in the last five years at Las Vegas, Hagan goes into race day 83 points behind the points leader Robert Hight 
• TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett qualified her Dodge Power Brokers dragster 11th in a competitive field for Sunday’s eliminations
• Defending Funny Car event winner Cruz Pedregon qualified 13th aboard his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

October 29, 2022, Las Vegas, Nevada – Just two race days remain in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) “Countdown to the Championship” and Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan showed he is determined to stay in the heat of the battle for the Funny Car crown by qualifying his Dodge Power Brokers charger SRT Hellcat No. 2 for the 22nd annual Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the penultimate event of the six-race playoff series.

The three-time world champion sits third in the Funny Car standings going into Sunday’s elimination rounds after finishing runner-up to Ron Capps (second in points) at the previous race in Texas to put himself within 78 markers of the category leader Robert HIght heading into the weekend. 

Following a pair of qualifying passes on Friday, the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car was provisionally fifth after setting the third-best run of the first session with a 3.898-second lap at 333.25 mph to earn a bonus point. But Hagan, who has three wins (2017, 2019 and 2020) in the last five fall editions of the Las Vegas event, pressed even harder on Saturday to record a strong 3.862 sec./330.23 mph final qualifying run and earn three additional  bonus points for the quickest pass of Q4. More importantly, that also put his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the No. 2 spot on the eliminations ladder behind Hight who leads Hagan by 83 points heading into race day. Hagan’s opening round opponent will be No. 15 seed Steven Densham.

TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett and her Dodge Power Brokers dragster were provisionally ninth after two Friday qualifying laps with a best run of 3.746 sec./329.18 mph, then improved their performance in the third session with a strong 3.716 second pass at 331.69 mph in a competitive field. That run put Pruett 11th on the eliminations ladder and paired her with No. 6 seed Mike Salinas for Sunday’s first round. Pruett is focused on going rounds on Sunday to help her break back into the Top Fuel top-ten as the team’s first season nears an end.

Last year’s Nevada Nationals Funny Car event winner Cruz Pedregon comes into the weekend ninth in points and while his team may not be in the championship hunt the way they were last season coming into Las Vegas, the team continues to make performance gains with the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and is ready to play spoiler. Pedregon qualified 13th with the 3.945 sec./ 318.77 mph pass he made on his first qualifying pass and will battle No. 4 seed J.R. Todd in the first round.

Two shows with qualifying highlights from the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will air on FS1 on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 9:30 a.m. ET (Q1 and Q2) and 12:30 p.m. ET(Q3 and Q4). Race day coverage on FS1 will begin at 5 p.m. ET.

ADDITIONAL NOTES: 

Leah Pruett, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster  

(No.   Qualifier – 3.716 seconds at 331.69 mph) 

Qualifying 1: 12.009 seconds at 55.93 mph

Qualifying 2: 3.746 sec./329.18 mph

Qualifying 3: 3.716 sec./331.69 mph

Qualifying 4: 3.960 sec./228.15 mph

Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.862 seconds at 330.23 mph) 

Qualifying 1: 3.898 seconds at 333.25 mph (1 bonus point for third quickest of session)

Qualifying 2: 4.353 sec./199.67 mph

Qualifying 3: 5.066 sec./147.09 mph

Qualifying 4: 3.862 sec./330.23 mph

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 13 Qualifier – 3.945 seconds at 318.77 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.945 seconds at 318.77 mph

Qualifying 2: 6.963 sec./102.64 mph

Qualifying 3: 4.967 sec./153.70 mph

Qualifying 4: 5.085 sec./146.10 mph

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following Nevada Nationals qualifying at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Robert Hight 2532 (8)

2.  Ron Capps: 2511 (5)

3.  Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2449 (3)

4.  John Force: 2386 (1)

5.  Bob Tasca III: 2351(3)

6.  Tim Wilkerson: 2261

7. J.R. Todd: 2255 

8. Alexis DeJoria: 2239 (1)

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2222

10. Blake Alexander: 2150

11. Jim Campbell: 2149

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Justin Ashley: 2461 (3)

2.  Brittany Force: 2388 (4) 

3.  Antron Brown 2370 (3)

4. Steve Torrence: 2361 (2)

5.  Mike Salinas: 2342 (4) 

6.  Josh Hart: 2307 (1) 

7.  Austin Prock: 2302 (1)

8.  Doug Kalitta: 2284

9. Shawn Langdon: 2270

10. Clay Millican: 2249

11. Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 2211 (1)

12. Tony Schumacher: 2184 (1)

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.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 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). 

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Mopar

This year marks the 85th anniversary of Mopar.

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.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.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

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com

DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.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, https://www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

ASHLEY LOOKS TO EXTEND POINTS LEAD FROM THIRD STARTING SPOT

Former champ J.R. Todd leads the Toyota Funny Car contingent

LAS VEGAS (October 29, 2022) – Justin Ashley saved the best for last as he moved inside the top half of the ladder in the final qualifying session. The points leader ran a 3.686 to move up to third and draw Clay Millican. Shawn Langdon also had a strong qualifying effort inside the top-five.

In Funny Car, former Las Vegas winner and Funny Car champion J.R. Todd qualified a season-best fourth. Ron Capps, who began the weekend just 10 points out of the Funny Car points lead, qualified his GR Supra in sixth.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 21 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force*	Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel Dragster*	1st (3.665)	Bye
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	3rd (3.686)	C. Millican
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	5th (3.696)	K. Baldwin
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th (3.698)	J. Hart
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	8th (3.708)	A. Brown
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	9th (3.710)	D. Kalitta

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Robert Hight*	AAA of Southern California Funny Car*	1st (3.857)	T. Haddock
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	4th (3.870)	C. Pedregon
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	6th (3.889)	J. Campbell
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	8th (3.919)	P. Lee

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 3rd

How much confidence does that run in the final session give you going into tomorrow?

“A lot of confidence. To wrap up qualifying with a nice solid run like that – and to be truthful – no matter how we ran in that last session, I would have had a tremendous amount of confidence, and rightfully so, because this team has gotten up on race day every time, no matter where we qualified, but that is a really good base for us. Conditions are going to be similar tomorrow, so it gives us more data and information to overlay going into race day.”

What are your goals for tomorrow?

“For right now, my goals are to win round one. I will take it from there. Every race we come into trying to win, so that goal is not going to change – not that we are now in the Countdown, we are not going to change what we do. We are going to keep everything consistent and the same. Our goal tomorrow is to make it a long day and to put this Phillips Connect Toyota in the winner’s circle, but right now we are focused on Clay Millican. He’s a really tough competitor and we want to put our best foot forward in the first round.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 4th

How much are you looking forward to race day?

“That Friday night run was really encouraging. We’ve been trying to run like that for a while, just need to work on our consistency a little bit. We were definitely trying to run better tonight, and for whatever reason, it slowed down. The car is going down the track. I feel like we definitely have a really good DHL Toyota GR Supra that is capable of winning here. We’ve won here in the past – a few times – and it would be nice to leave here with a trophy on Sunday.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.