TOYOTA SWEEPS U.S. NATIONALS WEEKEND
Capps, Brown win first U.S. Nationals trophies as team owners

INDIANAPOLIS (September 5, 2022) – Antron Brown and Ron Capps scored their first U.S. Nationals wins as team owners in NHRA on Monday. Capps scored his elusive first U.S. Nationals Wally, while Brown earned his fourth.

Their wins helped secure a Toyota weekend sweep after Steve Torrence and Capps won the Top Fuel and Funny Car all-star Callouts earlier in the weekend. A Toyota driver has now gone to the winner’s circle in three consecutive NHRA events.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Indianapolis Raceway Park
Race 16 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W. 3.720 v. 3.737(Tatum) W. 3.736 v. 6.419(S. Torrence) W. 3.698 v. 3.714(Ashley) W. 3.706 v. 3.714(B. Force)
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-Finals	W. 3.690 v. 3.788(Langdon) W. 3.697 v. 3.751(B. Torrence) L. 3.714 v. 3.698(Brown)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-Finals	W. 3.713 v. 3.727(Millican) W. 3.802 v. 3.989(Salinas) L. 6.518 v. 3.676(B. Force)
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.693 v. 3.774(Prock) L. 6.419 v. 3.736(Brown)
Billy Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.740 v. 5.129(Pruett) L. 3.751 v. 3.697(Ashley)
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.788 v. 3.690(Ashley)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Winner	W. 3.886 v. 3.982(Creasy Jr.) W. 3.883 v. 4.458(Todd) W. 3.887 v. 8.995(J. Force) W. 3.913 v. 7.649(Hight)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.856 v. 7.086(Pedregon) L. 4.458 v. 3.883(Capps)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L. Foul – Red Light v. 3.881

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Final Result: Winner

How surreal is this moment for you?

“It’s unbelievable. Thank the God above. All of the prayers, all of the hard work in this Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Toyota, SiriusXM, Hangsterfer’s Dragster. We are making it happen. We have been working so hard for this. To be in Indy, hometown – I live eight miles from the track. I’m super proud of my team. They did an incredible job. Tough matchup against Brittany (Force), really tough one in the semifinals against Justin (Ashley) and the Phillips Connect team. We did it. We brought it home.”

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

Final Result: Winner

What does this mean to you?

“There are so many neat things that have happened in my life this year. Look across our car, the littlest, smallest logo – people wanted to be a part of this team, part of what you are doing. NAPA Auto Parts, this week of NAPA Auto Care. Toyota, Paul Doleshal, Slugger (Labbe) – they took a chance on what I’m doing. I’m living a dream. I have my own small business and to have all of these people. We have been trying to win this. My wife (Shelly) has been through – I’ve tried to win this a long time with her here. She’s adamant about everyone sitting in the same seat, the same place. It’s going to be a large one tonight, but all of those NAPA Auto Care people across the country – this is who that is for. Kids don’t stop dreaming. Everything is possible if you put your mind to it.”

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

Final Result: Semi-Finals

How was your race?

“I thought we had a great weekend. This was my first US Nationals in full force with five qualifying sessions and racing on Monday. It was a long weekend with a lot happening on and off the track, the most important moment this weekend was the announcement of our extension with Phillips Connect. I am so grateful we have an opportunity to keep working with them. The Phillips Connect Toyota Vita C Energy racecar ran great and we just came up a little short in a really close drag race in the semifinals. I am really proud of this team. Throughout the whole weekend they worked extraordinarily hard. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago were awesome. Heading into the Countdown we have a really good race car.”

# # #

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.

Dodge Entries Qualified and Ready for 68th Annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals

• Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan drove his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to a runner-up finish in the Pep Boys National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) All-Star Callout specialty race that took place during Sunday qualifying at the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals
• Hagan qualified his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the top half of the Funny Car elimination ladder after five qualifying opportunities to prepare for the world’s biggest and best known drag racing competition on Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
• TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett, who finished runner-up in 2020, qualified her Dodge Power Brokers dragster No. 10 on the eliminations ladder for the “Big Go”

Three-time Indianapolis Funny Car winner Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat No. 9 for eliminations

September 4, 2022, Indianapolis, Indiana – Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan drove his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to a final round appearance in the Pep Boys National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) All-Star Callout specialty race that took place during Sunday qualifying ahead of Monday’s main event; the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Hagan and his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat were among eight Funny Car drivers to take part in the race-within-a-race battle for bragging rights and $80,000 cash prize. For his first pick, Hagan “called out” and defeated Alexis DeJoria as payback for defeating him in the semifinals of 2021 NHRA Finals at Pomona to end his championship bid. 

Hagan moved on to the Callout semifinals, which did not count as an official qualifying run, to battle Robert Hight against whom he had the starting line advantage and turned on the win light with a 4.180-second run at 255.73 mph while his opponent (10.119/82.57) lost traction at the hit of the throttle. 

Advancing to his first final elimination in five career specialty race appearances, Hagan staged his HEMI-powered ride next to Ron Capps who had earned lane choice with his previous run. The two competitors had an exciting side-by-side battle with Hagan’s quicker 3.900 sec./328.86 mph run overshadowed by Capps’ deep stage starting line advantage and slower 3.936 sec./ 330 mph pass for the holeshot win and a four thousandths-of-a-second margin of victory.

While disappointed with the runner-up result, Hagan was pleased with his team’s efforts during the five qualifying opportunities they had to prepare his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to put him in the top half of the eliminations ladder for the legendary event known as the “Big Go”. His best qualifying performance came Saturday night with a 3.892 sec./333.41 mph pass to put him in the No. 7 spot and set up a first round meeting with DeJoria in his quest for a second (2016)  Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals title win.

TSR pilot Leah Pruett will begin her race day from the No. 10 spot on the Top Fuel eliminations ladder after recording her best lap of 3.725 sec./332.51 mph aboard the Dodge Power Brokers dragster in the Saturday evening session. She’ll have Billy Torrence as her first round opponent as she begins the pursuit of her first Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals Wally after coming close with her runner-up performance in 2020.

A three-time winner at the world’s biggest and best known drag racing competition, Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat No. 9 on the Funny Car eliminations ladder with a 3.906 second effort at 324.83 mph, the fifth quickest run of the first session of the weekend. Pedregon will stage next to J.R. Todd for the opening round of the Labor Day classic. 

Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals eliminations coverage will begin Monday, Sept. 5, on FS1 at noon ET, continue on FOX at 2 p.m., and conclude with live final round action. Fans can also view all on-track activity in real-time via NHRA.TV and its subscription-based, video-on-demand coverage throughout the event.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Leah Pruett, Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster  

(No. 10 Qualifier – 3.725 seconds at 332.51 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.765 seconds/325.22 mph 

Qualifying 2: 6.245 sec./109.56 mph 

Qualifying 3: 3.725 sec./332.51 mph 

Qualifying 4: 6.484 sec./104.15 mph

Qualifying 5: 5.442 sec./126.40 mph

“I’ve always said nothing is impossible when it comes to Indy, and learning curves and luck are not excluded from that statement. We started off on track with our strategy of running a solid Friday night pass to get us in the field with a 3.76 second run. The plan was to improve from there but as we worked to add speed to the car down low, it was not as cooperative as we would have liked. Instead it applied more abrupt power than we wanted, resulting in tire smoke in Q2. Finding a middle ground with great conditions, we ran a safe 3.72 and we’re again at our performance baseline to continue to improve in Q4. Again we experienced rapid power application and smoked the tires. 

“With the final qualifying session approaching and room to push the envelope, we continued down the path of trying to run a high 60 but the undetectable ghost of electronic woes bit us. Our clutch controller is software input driven and ground based, and a select portion of that program, crucial to the tune up setup, did not engage. Basically our bearing never moved and we never got to broker our power to improve our 10th position. God’s department of thunder must have been looking out for us as we were the last pair to go down the track before it rained and they called it a night. Thankful we were able to identify the issue when we got back, but we are still looking for solutions. That may include swapping a full management system. I have total faith in my Neal Straughsbagh-led crew. We will head into raceday with a solid tune, on-point driver and crew, and prepared for the Friday of Mondays.”

Matt Hagan, Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 7 Qualifier – 3.892 seconds at 333.41 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.938 seconds/309.49 mph 

Qualifying 2: 5.581 sec./126.38 mph

Qualifying 3: 3.892 sec./333.41 mph

Qualifying 4: 3.895 sec./334.15 mph (Callout Round 1)

Callout semifinal: 4.180 sec./ 255.73 mph (Callout Round 2 did not count towards qualifying)

Qualifying 5: 3.900sec./328.86 mph (Callout final)

“What a wild week in Indy. We’ve been nonstop with Dodge drive events, media, autograph signings, the Pet Boys NHRA All-Star Callout and trying to get the car qualified. It’s been a wild weekend for racing. Today felt like a race day going to the Callout final against (Ron) Capps  and we’ve got to get ready to race again tomorrow. It’s kind of a different feeling. It was a really good drag race and a great show for the fans that came to watch qualifying at the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals, but it’s a tough pill to swallow when you look at a holeshot loss like that and you do the math and know what really happened. In the end we know we’ve got a good car for tomorrow and that’s really what counts. Obviously we would have loved to win the Callout and put the Dodge Power Broker car in the winter circle and celebrate tonight but it just wasn’t our day and those guys over there ran really good. So hats off to them.

“I do feel confident about our Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and what we’re doing and the direction we’re moving in. I know that we’re going to have a great race car for race day on Monday. The car is responding well, it’s driving well, it’s handling well, the crew chiefs are making calls and it’s responding to that.

“We started off the weekend with a lot of problems. We had a motor change in the warmup and we had parachutes falling off a race car and not working, so a lot of adversity to get through to start the weekend. Then to come out here and go to the finals in the All-star Callout, I think is moving in the right direction. Dickies Venables is doing a great job getting the car back on track and moving forward. I’m excited about tomorrow. Obviously we hate that we didn’t get it done for TSR and Dodge Power Brokers, but at the end of the day we’ve still got another shot at it tomorrow and we’re going to get it done.”

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

(No. 9 Qualifier –   seconds at   mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.906 seconds/324.83 mph (5th)

Qualifying 2: 5.905 sec./115.68 mph

Qualifying 3: 5.707 sec./127.37 mph

Qualifying 4: 4.031 sec./311.49 mph

Qualifying 5: 4.034 sec./299.06 mph

“We started out great in qualifying. Our Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat ran exactly what we wanted it to run; a 3.90 (second run) at 324 mph, but it did have a couple of cylinders out at the finish line. We smoked the tires twice Saturday because we were pressing. It’s that time of year where we’re going forward but we came up a little short there. Today we felt good going into the Callout race but it dropped a cylinder. It’s kind of been a little bit of an issue with us lately. There are a lot of variables so we’re kind of like searching for a solution but I have all the confidence in the world in (Crew chiefs) JC (John Collins) and Rip (Reynolds). They’re going to figure it out and we’ll just have to ride out this little bit of bad luck that we’re going through right now.

“It was nice to be in the NHRA All-Star Callout among the top eight cars, but tomorrow is a new day. I’ve won the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals three times and to try to do it again we’re going to have to come out and do the cliche ‘one race at a time’ and ‘I don’t care who we race’  thing and see how we do. There’s a 3.88 or 3.89 in his car. I know it’s there and hopefully we can bring it out tomorrow.”

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following qualifying at Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1.   Robert Hight 1480 (6)

2.  Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 1214 (3)

3.  Ron Capps: 1171 (2)

4.  Bob Tasca III: 1104 (3) 

5.  John Force: 1089 (1)

6.  J.R. Todd: 841

7.  Alexis DeJoria: 824

8. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 801

9.  Tim Wilkerson: 700

10. Chad Green: 573

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Brittany Force: 1266 (4)

2.  Mike Salinas: 1170 (4) 

3.  Steve Torrence: 1139 (1) 

4.  Justin Ashley: 1135 (2)

5.  Josh Hart: 852

6.  Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 810 (1)

7.  Shawn Langdon: 809

8. Doug Kalitta: 741

9. Antron Brown 719 (1)

10. Tony Schumacher: 703 (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

Chevrolet poised for big day at the 68th ‘Big Go’

• Top Fuel points leader Brittany Force resets track records in rocketing to No. 1 qualifier
• Greg Anderson racks up third consecutive Pro Stock top qualifier honor
• Funny Car points leader Robert Hight enters eliminations as No. 2 qualifier

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2022) – The stage is set for Team Chevy drivers to celebrate at the most prestigious race on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) calendar and secure top seeds for the Countdown to the Championship.

Chevrolet drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock earned favorable positions for eliminations in the 68th U.S. Nationals on Monday, Sept. 5, after five rounds of qualifications at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Brittany Force, the Top Fuel points leader, reset the track Top Fuel elapsed time and speed records in rocketing to the No. 1 spot with a run of 3.640 seconds at 337.75 mph in the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. Force recorded her seventh top qualifier in 16 races this season and 39th of her career.

Reigning Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, seeking to become the second driver in professional classes to win 100 career NHRA races, claimed his third consecutive top qualifier honor and 121st of his career with a run of 6.567 seconds in the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Funny Car points leader Robert Hight, driving the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, qualified second with a run of 3.870 seconds. John Force qualified fourth in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro SS at 3.881 seconds. Both John Force Racing drivers fell in the semifinals of the $80,000-to-win Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout.

Brittany Force set both ends of the track records in the fourth qualifying session under heavy cloud cover and an ambient temperature of 90 degrees. The speed tied the fifth-fastest in NHRA history, which she set at Sonoma Raceway and Gainesville Raceway earlier this season. Force holds the top eight fastest speeds on the all-time list, topped by the national record of 338.17 mph set in 2019 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It’s definitely a big one for our entire team,” said Force, runner-up in the Top Fuel version of the All-Star Callout and the 2021 U.S. Nationals runner-up. “This is the biggest race of the season. It’s the one race everybody comes to they want to win and you come in with this extra motivation, so to grab that No. 1 qualifier with a killer run after struggling every lap was outstanding. To have the track record, which is pretty cool to be able to do that, and then they announced that it’s the quickest field (in NHRA Top Fuel history), so (it’s great) to be a part of that is history right there.”

Anderson, a six-time winner of the U.S. Nationals, is seeking to join John Force (155) across the century mark in win in the pro classes. Anderson, who has reached the final in two of the past three races, could also surpass 900 career round wins – second only to Force’s 1,410 and counting in NHRA history – with a deep run.

“We picked the right time to really make a perfect run,” he said. “There’s not very often a driver said they made a perfect run, but I made a perfect run. Everything about it was right on the money. The car was perfect, and it seemed like I hit my shift points perfect, and the car stayed perfectly straight, and you just don’t do that that often.

“We’re definitely close,” said Anderson about getting the milestone win. “We’ve made two of the last three finals. So, we’re back to where we can win again. No, haven’t won yet, but we’re back to where we can. We’ve got a good chance each weekend.”

KB Racing teammate Dallas Glenn, driving the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS, qualified second at 6.578 seconds. Pro Stock points leader Erica Enders qualified third in the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Camaro SS as the four-time Pro Stock champion aims for her third U.S. Nationals victory in a row.

Reigning Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown champion Aaron Stanfield, driving the Janac Brothers Chevrolet COPO Camaro, was the top qualifier in the sixth of eight events this season.

FS1 will telecast eliminations live at noon ET, with FOX picking up the telecast at 2 p.m.

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.

• No. 1 Qualifier Steve Comella repeats as Dodge HEMI® Challenge winner at the specialty race showcasing vintage 1968 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts in head-to-head battles at the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) U.S. Nationals
• Comella’s classic ‘68 ‘Cuda defeated Eldon Baum Jr.’s ‘68 Dodge Dart to earn his second victory in three consecutive final round appearances on Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park’s quarter-mile dragstrip
• With the win Comella takes home a $15,000 cash prize and a new-look, unique custom-made Dodge HEMI Challenge trophy
• Highlights of the Dodge HEMI Challenge parade and elimination rounds will be featured in FS1’s qualifying show on Sunday, Sept. 4, from 1-3 p.m. ET.

September 2, 2022 , Indianapolis, Indiana – Steve Comella and his vintage 1968 Plymouth Barracuda dominated the Dodge HEMI® Challenge by once again powering from the No. 1 qualifier position through eliminations to repeat as winner at the fan-favorite specialty race that showcases classic Super Stock 1968 Mopar “package” cars in head-to-head battles at the 68^th annual Dodge Power Brokers National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) U.S. Nationals.

Comella’s drive to the winner’s circle at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park began by edging out Wednesday’s provisional pole sitter Jim Pancake’s ‘68 Dodge Dart with his final qualifying run of 8.421-second at 158.80 mph on the quarter mile track, beating his rival’s (8.491 sec./157.89 mph) quickest lap, to earn his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier position in the 21st year of the longest-running, continuous, specialty race in NHRA history. 

After round wins over Tony DePillo, Richard Locker, Jim Daniels Jr., Comella was paired with No. 8 seed Eldon Baum Jr. in the final eliminations. Baum advanced to his first appearance in a Dodge HEMI Challenge final by turning on winlights against Doug Fazzolore, Benjamin Kimberly, and Gary Wolkwitz.

In the final showdown, Comella took his ’68 ‘Cuda for the quickest run of the event with a 8.407-second lap while his opponent launched his ‘68 Dodge Dart too quickly and triggered a red-light start that thwarted the attempt to dethrone the defending winner.

A two-time finalist in traditional NHRA Super Stock competition, Comella was the 2020 Dodge HEMI Challenge runner-up to Stephen Yantus in an all-Cuda final round. In 2021 he followed up that performance with a pole position and his first Dodge HEMI Challenge win, an exciting head-to-head battle against four-time winner Jim Daniels Jr. (2016-2019), but felt that this year’s showing was a bit more satisfying.

“I didn’t feel like last year was a very representative year, even though [the car] was really fast and we won,” said Comella. “I just wanted to come in this year and kind of run the table and keep it smooth and relaxed. It was important for us to do this this year, to repeat. With these cars there’s always an element of throwing a dice against the wall. I was very comfortable all week with the car. I felt like we had a handle on it. I felt like that before and then it won’t go down the track. So I was cautiously optimistic all week.”

“It’s right up there,” said Comella when asked how he ranked his second Dodge HEMI Challenge victory in three consecutive final round appearances in terms of career highlights. “I tried to play it cool like it was just okay to compete, but [winning] was something I really wanted to do really bad.”

While Comella relished defending his HEMI-powered win, he was especially pleased with the competition he encountered through nine consecutive rounds to earn it, particularly his head-to-head battles with Daniels. Friday’s semifinal pairing with Daniels was a rematch of last year’s exciting final and saw Comella lay down a solid 8.443-second lap to better Daniels’ 8.527-second effort.

“I thoroughly enjoy racing him and his old man [2010 event winner Jim Daniels Sr.],” said Comella. “They are our friends and there is nothing better than racing him. I absolutely love it and I can’t say enough nice things about him. I think he’s a fantastic racer.”

In addition to bragging rights as a two-time winner, Comella takes home a $15,000 cash prize and a new-look, unique custom-made Dodge HEMI Challenge trophy created by Cold Hard Art’s Tom Patsis.

Highlights of the Dodge HEMI Challenge parade and elimination rounds will be featured in FS1’s Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals qualifying show on Sunday, Sept. 4, from 1-3 p.m. ET.

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

CHEVROLET AT INDIANAPOLIS
What: Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals
When: Friday, Sept. 2-Monday, Sept. 5
Where: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indianapolis
TV: FS1 will telecast eliminations live at noon ET Monday, Sept. 5

FOX will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m.

Chevrolet heads into U.S. Nationals with momentum

Team Chevy drivers looking to secure No. 1 seeds in the six-race Countdown

DETROIT (Aug. 31, 2022) – What’s better than a win at the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) U.S. Nationals? Two wins, of course.

That is the goal of Chevrolet Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers this weekend at the 68th “Big Go” at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis.

In addition to aiming for a Wally in the 16th of 22 races in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, Brittany Force in Top Fuel and teammates John Force and Robert Hight in Funny Car will compete in the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Callout.

Brittany Force won her first-round matchup in the specialty race concurrent with qualifying at Gainesville in March with a track-record 337.75 mph run in the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster and will “call out” her semifinal opponent as the Top Fuel points leader seeks to claim the $80,000-to-win prize.

“This Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team made it to the finals of the U.S. Nationals last year and our goal is to go all the way this year and bring home an Indy win,” Force said.

Team Chevy

points leaders

Top Fuel – Brittany Force (4 wins; 1 runner-up finish; 6 top qualifiers)

Funny Car – Robert Hight (6 wins; 2 runner-up finishes; 3 top qualifiers)

Pro Stock – Erica Enders (6 wins; 2 runner-up finishes; 3 top qualifiers)

Funny Car points leader Hight, who has six wins in 2022 in the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, is the No. 1 seed in the Funny Car All-Star Callout and will select his first-round opponent from the other seven drivers. John Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro SS and a five-time U.S. Nationals winner, is the No. 5 seed.

Top seeds on the line

Brittany Force, Hight and Erica Enders, the Pro Stock points leader driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, will look to lock up the No. 1 seeds for the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins Sept. 18.

A special points system will be used at this event in which drivers in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series categories will earn points based on a point-and-a-half system (150 points to win). A racer in each category can earn a maximum of 188 points.

With a career high-matching four wins, six No. 1 qualifier honors and a 29-11 elimination round record, Force will attempt to grab the points advantage of the top seed for the Countdown. She entered the playoffs in the sixth spot on her way to winning the 2017 Top Fuel title.

Force holds the Top Fuel track records of 3.645 seconds set in 2019 and 334.57 mph set in 2021.

Hight, a three-time Funny Car world champion, has a comfortable lead in the standings but wants to be peaking entering the Countdown. His 60th career Funny Car win has also been a goal.

“You’ve got to stay focused and humble and not get sidetracked,” Hight said. ”Unfortunately, you can have an unbelievable regular season and win all the races. But if you don’t do it in the last six, it means nothing.”

Enders has recorded six wins and two runner-up finishes – with a 32-6 round record — in 12 races as she seeks her fifth Pro Stock world title. She defeated Kyle Koretsky, driving the Lucas Oil Camaro SS, in the final last year and also won in 2020. Teammate Aaron Stanfield, who has two wins and four second-place finishes in the Janac Brothers Camaro SS, is a distant second in the standings. Troy Coughlin Jr., fifth in the standings, has won the past two races in the JEGS.com Camaro SS.

The U.S. Nationals would be a special event for Greg Anderson to register his 100th career Pro Stock victory to become the second professional driver to cross the century mark. John Force (155) is the other. Anderson, who has reached the final in two of the past three races in the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, could also surpass 900 career round wins – second only to Force’s 1,410 and counting in NHRA history.

“If I could find a way to win that race, it would be a cool story,” said Anderson, a six-time winner at the U.S. Nationals. “I’ll just tell everyone I was waiting for Indy if I get it done this weekend.”

Austin Prock, driving the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, is tied for 11th in the Top Fuel standings – one position out of securing his second Countdown berth. Prock, competing in a full season for the first time since 2019, placed eighth in the final standings in his rookie season.

One qualifying session is scheduled for Friday night, with two each Saturday and Sunday for the three professional categories.

The event also includes the sixth round of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown and competition in the Stock Eliminator and Super Stock classes – all featuring the Chevrolet COPO Camaro. More than 900 cars are entered across all professional and Sportsman categories.

FS1 will telecast eliminations live at noon ET Monday, Sept. 5, with FOX picking up the telecast at 2 p.m.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL

BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (four-time winner this season; points leader; 2021 No. 1 qualifier and runner-up at track): “The U.S. Nationals is such a historic race and prestigious event. This race holds so much excitement for the fans as we run two races in one weekend. After qualifying Friday night, which is always awesome to see, we get to really kick things off with the Pep Boys All-Star Callout where I’ll get to call out my opponent heading into the next round. It all takes place Saturday while we’re qualifying for the race day on Monday. It’s going to be a long weekend and we hope an even longer Monday. This Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team made it to the finals of the U.S. Nationals last year and our goal is to go all the way this year and bring home an Indy win.”

AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (runner-up at Pomona): “I’m excited for the Big Go.. I feel like this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team is on the right track for success this weekend. We’ve made good progress on our program and think it’s going to pay off. I will be ready, I’m hungrier than ever and focused on the task at hand. We need a big weekend to have some momentum going into the playoffs.”

FUNNY CAR

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Charlotte four-wide winner; runner-up at Sonoma and Topeka; fifth in points; No. 1 qualifier and runner-up in 2021): “Indy is the grandaddy and everybody wants to win it. It’s always the same for me. It’s exciting. My love for the sport never changes. Then they have a show within a show with the Callout. It’s exciting and we’ll see where it goes. I’m going to enjoy it.”

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (six-time winner this season; points leader; three-time winner of event): “The U.S. Nationals are a big deal, there’s a lot going on this weekend with the five qualifying runs and the Callout. Most importantly, it’s the final race before the Countdown begins. This Auto Club Chevy team has worked hard all season, that’s what’s gotten us to the points lead. Doing well at the Big Go will carry over to the Countdown, where the points reset and we really have to be on it. It’s going to be a long weekend, hopefully we can make it worth is and come out with a win or even two.”

PRO STOCK

ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (six-time winner this season; points leader; 2020 and ’21 winner of event): “It’s hard to explain the meaning of Indy to some on the outside. But it is everything. The U.S. Nationals is the last regular-season race and it’s worth points and a half. Team Elite heads north in a great position. We are the current points leader by a hefty amount. We are the defending champions x2 with a chance to go to our fourth consecutive final and win our third U.S. Nationals in a row. We are locked and loaded and I’m more ready than ever.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (reigning Pro Stock champion; seeking to become second pro driver with 100 wins; fourth in standings; six-time winner of the event): “If I was to write the perfect place (to get No. 100) it would be Indy. I’ve always considered that to be the most important race of the year all the way back to the years I worked with Warren Johnson as a crew member and crew chief. The wins that I’ve had there are absolutely some of the most special. If I could do it again this weekend – and we have some momentum so I feel good going there – it would be fabulous. We’re definitely starting to peak at the right time with the playoffs right around the corner.”

TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner this season): “Indy is a race we dream about winning and winning at Indy in Pro Stock would be an absolute honor. The guys have been working hard at the shop on the dyno. We’re going to stick to the process and be the best we can be.”

CAMRIE CARUSO, CARUSO FAMILY RACING, TEQUILA COMISARIO CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (first season in Pro Stock; No. 1 qualifier and runner-up at Houston): “We have qualified for every race this season and we want to take advantage of all five qualifying runs this weekend. I have a lot of confidence in this Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro team. We are making good consistent and quick runs and I feel really good in the seat. I have to thank my crew chief Jim Yates for putting me in a great position at this point of the season.”

KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier at Phoenix; runner-up at Gainesville; third in standings; No. 1 qualifier and runner-up in 2021 at track): “We were top qualifier and nearly won the U.S. Nationals last year, which makes me more determined this year to win the biggest race of the year. The key is to execute on race day. The five qualifying sessions will bunch up the field, so the driver and car have to be on point on race day.”

DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (winner at Gainesville; No. 1 qualifier at Epping; sixth in standings): “”It’s hard not to get excited about the U.S. Nationals, no matter how many years you’ve been coming to the event. This will be my second one in Pro Stock but I’ve been coming for the last 10 years with KB Racing and Jason Line. Our RAD Torque Systems/KB Racing Chevrolet Camaro is coming into this weekend No. 6 in points and with points and a half on the table on race day, we can really set ourselves up nicely going into the Countdown if we can win this thing. That’s the goal.”

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.

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Mopar 85th Anniversary Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
NHRA Nationals
Aug. 19-21 | Brainerd, Minnesota

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Mopar 85th Anniversary Top Fuel Dragster:

● Earned No. 10 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.907 ET at 146.10 mph).

● Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.702 ET at 330.47 mph).

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

● Dropped to No. 5 provisional qualifying position after Q3 on Saturday (3.706 ET at 332.51 mph).

● Secured No. 6 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q2 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Pruett ran 4.439 ET at 178.28 mph.

● Ran a 3.822 ET at 279.85 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Shawn Langdon (3.760 ET at 329.34 mph).

● Currently tied with Langdon for sixth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 445 points behind leader Brittany Force.

Matt Hagan, driver of the Mopar 85th Anniversary Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:

● Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.912 ET at 330.23 mph).

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

● Earned No. 4 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.893 ET at 327.74 mph).

● Maintained No. 4 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.893 ET at 332.26 mph).

● Secured No. 1 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.843 ET at 331.36 mph).

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

● Advanced to Round 2 on Sunday:

●  Round 1: 9.940 ET at 71.63 mph in a bye.

●  Round 2: 6.187 ET at 259.81 mph, lost to Alexis DeJoria (5.712 ET at 229.31 mph).

● Currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 250 points behind leader Robert Hight.

Notes of Interest

● Hagan’s No. 1 qualifier in the NHRA Nationals marked his fifth of the season and the 48th of his career.

● Pruett’s track record time of 3.640 ET set in 2017, remains intact after the 40th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Mopar 85th Anniversary Top Fuel Dragster

“As we’ve gotten further into the season, we’ve gotten further into our pool of knowledge. First round, we joined the rest of the field of having traction problems. It seemed to be difficult for all the teams. Going into Q2, we had a nice and spicy 3.70, which was something we felt was right inside our target for getting down the track, especially during a night session. The next day, we felt like we could improve upon that and our avenue was new. We tried a new theory of accelerating the car. At the end of the day, it’s an acceleration game when we break it into multiple parts down the track. It was either going to throw down or throw up, and what did it do? We ran almost the exact same time with a 3.70. That opened up a Pandora’s Box with theories about how we can apply power. We went back to our raceday tune-up for the final session to get ready for Sunday. We didn’t quite make it down the track. Going into raceday, sometimes you’ve got mountains and sometimes you’ve got valleys. Raceday was not our most shining moment. We dropped a cylinder and I did not have my most impressive self against somebody we continue to race throughout this entire season, I think more than anyone else. We will peak again and there’s not going to be a better time to do it than at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals. We’re still in a healthy spot in the championship and now we’ve learned more and we’ll gain more.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Mopar 85th Anniversary Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“What a tough weekend in Brainerd. We had canceled flights and we were down a couple crew guys that were sick. Our Mopar 85th Anniversary Funny Car ended up No. 1 qualifier, but blew up a lot of parts doing it. Things got hot and greasy in the second round and no one seemed to be going down the racetrack. We were one of the cars that couldn’t get down the track, so it ended up being a pedalfest. Alexis (DeJoria) smoked it a little further out there and got it to recover. It was just a tough round. As a veteran driver, you feel like you should win because of pedaling the car, letting it relax and getting it hooked back up. It’s tough when you smoke it at the hit like that and don’t get any momentum to move forward. We’ll pack everything up to head to Indy and get ready for the Countdown after that.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 2-5 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. It is the regular-season finale before the Countdown to the Championship begins Sept. 15-18 with the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.

The top-10 drivers in the standings in each of the four professional categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. With an insurmountable 641-point advantage over 11th-place Jim Campbell, Hagan has already clinched his spot in the six-race Countdown. Pruett, meanwhile, has a 122-point margin over 11th-place Clay Millican and will look to secure her place in the Countdown at Indianapolis.

• Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan captured his 48th career No. 1 Qualifier position with his Mopar 85th Anniversary-themed Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the 40th annual Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals then drove to a quarterfinal performance on race day at Brainerd International Raceway
• Hagan leaves the Minnesota event second in the Funny Car championship standings as the team prepares for the final event of the regular season and the prestigious Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals 
• TSR pilot Leah Pruett qualified her Mopar 85th Anniversary dragster sixth for eliminations at Brainerd International Raceway and despite an early exit remains in a three-way battle for a top-five position in the Top Fuel championship battle with one event remaining before the playoffs begin
• Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the top-five for eliminations for the ninth time this season, had a clean first round pass but was unable to advance, dropping to eighth in the Funny Car standings

August 21, 2022, Brainerd, Minnesota — Carrying the Mopar 85th anniversary livery on his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the 40th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan captured the No. 1 Qualifier position for the fifth time this season then drove to a quarterfinal finish in the penultimate event of the regular season at Brainerd International Raceway.

The defending winner of the event earned his 48th career No. 1 Qualifier honor, the fifth most in the Funny Car category, with his final qualifying pass in the lane next to points leader and provisional pole sitter Robert Hight as the last pairing of the session. Hagan powered his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a 3.843-second elapsed time run at 331.36 mph, one quickest runs of the season, to steal away the pole position, collect a total of six bonus points and a bye-run for the opening round of eliminations. The Q4 run had some added drama when the body of Hagan’s racecar that sported the Mopar 85th Anniversary paint scheme honoring the legendary brand was damaged by a fiery explosion in the final feet of the qualifying run, necessitating a change to the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat body for Sunday’s elimination rounds.

Hagan launched his race day with the new Dodge body and a solo run that didn’t go quite as planned when a cylinder went out at the hit of the throttle. The TSR team turned the car off to save any further damage and regroup for their next round against No. 8 seed Alexis DeJoria. The quarterfinal saw both competitors hit the throttle, immediately lose traction and find themselves in a pedalfest to the finish. Unfortunately, Hagan wasn’t able to regain control of his nitro machine quickly enough to battle to the finish to extend his raceday. 

While disappointed with the result, Hagan remains second in the Funny Car championship standings as his team now prepares for the cornerstone event of the season, the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and the final regular season event before the NHRA’s ”Countdown to the Championship” playoff series.

A two-time Top Fuel winner (2017 and 2019) at Brainerd International Raceway, Leah Pruett took her Mopar 85th Anniversary dragster for a 3.702 sec./330.47 mph run on her second qualifying lap on Friday to post the third quickest pass of the session and collect a bonus point. The TSR pilot’s lap was good enough to put her sixth on the eliminations ladder and set up a first round pairing with No. 11 seed Shawn Langdon with whom she is jostling for position in the points standings.

Pruett had a decent lap going until just after half-track when her ride began to drop cylinders and put an end to her run and chance to advance. She and her TSR team now turn their attention to the “Big Go” where they will work to capture their first Wally from the storied event. While currently tied for sixth place with Langdon in the Top Fuel standings, Pruett is also among three competitors battling for the fifth place position in the Countdown with just one event remaining ahead of the playoffs.

For a ninth time this season, Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the top-five for eliminations with a 3.888 seconds pass at 326.16 mph. The driver and team owner had a clean first round pass against No. 12 seed Bobby Bode that unfortunately wasn’t enough to turn on the win light and prematurely ended his day, dropping the Cruz Pedregon Racing machine to eighth place in the Funny Car standings.

The focus now shifts on preparing for the world’s biggest drag race and the NHRA Camping World Series’ marquis event, the prestigious 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals, August 31-September 5, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:

Leah Pruett, Mopar 85th anniversary Top Fuel Dragster  

(No. 6 Qualifier – 3.702 seconds at 330.47 mph)  

Round 1: (0.099-second reaction time, 3.822 seconds at 279.85 mph) loss to No. 11 Shawn Langdon (0.045/3.760/329.34)

“As we’ve gotten further into the season, we’ve gotten further into our pool of knowledge. First session, we joined the rest of the field in having traction problems. It seemed to be difficult for all the teams. Going into Q2, we had a nice and spicy 3.70, which was something we felt was right inside our target for getting down the track, especially during a night session. The next day, we felt like we could improve upon that and our avenue was new. We tried a new theory of accelerating the car. At the end of the day, it is an acceleration game when we break it into multiple parts down the track. It was either going to throw down or throw up and what did it do? We ran almost the exact same time with a 3.70. That opened up a new Pandora’s box with theories about how we can apply power. We went back to our race day tune-up for the final session to get ready for Sunday. We didn’t quite make it down the track. Going into race day, sometimes you’ve got mountains and sometimes you’ve got valleys. Race day was not our most shining moment. We dropped a cylinder and I did not have my most impressive [reaction time] against somebody [Langdon] we continue to race throughout this entire season, I think more than anyone else. We will peak again and there’s not going to be a better time to do it than at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals. We’re still in a healthy spot in the championship and now we’ve learned more and we’ll gain more.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar 85th anniversary Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 1 Qualifier – 3.843 seconds at 331.36 mph)

Round 1: (0.074-second reaction time, 9.940 seconds at 71.63 mph) bye-run

Round 2: (0.081/5.198/259.81) loss to No. 8 Alexis DeJoria (0.126/4.638/229.31)

“What a tough weekend in Brainerd. We had canceled flights and we were down a couple of crew guys that were sick. Our Mopar 85th Anniversary Funny Car ended up No. 1 Qualifier, but blew up a lot of parts doing it. Things got hot and greasy in the second round and no one seemed to be going down the racetrack. We were one of the cars that couldn’t get down the track, so it ended up being a pedalfest. Alexis (DeJoria) smoked it a little further out there and got it to recover. It was just a tough round. As a veteran driver, you feel like you should win because of pedaling the car, letting it relax and getting it hooked back up. It’s tough when you smoke it at the hit like that and don’t get any momentum to move forward. We’ll pack everything up to head to Indy and get ready for the Countdown after that.”

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

(No. 5  Qualifier – 3.888 seconds at 326.16 mph)

Round 1: (0.119-second reaction time, 3.947 seconds at 322.65 mph) loss to No. 12 Bobby Bode (0.098/3.931/316.08)

“After qualifying the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the No. 5 spot with a great 3.88 second run at over 326 miles per hour, we went up against No. 12 qualifier Bobby Bode who qualified with a 4.11-second run. We went up there and the car ran well and it was just a good close drag race. We lost that round by a slim margin, but I’ve gotta be better than that on the reaction time. I left a little bit on the table there and Bobby took full advantage of it so give those guys credit; they did what they had to and took us out. We’ll go back and we’ll get better. We just have to keep on working and fine tuning. The team provided me with a great car after we initially struggled a little bit with the new car. We went with our backup car and made runs of 3.93, 3.88, and then first rounds 3.94. Those are really good solid winning runs so we’ll work on that and get ready for our biggest race of the year at the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals in Indy.”

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1.   Robert Hight 1411 (6)

2.  Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 1161 (3)

3.  Ron Capps: 1105 (2)

4.  Bob Tasca III: 1043 (3) 

5.  John Force: 1033 (1)

6.  J.R. Todd: 789

7.  Alexis DeJoria: 735

8. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 752

9.  Tim Wilkerson: 645

10. Chad Green: 524

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Brittany Force: 1206 (4)

2.  Mike Salinas: 1112 (4) 

3.  Steve Torrence: 1076 (1) 

4.  Justin Ashley: 1070 (2)

5.  Josh Hart: 797

6.  Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 761(1)

6.  Shawn Langdon: 761

8.  Tony Schumacher: 703 (1)

9. Doug Kalitta: 692

10. Antron Brown 668 (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 muscle cars and SUVs that deliver unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.

Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT versions of every model across the lineup. For the 2022 model year, 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 Dodge Durango SRT 392, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.

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). In 2021, Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market) — making it the only domestic brand ever to do so two years in a row.

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 nearly 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. 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 CLAIMS FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON

Capps earns a final round appearance at Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn. (August 21, 2022) – Steve Torrence drove to his first victory of the season at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday evening, besting Tony Schumacher in the final round. It was Torrence’s second consecutive win at Brainerd. In Funny Car, Ron Capps advanced to the final, where he came up just short to Bob Tasca.

It was a strong day for Team Toyota as eight of the nine Toyota-supported teams won their first round matchups.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Brainerd International Raceway
Race 15 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W. 3.755 v. 5.286(M. Salinas) W. 4.945 v. 5.335(A. Brown) W. 5.400 v. 10.392(B. Force) W. 3.866 v. 3.942(T. Schumacher)
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-Finals	W. 3.720 v. 3.817(K. Baldwin) W. 3.726 v. 3.807(S. Langdon) L. 4.936 v. 4.336(T. Schumacher)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.688 v. 3.721(C. Millican) L. 5.335 v. 4.945(S. Torrence
Billy Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 4.050 v. 4.480(A. Prock) L. 4.586 v. 4.394(B. Force)
Shawn Langdon	CMR Roofing & Construction Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.760 v. 3.822(L. Pruett) L. 3.807 v. 3.726(J. Ashley)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 5.349 v. 3.940(T. Schumacher)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Finalist	W. 3.931 v. 4.022(J. Force) W. 8.539 to No Run(B. Bode) W. 3.955 v. Foul(A. DeJoria) L. 4.007 v. 3.945(B. Tasca)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 3.967 v. 4.241(B. Alexander) W. 5.712 v. 6.187(M. Hagan) L. Foul v. 3.955(R. Capps)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.898 v. 4.637(J. Campbell) L. 4.451 v. 4.356(R. Hight)

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Final Result: Winner

What does a race like today mean to you?

“A day like today is one that you are most proud of as a driver because when everything goes good, you just need to do your job and drive straight, leave on time and not make mistakes. It’s days like today when the car doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do – and that is where we need to earn our keep. Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana (crew chiefs), they didn’t go up any lap trying to smoke the tires and that is just the cards that we were dealt. I did an okay job of getting it down through there – better than the opponent in the other lane and was able to come out victorious today. Those are days that you cherish. You remember those days more than those when you drove it to the end, and everything went great. I will remember this race for a long time. It takes a lot of experience at doing that to become good at it, and I don’t have a lot of experience. I’ve had a pretty good, solid race car that just goes a-to-b, so today, I learned some lessons. I did a good job by accident in the second round, and then made a mistake in the third round, but was able to recover and get the car back going. Final round against Tony (Schumacher), but typically Tony goes in fast, so I went in fast and then he kind of made me sit there for a minute. I was a little behind. I was .080 on the tree. That is my worst light of the day, but we left together. I could tell that we were going okay and then I saw his car kind of marching around half track. I saw him wheel out, and I’m thinking, not again. Then it slid back, and I thought okay, it might have turned our way. Definitely a totally different race track than the past two days. People were coming in here running .66 or .64 and a handful of .60s everywhere, and it just totally turns around and becomes hot and greasy and just whoever could get it down through there from a-to-b with making the least mistakes. Good day. It will be one that I remember for a while.”

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

Final Result: Finalist

How was your race?

“This whole weekend here at Brainerd was a lot of adversity. We always talk about Brainerd being intricate in a championship run because we’re into the playoff and the Countdown (to the Championship) in just a couple of races. The thing about Brainerd is that it has such a great track surface and when conditions are great, you can throw anything at it as we saw in qualifying, and when it’s hot out like race day today, you have to be savvy and that’s what Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen and our entire NAPA AutoCare group did all day long. We almost won and that would have been fantastic. This was a great, feel-good weekend for our team. You have to be Countdown ready at Brainerd and I don’t care where you are in the points, you need to be ready for the playoffs. We needed this. We’re going to Indy, and I’ve never won that race. We have a great Toyota race car and a lot of confidence. For me as a driver, to get to drive this NAPA GR Supra, I can’t wait to get there to I.R.P.”

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.

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Mopar 85th Anniversary Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
NHRA Nationals
Aug. 19-21 | Brainerd, Minnesota

Event Overview

Friday, Aug. 19 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 2:15 p.m. CDT/3:15 p.m. EDT

● Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 6 p.m. CDT/7 p.m. EDT

Saturday, Aug. 20 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Nitro qualifying session (Q3): 1:30 p.m. CDT/2:30 p.m. EDT

● Nitro qualifying session (Q4): 4:30 p.m. CDT/5:30 p.m. EDT

Sunday, Aug. 21 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Round 1: 11 a.m. CDT/12 p.m. EDT

● Round 2: 1:15 p.m. CDT/2:15 p.m. EDT

● Semi-Finals: 2:45 p.m. CDT/3:45 p.m. EDT

● Finals: 4:05 p.m. CDT/5:05 p.m. EDT

TV coverage on FS1/FOX

● Friday, Aug. 19: Qualifying show (7 p.m. CDT/8 p.m. EDT on FS1)

● Sunday, Aug. 21: Qualifying show recapping Saturday’s action (12:30 p.m. CDT/1:30 p.m. EDT on FS1)

● Sunday, Aug. 21: Finals show (2:30 p.m. CDT/3:30 p.m. EDT on FOX)

Notes of Interest

● The NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway serves as the 15th event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ 22-race calendar. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two fulltime entries – one in Top Fuel for 10-time event winner Leah Pruett and one in Funny Car for three-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan – to the penultimate race of the regular season before the Countdown to the Championship begins Sept. 15-18 with the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.

● After the 16th and final regular-season event on Sept. 5 with the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the top-10 drivers in the standings in each of the four professional categories of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. The top-10 drivers in each class then compete in the final, six-race playoffs to vie for the title. Coming into Brainerd, Pruett is sixth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 396 points behind leader Brittany Force with a 119-point margin over 11th-place Clay Millican. Hagan, meanwhile, is second in the Funny Car championship standings, 237 points behind leader Robert Hight with an insurmountable 625-point advantage over 11th-place Chad Green to already secure a spot in the Countdown.

● Mopar 85th Anniversary will be featured on Pruett’s Top Fuel dragster and on Hagan’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car this weekend at Brainerd. 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.

● Pruett first joined forces with Dodge//SRT and Mopar in 2016, while Dodge//SRT and Mopar have supported Hagan since his rookie season in 2009. However, TSR’s ties to Mopar go back even further. Its roots are in sprint car racing, with Mopar powering multiple TSR entries in USAC and the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series from 2001 through 2007. Seven of TSR’s 27 open-wheel championships were won with Mopar.

● The NHRA Nationals will serve as Pruett’s 186th career Top Fuel start and her seventh at Brainerd. For Hagan, this will be his 308th career Funny Car start and his 13th at Brainerd.

● Pruett has two career wins at Brainerd. Her first victory came in 2017 (3.682 ET at 328.06 mph) when she defeated Antron Brown (4.001 ET at 246.35 mph). Pruett won again in 2019 when her run of 3.732 ET at 321.04 mph bested Mike Salinas (4.066 ET at 235.72 mph). She also has one No. 1 qualifier at the event, which came in 2017 (3.640 ET at 331.53 mph).

● Pruett is the track record holder for time at Brainerd with 3.640 ET, a mark she established on Aug. 18, 2017 en route to one of her two victories at the track. The NHRA Nationals at Brainerd is one of four events Pruett has won twice, along with the NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Chandler, and the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado.

● Hagan enters Brainerd as the defending champion of the NHRA Nationals. His run of 3.923 ET at 327.98 mph defeated Cruz Pedregon (3.935 ET at 324.83 mph) in last year’s event. Hagan also has three No. 1 qualifiers at Brainerd, which came in 2011 (4.101 ET at 303.57 mph), 2016 (3.822 ET at 333.82 mph) and 2019 (3.890 ET at 328.46 mph).

● DYK? Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) was formed in 1968 when George Montgomery carved a three-mile racetrack through a wooded area on the south side of North Long Lake. In the early years, the track quickly developed its reputation as a world-class motorsports facility, attracting drag racing, road racing and in true Minnesota fashion, snocross. The track would go on to host the Trans-Am Series and motorcycle riders in the AMA Superbike Championships. BIR’s first drag race was in 1969 and by the third year, the event attracted 22,000 fans. In 1982, BIR made significant facility improvements ahead of the NorthStar Nationals, which eventually became the NHRA Nationals, the largest annual sports event in the Upper Midwest. Attracting over 100,000 fans for the weekend, BIR is a favorite stop for the NHRA and fans alike because it’s the only track on the NHRA circuit with onsite camping – The Zoo.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Mopar 85th Anniversary Top Fuel Dragster

Brainerd is one of four NHRA events you’ve won twice. You’re also the current track record holder for time. What makes Brainerd so successful for you?

“The success that my name is attached to for that track really has everything to do with the team I was with. That was that team’s success. What made us successful was we, at that point in time, were really good on capitalizing on going fast. We were eager to really take advantage of pristine conditions and gain on the field and we were a strong team. How that translates to our Mopar 85th Anniversary car is we’ve worked really hard all year to baseline so that we can go rounds. We haven’t had an opportunity to really improve ET (elapsed time) performance because we’ve been in the hot conditions. If Brainerd looks to be as pristine as it usually is, we’re in a position that we’ve never been in to turn up the wick. We’ve just been lighting the fire and getting nice and toasty and warm and now we’re going to add some nitromethane to our fire and Brainerd is that excellent surface, incredible air at times, and is the recipe. That’s what I look forward to the most. We’ll be able to move into a different tier as a team for performance, and that’s something we haven’t been able to do yet.”

What is your favorite memory from Brainerd?

“There are a lot of memories to be had at Brainerd. I cannot pick just one particular memory. However, knowing and appreciating when you’re on a good streak, that’s what I remember – being on top and setting track records. Being the No. 1 qualifier and turning that into race wins. It’s a part of the country I’m not from and didn’t have a big fan base. The success I’ve had there has kind of made me the people’s champion. Some of my favorite memories off the track up there would be our Yeti friend that dressed up and joined us in the winner’s circle and the bigger-than-life helmet that’s five feet big that they made for our team that looked like our car. You can’t beat the enthusiasm of the fans and the spirit. Brainerd gets the spirit award and they know how to celebrate. We’d love to be able to do that again.”

Two races remain before the Countdown to the Championship. Where do you want to be to start the Countdown?

“The top goal is to be in a healthy position within the Countdown. If I put it into tiers, one would be to get solid in the Countdown. Two would be a race win and three would be a U.S. Nationals win. Closely enough, Neal (Strausbaugh, crew chief) and I have runnered-up together at the U.S. Nationals and we have some U.S. Nationals winners on the team. If I had to pick one, it would be win the U.S. Nationals because that checks off all three of those goals.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Mopar 85th Anniversary Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

You’re the defending winner at Brainerd, What would it mean to win back-to-back Wallys?

“Brainerd has always shown me some love. We run well there and the fans are amazing. All in all, I know we have some great data rolling into Brainerd and I feel like my guys turned the car around in Topeka and we’re moving in the right direction. We need to put on a win for this Mopar 85th Anniversary Funny Car and I feel like we can do that.”

What is your favorite memory from Brainerd?

“Winning Brainerd is great, but there’s nothing like being able to set records there. There’s no better feeling to be strapped to a fast racecar knowing you’re going to go up there and the conditions are right to make a really incredible run. It’s awesome when your crew chief and guys rise to the occasion and you set a world record. Those are the memories I have from Brainerd. It gives you chill bumps.”

How nice is it to already be locked into the Countdown?

“It’s always important to be clinched into the Countdown. We always battle and there were some years we barely made it. I didn’t make it one year in my career and it was a heartbreaker. We just needed to beat Tim Wilkerson in the semifinals and we didn’t do it. If you don’t make it, you can win all the races in the Countdown and they don’t matter. It’s important to be clinched in and put that behind you to focus on your setup to turn on more win lights. This is one of the most humbling sports I’ve ever been involved with and I’ve played stick-and-ball sports my entire life. This car will throw you a bone and kick you in the behind and you’ll be wondering what changed. There are so many moving parts and pieces, so there’s always something changing, along with the variables of the racetrack. It makes it that much more special when you do get it right. When you turn on four win lights on Sunday, you know you really accomplished something.”