• Dodge//SRT and Mopar’s 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing series season gets rolling with two Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars driving to semifinal appearances at the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California
• Three-time Funny Car champ Matt Hagan powered Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) to their first semifinal appearance aboard the No. 3 qualified Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat
• Cruz Pedregon drove his Snap-On Tool Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car from No. 4 seeded position to a semifinal appearance 
• Leah Pruett took her Dodge Power Brokers dragster for a solid first round drive for TSR’s inaugural Top Fuel elimination effort

February 20, 2022, Pomona, California — Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Funny Car driver Matt Hagan hit the throttle on the 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series season by driving his Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat from his No. 3 qualifying position to the semifinals at the 62nd annual Lucas Oil Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com. Also driving to a semifinal appearance at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California, was the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat piloted by Cruz Pedregon from a fourth place seeding.

Hagan launched his season with a strong qualifying performance to secure the No. 3 spot on the eliminations ladder. He earned the fledgling TSR team’s first Funny Car round win aboard the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat with a 4.071 seconds pass at 260.31 mph that saw the three-time Winternationals winner have to peddle it at the 660-foot mark but still turn on the win light. The team regrouped quickly and came back strong in the second round against No. 6 seed Bob Tasca by posting their quickest run of the weekend with a 3.885-second elapsed time run at 328.94 mph to beat his opponent’s 3.984 sec./325.77 mph effort. 

The semifinal match pitted Hagan against the No. 2 qualifier Robert Hight and saw the TSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat take the early lead with a 0.048-second reaction time to his opponent’s 0.059-second start. Unfortunately, a dropped cylinder hampered Hagan’s on track progress and brought the team’s first outing to a close.

Meanwhile, Pedregon powered his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from the No. 4 spot on the ladder through eliminations with a first round win over Terry Haddock and a solid second round victory after a side-by-side drag race with Alexis DeJoria to advance to the semifinals. Paired with No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps for the next elimination round, Pedregon put in a good lap with a 3.918 sec./309.77 mph pass but it wasn’t quite enough to challenge Capps’ 3.881 sec./331.28 mph run.

Tony Stewart Racing Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett was pleased with the first official qualifying laps of the season for the new team aboard her Dodge Power Brokers dragster to put her in the top half of the eliminations ladder with a best run of 3.768 seconds at 326.63 mph. From the No. 7 position and with lane choice over No. 10 seed Antron Brown, Pruett wheeled her HEMI®-powered machine to a solid pass at 3.748 sec./328.86 mph with a 0.118-second reaction time. However, as their first elimination run wasn’t quite enough to overtake Brown’s quicker 0.057-second start and 3.724 sec./ 327.66 mph lap and turn on the win lights for the team’s first round, the TSR team will now put their focus on preparations for the next national event.

The Dodge//SRT Mopar contingent will now head to Phoenix, Arizona, for next weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on February 25-27.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Leah Pruett, Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster  

(No. 7 Qualifier – 3.726 seconds at 328.54 mph)

Round 1: (0.118-second reaction time, 3.748 seconds at 328.86 mph) loss to No. 10 Antron Brown (0.057/3.724/327.66)

“If you would have told me three months ago that we would qualify the Dodge Power Brokers dragster No. 7 for the Winternationals, make it down the track nearly every time, have a healthy running engine combination with a reactive car, and a team that gels together very well, I would take that 10 out of 10 times. We are still sorting our power range and developing our baseline and I am learning to race under different circumstances. I had a less than impressive start, very atypical of the consistent quick times I had in qualifying. I will be working on managing my happy throttle foot while we fine tune our high HEMI horsepower performance.”

Matt Hagan, Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.886 seconds at 313.07 mph)

Round 1: (0.072-second reaction time, 4.071 seconds at 260.31 mph) defeats No. 14 Chad Green (0.072/4.124/282.13)

Round 2: (0.057/3.885/328.94) defeats No. 6 Bob Tasca (0.052/3.984/325.77)

Round 3: (0.048/4.026/317.64) loss to No. 2 Robert Hight (0.059/3.861/332.10)  cylinder out

“I am really proud of Tony (Stewart) Leah (Pruett) for putting this all together in such a quick fashion. I’m also super proud of my guys to be able to get a rhythm going today, since we’re all in a new position. We only had an hour to turn the car around, so we still had to check headers, weigh and scale in that time. Today is obviously not the result we wanted, getting eliminated in the semifinals. I know what we are capable of and I know what we can do to get that fixed. We’ll go onto Phoenix and be just as strong there. I’m really proud of my lights, I was murdering the tree all weekend. That gives me confidence as a driver, but it also gets in other drivers’ heads. We want to win every race we can, but I was pretty happy with this Dodge Power Brokers car for the first outing. You learn from your mistakes and move forward. Drag racing has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You lose more than you win, but when you win, it’s great. I’m looking forward to that first win with this team.”

“Putting Pomona behind us and rolling into Phoenix right away helps the team get back into the groove of things; making a run, taking it apart, putting it back together and dragging it back up to the starting line and just getting back into the rhythm. That rhythm helps builds confidence in my team and lets me just focus on what I have to do on the starting line with the Dodge Power Brokers Hellcat so we can turn on more win lights.”

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

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.906 seconds at 325.22 mph)

Round 1: (0.128-second reaction time, 3.954 seconds at 323.43 mph) defeats No. 13 Terry Haddock (0.118/6.011/120.36)

Round 2: (0.041/3.962/323.66) defeats No. 5 Alexis DeJoria (0.062/3.981/323.50) 

Round 3: (0.082/3.918/309.77) loss to No. 1 Ron Capps (0.067/3.881/331.28)

“I’m happy with today’s semifinal performance. Semifinal finishes and runner-ups, we’re going to have a few of those [this year]. It was some good competition and (Ron) Capps had a really good car. (My crew chief) JC (John Collins), I could tell by the look on his face he was about to put it through there. What a great job these guys have done. We didn’t quite have the performance these other guys did, but when it counted, we started to creep up on it. A little bit of glare out there. I missed the tree a little tiny bit and against guys like Capps, you can’t miss the tree at all. He was right there. For the Snap-on Tools Dodge team, Russells Petroff and everybody that helps us, the semifinals is a great start.”

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

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS PRESENED BY PROTECTTHEHARVEST.COM
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORMIA
FEB. 19, 2022

Chevrolet drivers qualify No. 1 in Top Fuel and Pro Stock

• Brittany Force starts season with 33rd career Top Fuel top honor
• Erica Enders takes her Pro Stock Camaro SS to the top in 900th race
• Robert Hight qualifies No. 2 in Funny Car in his Camaro SS

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2022) — Qualifying in the three professional categories for the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com showed that Chevrolet teams and drivers are fast and well-positioned for victories in the season opener.

Brittany Force claimed her 33rd career No. 1 qualifier honor in Top Fuel – and 11th in the past 14 races – with a blistering run of 3.661 seconds in her Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster on the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona track.

“It feels awesome just to be back out here at my home track, starting a new season with the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team. Even better to go No. 1. First race of the season it just pumps all of us up to see what we can do this season,” said Force, the 2021 championship runner-up who will be seeking her first Winternationals victory.

Four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders earned the 23rd No. 1 qualifier of her career with a pass of 6.521 seconds at 210.44 mph in the Melling Performance Camaro SS.

“She’s very consistent. She responds well to the input my crew chiefs give her. We haven’t scored a whole lot of No. 1 qualifier lately, but it’s a great way to start off the season,” Enders said.

Fourteen Camaro SS drivers will be aiming to hold the silver shifter – the trophy created for the winner of the 900th race in Pro Stock history. Bill Jenkins won the first race in the class in the 1970 Winternationals in his big-block Camaro.

Reigning Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson will seek his 100th career victory in the class, which would make him the second NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series driver to hit the milestone and fifth overall. Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force leads the way with 154 wins. A victory by Anderson, who qualified fourth in the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, would also tie Bob Glidden (7) for the most in Pro Stock in the Winternationals.

Camrie Carusso, who was a crew member on Enders’ car a few years ago, qualified eighth for her NHRA Pro Stock debut in the PowerBuilt Camaro SS. Race day will mark the second time two female drivers have competed for a Wally in the same event in Pro Stock history.

Robert Hight held the top spot in Funny Car qualifications based on his 3.882-second pass in Q1 until the final run of the third and final session. Hight improved his time to 3.861 seconds in the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS and qualified second. John Force qualified 16th in the BlueDEF Platinum Camaro SS.

FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 20.

An interview with Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (33rd of career):
HOW GOOD DID THAT LAST RUN FEEL?
“It feels awesome just to be back out here at my home track, starting a new season with the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team. I’m excited to be back with all of them, doing what we love. Even better to go No. 1. First race of the season it just pumps all of us up to see what we can do this season.”

IT SEEMS YOU BUILT UP TO THAT RUN.
“We were out at Phoenix testing. I think we made nine or 10 runs and it was a little bit of a struggle for us. We learned what we needed to, but we only made one full pass. We were making half-track runs most of the time, and we came out here and struggled on a couple qualifying runs. So, it felt good to have a solid pass down the track going into race day, and at 3.66 that’s pretty outstanding. I’m pumped, I’m excited about it, and I give that up to David Grubnic and Mac Savage and all our guys.”

HOW FRUSTRATING WAS IT TO NOT MAKE THAT ONE GLORY RUN AT TESTING?
“It was fine. We’re out there to find our routine of things again. Grubnic asked, ‘Brittany, do you need to make full passes?’ I told him I’d love to make a few going into Pomona. I stand by David Grubnic and what he wants to do. We did make one full pass. You want to get back in the feel of things, but honestly getting in the car, warming it up, doing a burnout at 60 feet is all you need. Typically, testing is all over the place with everyone trying to find their groove again. It’s always up and down and never as planned.”

WHEN YOU COME UP WITH GREAT CONDITIONS LIKE THIS, DO YOU KNOW GRUBNIC IS GOING TO TAKE YOU TO NO. 1?
“He’s really quiet. He has so much going on in his head. He just comes to me and says, ‘I’m not going to say anything.’ I already know what that means. We were in safe with our run last night, so it gave us the opportunity to push and take some chances.”

WHAT WOULD WINNING YOUR FIRST WINTERNATIONALS MEAN TO YOU?
“This is my home track. I love it here. I grew up here, sitting in the stands watching my dad. So, this is a very special track to me. It’s where my love of drag racing began. I have so many great memories here, standing in the winner’s circle with my dad and my sisters. Standing in my own winner’s circle in 2017 when we won the championship. So, to do it at the opening of the season, that’s what we’re going for. That’s why we’re here.”

An interview with Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (23rd of her career):
DO YOU FEEL GOOD GOING INTO RACE DAY?
“Absolutely. This is probably the best race car we’ve had in a long time even considering the Countdown last year. We had a goal in the offseason to come out swinging. I think we have something to prove. We got our Chevy Camaro tuned up and to lay down three really consistent runs during qualifying and that gives you confidence heading into race day.”

THE 900TH PRO STOCK RACE AND YOU’RE GOING FOR YOUR FIRST WINTERNATIONALS VICTORY. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU?
“Tomorrow is very exciting, and I’ll try to focus on keeping it like a normal race. I just go up and try to control every aspect in my lane and try to do the best I can at the starting line, hit my shift points and turn on four win lights. We’ve been fortunate enough to battle it out for awards and it definitely would mean a lot to take that bad boy home.”

HOW DO YOU APPROACH TOMORROW?
“It’s another goal my team and I had this year. We’re not out here to make friends. We’re going to do our best to put our Melling Performance Camaro in the winner’s circle.”

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRANDS/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (qualified ninth): “Overall, a pretty good start to the weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve driven one of these things, and this is the shortest shut down on the circuit, so you have to make sure you have the laundry out on time. Tomorrow we’ll have a decent baseline and go from there.”

FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified 16th): “I’m just glad to be back in a PEAK Chevy, glad to be starting the season. This BlueDEF team is working hard, we’ll be OK. Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, we’re looking good for this year.”

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified second): We’ve got to get one run at a time and four on Sunday and then we’ll be excited.”

PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified fourth): “We came in a little bit too conservative. We tested over at Phoenix and the racetrack just wasn’t that great, so we came in and tried to be safe on that first run yesterday. It was very safe; it just wasn’t quite quick enough and that’s what you get for that. It’s more indicative today of what we can run tomorrow. The car is as fast as anybody. We just lost a couple of qualifying spots because we were a little slack yesterday. It’s going to be a tough year.”

KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified third): “We’re happy with how everything went. Friday, we started out really strong and ended up No. 3. We’ll get ready for tomorrow.”

DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified seventh): “The car is working really good; it’s been good at 60 foot every run. I’m getting the clutch pedal handled, so the (fourth) run was my best light yet. I think the car is making good, clean runs and we’re just going to chip away at it. I think we’ll be good by the end of race day or even next race. The car is there and everything is there. We just have to put it all together.”

CAMRIE CARUSSO, CARUSSO RACING, POWERBUILT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified eighth in her first Pro Stock race): “It’s been crazy, it’s been fun and we’ve learned a ton. The PowerBuilt Camaro has been good to me and so has my team. We’ll be ready to bring our A game tomorrow.”

MATT HARTFORD, HARTFORD RACING, TOTAL SEAL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified 10th): “(Final run) We needed to get off the bump spot. We’ve not done a very good job this weekend – at least today. Yesterday I thought we made a good run, but we had a fuel that was not correct in a correctly labeled jug, and we got (penalized) for fuel and that put us way behind. The Total Seal/CIP1 Camaro knows how to win rounds, so we’ll go up there and execute tomorrow.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.

TOYOTA TOP FUEL DRAGSTERS QUALIFY TOP-10 IN POMONA
On-track debut of GR Supra Funny Car Set for Pomona with J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria

POMONA, Calif. (February 19, 2022) – The five Toyota Top Fuel dragsters all qualified in the top-10 for Sunday’s NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series kickoff at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. The GR Supra Funny Car will make its inaugural race start with Toyota drivers J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria piloting the new bodies.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Race 1 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force	Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster*	1	R. August Jr.
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	2	J. Maroney
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	5	T. Schumacher
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6	D. Foley
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	8	J. Hart
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	10	L. Pruett

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car*	1	J. Force
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	5	J. Campbell
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	8	B. Bode

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Qualifying Position: 2nd

Following your run in Q1 on Friday night, how did it feel to put down such a fast pass to post the provisional number one qualifier position?

“That run felt great. You have the whole off-season that is relatively quick since it is only two months, but at the end of the day it feels like it has been forever. It is exciting to be able to get back in this Phillips Connect Toyota dragster, to go down there on the first run of the season and go right to the top with a run as good as that in front of our new sponsor. That is exactly what we were looking for.”

DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

Qualifying Position: 5th

How strong is this Mac Tools Toyota and what are your expectations for tomorrow’s race?

“The Mac Tools Toyota dragster in the third session there was .372 was an 0. So I’m not exactly sure where that puts us, but I feel real good for taking that baby into Sunday. It should be good. I love running at this place. Just a lot of confidence in my team. We’ll up there and hope to have a great day tomorrow.”

How is the communication going with the new crew chief line-up on this race car?

“The new calls are good. And we’re only going to get better. So you know we’ll just keep at it. Looking forward to driving this thing for sure tomorrow.”

SHAWN LANGDON, DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

Qualifying Position: 8th

You were in a must qualify position going into Q3, what happened in the first two qualifying runs and how do you feel about the pass you were able to put down in this session?

“Obviously, we had some mechanical issues on the first two runs. We had a clutch box malfunction and then we had a fitting break that let the clutch fluid out. We just had just some little malfunctions, but we just really went back up there and just really like Q1, there’s a lot left in the car, but it made a good run .374. That should get us in the top half of the field. And we just really kind of had to go back and go back to our testing notes. We got little notes, you know, just from a couple days testing and so we just kind of went to scenarios where you just trust the process and go with your gut instinct, and fortunately it paid off.”

Did you feel like this team finally got to show how strong the car is for this weekend?

“It’s not there yet, but it’s close.”

# # #

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//SRT and Mopar get the 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing series season started with three Dodge Funny Cars and a Top Fuel entry in the top half of the eliminations ladder for the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California
• Defending 2021 Funny Car World Champion Ron Capps drove his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the No. 1 qualifier position for the first national event of the season
• 2021 Funny Car championship runner-up Matt Hagan qualified his new Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat No. 3 for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) first NHRA event
• Cruz Pedregon qualifies his Snap-On Tool Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car No. 4 for Funny Car eliminations
• Defending Winternationals Top Fuel winner Pruett qualifies her Dodge Power Brokers dragster No. 7 for TSR’s inaugural race 

February 19, 2022, Pomona, California— The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat that won last year’s Funny Car world title kicked off the 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series season at the top of the qualifying timing sheets as driver and new team owner Ron Capps claimed the No. 1 qualifier position for the season-opening 62nd annual Lucas Oil Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California. 

Capps, also the defending Winternationals winner, drove his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the provisional No. 3 spot in Friday’s qualifying session, posted the quickest run of the second session, then bettered that with a stout 3.857 second elapsed time lap at 332.43 mph under the lights to secure his 30th career No. 1 qualifier position. He’ll battle the No. 16 seed and fellow veteran racer John Force in the first eliminations round of the year to kick off his 28th NHRA season of competition. 

Last season’s runner-up in the Funny Car championship and three-time (2011, 2014, 2020) NHRA World Champ Matt Hagan launched the new Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) team’s season with a strong Friday evening qualifying run aboard his Dodge Power Brokers machine to provisionally sit No. 2 with 3.886-second pass at 329.344 mph. He repeated the exact same elapsed time lap under the lights in the final qualifying session, clicking off just before the finish line, to secure the No. 3 spot on the eliminations ladder to pair him with No. 14 seed Chad Green.

Two-time Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon, who is looking to build on a productive 2021 season that saw his team earn two national titles and finish fourth in the championship, took his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the fourth quickest time of the second session, then improved on that performance in the cooler evening air with a 3.906 sec./ 325.22 mph run that moved him from the seventh spot to No. 4 qualifier position. The Cruz Pedregon Racing HEMI-powered machine will have lane choice over No. 13 seed Terry Haddock as a first round pairing.

In Top Fuel qualifying, Leah Pruett took her Dodge Power Brokers dragster for its first official qualifying runs with the fledgling TSR team while looking to prepare to defend her 2021 Winternationals win. She took her HEMI-powered machine to the fourth quickest pass of the second qualifying session with 3.768 second elapsed time run at 326.63 mph, then powered to a 3.768 second/ 326.63 mph on her final run to keep her seventh overall placing on the timing sheets. Pruett will face off against No. 10 seed Antron Brown in Sunday’s first elimination round of the new season.

Highlights of qualifying at the Winternationals will air on FS1 this Sunday, February 20, at 7 a.m. Eastern, followed by three hours of elimination rounds coverage on FS1 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Leah Pruett, Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster  

(No. 7 Qualifier – 3.726 seconds at 328.54 mph)

Qualifying 1: 8.425 sec./ 77 mph 

Qualifying 2: 3.768 sec./ 326.63 mph 

Qualifying 3: 3.726 sec. / 328.54 mph  

“This Dodge Power Brokers team has qualified seventh for this first race. We had a little bit of tire shake on Friday night but got that power under control. We ran a 3.726 on our final qualifying session. I’m very much looking forward to eliminations tomorrow. We’ve got [Antron Brown] in the next lane, but we do have lane choice.”

Matt Hagan, Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.886 seconds at 313.07 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.886 sec./ 329.344 mph (2 bonus points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 2: 5.497 sec./ 128.98 mph 

Qualifying 3: 3.886 sec./ 313.07 mph (1 bonus point for third quickest run of session)

“We had a great qualifying session, ended up No. 3, and had some great runs. Two good night runs, but struggled a bit with our day run when we overpowered the track, but that’s what ( Crew Chief) Dickie Venables does best, he makes a lot of horsepower. Looking to get this Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car car hopefully in the winner circle tomorrow. We have 16 cars to battle it out and we got a great race car. I feel very competent with my life. I feel confident with my lights. I feel confident with what the crew is doing and what Dickie is doing up there on the calls that he’s making. We’re just going to go out there and race our race car and have some fun doing it.”

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

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.906 seconds at 325.22 mph)

Qualifying 1: No Time (Timing blocks were hit by competitor negating both their times) 

Qualifying 2: 3.969 sec./ 283.13 mph 

Qualifying 3: 3.906 sec./ 325.22 mph 

Ron Capps–NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

(No. 1 Qualifier – 3.857 seconds at 332.43 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.903 sec./ 329.84 mph  (1 bonus point for third quickest run of session)

Qualifying 2: 3.923 sec./ 326.40 mph (3 bonus points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.857 sec./ 332.43 mph (3 bonus points for quickest run of session)

“That thing was a rocket ship, I was just hanging on.You start to wonder do you want to go No. 1? Or maybe two or three and stay away from John Force, but this yellow No. 1 hat means a lot. To start my career as a team owner from this position, it’s huge. We know we have what it takes as a team, we know we have the parts, the people. I always say ‘I wouldn’t want to race the NAPA car.’ It’s just a car that always goes down the race track, and it’s tough to beat. It’s great to get the No. 1 and show that we can run with the best of them, but that 92 from Q2 was even more impressive to me, because we did that in the heat, and we were half-a-tenth or so ahead of everybody else. We know we’ll have similar conditions tomorrow. So, to show we can throw down in the heat, and then come back up and do the same thing in cooler conditions, it just instills so much confidence in me.”

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

Kansas City, MO (February 16, 2022) – To continue its half-century commitment to the sport, WELD today announced its 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) contingency program. It will be made available to qualifying NHRA drivers competing in the upcoming season to reward success and give back to the drivers, who are the lifeblood of modern drag racing.

Competitors who qualify by using contingency-specific categories of WELD Racing wheels and also display the WELD decals on their race cars during the season are eligible for the contingency payout. Full contingency details are available here: NHRARacer.com.

For more than 55 years, WELD has built technologically superior wheels specifically for drag racing and other motorsports series. It continues the tradition of building Racing and Performance Street Wheels utilizing the latest technology, top-quality craftsmanship and excellent customer service to teams and drivers.

The roots of WELD are firmly planted in drag racing. The company actively developed wheels at its local drag strip and even owned the facility for a number of years, such was its commitment to ongoing development. The WELD engineering team continuing to develop race wheels specifically to meet the demands of individual drag strips on the NHRA Camping World Series schedule. The unique specifications support the fastest racing series in the world, which continues to serve as the ultimate proving ground for WELD wheel technology. This is the same technology that WELD has applied to its range of street wheels that anyone can fit to their personal vehicles.

“Given the deep history our brand has with the NHRA, we know it’s critical to offer a contingency program to competitors in NHRA,” said Andres Cisneros, President of MW Company. “Our goal is to ensure we have significant funding for the program to provide both an incentive to competitors across all classes and a financial boost to the teams. We’re looking forward to the new season and further cementing our position within the racing community.”

The WELD team is heading to Pomona, CA to kick-off the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 18-20.

ABOUT WELD

WELD engineers’ performance that is proven by real-world results in all levels of amateur and professional drag and oval racing Innovation lives on in our industry leading products and relentless pursuit of speed and strength. WELD wheels are designed and engineered in the USA. WELD is part of the MW Company portfolio of brands across racing and automotive aftermarket industries. For more information, please visit https://www.weldwheels.com

ABOUT MW COMPANY

MW Company is an engineering, design, manufacturing, and marketing company with a portfolio of leading brands in the automotive and lifestyle industry. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., its portfolio of brands includes WELD, MOMO, Forgestar, ADV.1, CCW Forged Performance, Driven Motorsports, Reds, HiPer Technology and Tikore. The company employs more than 200 people worldwide. MW Company is part of the Cisneros Corp, a third-generation global family enterprise with experience in numerous industries across media, telecommunications, consumer goods and automotive brands. Learn more at https://mw.company

• Dodge//SRT and Mopar are ready for a new season of National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing, beginning with the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California, on February 17-20
• Dodge//SRT and Mopar partner with newly formed Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), continue relationship with drivers Leah Pruett in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car who will both sport new Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection primary branding on their race cars this season
• Three-time Funny Car world champion Hagan heads into a new season with Tony Stewart Racing and a new livery for his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, looking to power his way to Pomona’s winner circle for a seventh time
• Nine-time national event winner Pruett is excited to stage her new Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel dragster and defend her Winternationals victory last July
• Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection performance parts offerings will be on display in the NHRA Manufacturers Midway throughout the season, in addition to race simulators for enthusiasts to test their skills 
• All 22 NHRA national events will air on FOX or FS1 and will stream live on NHRA.TV
• For more information on Dodge and the 24-month Dodge Never Lift campaign, visit Dodge.com or DodgeGarage.com

February 15, 2022, Auburn Hills, Michigan — A new season, new team, new livery, new performance parts offerings for racers and enthusiasts, and a new track surface have Dodge//SRT (Street and Racing Technology) and Mopar brands excited to hit the throttle on the 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series season February 17-20 with the season-opening 62nd annual Lucas Oil Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California. 

Dodge//SRT and Mopar recently announced their partnership with the NHRA’s newest team, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), which is set to make its competition debut in Pomona this weekend with Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection primary sponsorship of Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett and three-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan. 

The new Dodge Power Brokers program will roll out ready to serve as the exclusive source for all new Direct Connection, Dodge’s factory-backed performance parts program, and equipped with staff trained to deliver a performance-focused customer service experience.

“Dodge//SRT performance enthusiasts have plenty to look forward to this NHRA season as we launch our new partnership with Tony Stewart Racing,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand CEO – Stellantis. “Fans will see the new Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection colors for us this year, and also have the chance to check out Direct Connection factory-backed performance products at the display in the Manufacturers Midway. It’s a brand new season, a brand new team with brand new Dodge programs we’re bringing to the NHRA.”

The Winternationals return as the traditional season opener for the NHRA’s 22-race calendar and will (literally) present a new level playing field for racers to kick off a season of tough competition with a freshly prepped track after the historic California dragstrip was ground and polished for its first facelift in 20 years. The action kicks off Friday, February 18, with one qualifying session for pro categories, followed by two more nitro runs on Saturday, February 19, and elimination rounds scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Pacific on Sunday, February 20.

Hagan, a three-time (2011, 2014, 2020) NHRA Funny Car World Champion, closed out the 2021 season as runner-up in the title fight after taking his 11,000-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye to a category-best four national wins to finish the year with a top-10 result for the 11th time in his career.  

While he begins the new chapter in his career with his new team and the new Dodge Power Brokers livery, Hagan is confident that he’ll benefit from the consistency provided by once again having his HEMI®-powered machine tuned by longtime crew chief Dickie Venables and fully expects to add to his 39 career victories tally that currently has him fifth on the all-time Funny Car win list. 

“I have an amazing crew headed by Dickie Venables, Mike Knudson and Alex Conaway who have been with me for many years and provide the confidence and expectation that even with a new team, we’re going into this weekend and a new season looking to win,” said Hagan, who is second on the win-list at the Pomona dragstrip with six victories (2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011) and set the current 3.822-second track record run in 2017. “They’re pumped up, focused, excited and more motivated than ever before. We have renewed energy, a new livery and a great race car. We know we’re going to contend from the start and we’re focused on driving the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to the winner’s circle.”

Nine-time national event winner Pruett begins her 10th year of Top Fuel competition after a sixth consecutive season with a top-10 finish that included a win at the July edition of the 2021 Winternationals that came on the heels of her runner-up finish at Sonoma Raceway. She’ll work again with Neal Strausbaugh, who takes on crew chief duties for her TSR Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel dragster along with Mike Domagala and car chief Ryan McGilvery. 

The California native has two career wins (2021 and 2017) at her hometown track, which is also the site of her quickest career run of 3.631-seconds in 2018, but she expects her first competition pass with the fledgling Tony Stewart Racing team to be just as memorable.

“After such extensive structuring, planning, and being alongside the team, working through ordering of parts, building of racecars and partner programs, I do truly believe that first burnout to turnout will be one of the most fulfilling passes I will have personally made,” said Pruett. “Stepping on the grounds of Pomona and rolling out our Dodge Power Brokers race cars will initially have the feeling of a win itself, but I am also ready for that moment to go away as soon as it comes, appreciate it, then welcome the feeling of a new era of competition. 

“We will be making every performance-enhancing attempt to defend last year’s Winternationals win but we are focused on the fundamentals and coming together as a new team. A win would be nothing short of magical but we’ll strive for creating continuity amongst our people and parts at a faster rate than anyone has seen before.”

Additional Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat drivers set to battle for national event wins and the Funny Car crown include two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon and reigning world champion Ron Capps.

Pedregon hopes this year to build on his Cruz Pedregon Racing team’s positive performance after driving his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the winner’s circle twice in 2021 and finishing fourth in the final standings. Capps will drive the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat into his 28th NHRA season of competition and also make his debut in the dual role of driver and team owner of Ron Capps Motorsports, all while looking to defend his second Funny Car world title. 

Dodge//SRT and Mopar Manufacturers Midway Exhibit

Fans attending national events are invited to visit Dodge//SRT and Mopar’s massive 4,800-square-foot display, one of the largest exhibits in the NHRA’s Manufacturers Midway, where they can meet their favorite Dodge//SRT drivers for autographs and check out a selection of Direct Connection performance parts and vehicles. The interactive exhibit also features a pair of Dodge Challenger SRT Demon simulators to test their virtual race skills and experience a nitro run from the driver’s seat of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car simulator. 

For a fourth season, the exhibit will also host Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) activations at seven NHRA national events, beginning at the NHRA Gatornationals in March. The Mopar CAP program is dedicated to recruiting, training, and placing the best service technicians in the industry in Stellantis dealerships. Students are invited to visit the informational booth which features a subject matter expert, program information, games and giveaways. More information is available at Moparcap.com.

NHRA on FOX and NHRA.TV

This season Dodge//SRT and Mopar brands will continue to partner with the NHRA as part of their multi-year full media package which includes NHRA on FOX commercials and integration. All 22 national events will be broadcast on either FOX or FS1. Non-stop track action will also stream live on NHRA.TV.

Winternationals television coverage will air on FS1 with qualifying highlights on Friday, February 18, at 10 p.m. and Sunday, February 20, at 7 a.m. Eastern. Three hours of eliminations will be broadcast Sunday on FS1 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern.

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

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
62nd NHRA Winternationals
Feb. 18-20 | Pomona, California

Event Overview

Friday, Feb. 18 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 4:30 p.m. PST/7:30 p.m. EST

Saturday, Feb. 19 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 12:30 p.m. PST/3:30 p.m. EST
● Nitro qualifying session (Q3): 4:30 p.m. PST/7:30 p.m. EST

Sunday, Feb. 20 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Round 1: 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST
● Round 2: 1:10 p.m. PST/4:10 p.m. EST
● Semi-Finals: 2:55 p.m. PST/5:55 p.m. EST
● Finals: 4:05 p.m. PST/7:05 p.m. EST

TV coverage on FS1

● Friday, Feb. 18: Qualifying show, recapping all of Friday’s action (7 p.m. PST/10 p.m. EST)
● Sunday, Feb. 20: Qualifying show, recapping all of Saturday’s action (4 a.m. PST/7 a.m. EST)
● Sunday, Feb. 20: Finals show, recapping all of Sunday’s final-round action (10 p.m. PST/1 a.m. EST)

Notes of Interest

● The Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona serve as the official debut of Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. The team fields two fulltime entries – one in Top Fuel for nine-time event winner Leah Pruett and one in Funny Car for 39-time event winner and three-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan. (Hagan earned his titles in 2011, 2014 and 2020, and he was the runner-up in the 2021 championship.)

● Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection are the primary partners of Pruett and Hagan. The new Dodge Power Brokers program will roll out ready to serve as the exclusive source for all new Direct Connection, Dodge’s factory-backed performance parts program, and equipped with staff trained to deliver a performance-focused customer service experience.

● TSR’s roots are in sprint car racing, with Mopar powering its multiple 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 Winternationals kicks off the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ 22-race calendar. Auto Club Raceway at Pomona is emblematic of a fresh season, as a freshly ground and polished track will greet NHRA competitors upon their return to the historic California dragstrip.

● Pomona serves as a homecoming for Pruett as she grew up approximately 35 miles east of the track in Redlands, California.

● The Winternationals will mark Pruett’s 173rd career Top Fuel start and her 15th at Pomona. In fact, her Top Fuel debut came at Pomona in the 2009 Finals.

● The Winternationals will mark Hagan’s 296th career Funny Car start and his 26th at Pomona.

● Two of Pruett’s nine career Top Fuel wins have come at Pomona (2017 Winternationals and 2021 Winternationals).

● Six of Hagan’s 39 career Funny Car wins have come at Pomona (2011 Finals, 2013 Finals, 2014 Finals, 2015 Winternationals, 2017 Winternationals and 2018 Winternationals).

● Pruett has a 16-12 round record at Pomona and is undefeated in her two final round appearances at the track.

● Hagan has a 41-19 round record at Pomona and is 6-2 in final round appearances at the track.

● Pruett’s career-best elapsed time of 3.631seconds came at Pomona on Nov. 10, 2018 in Q4. (Her best speed of 334.15 mph was earned at Phoenix on Feb. 24, 2018 in Q3.)

● Pruett has been the No. 1 qualifier 12 times in her career, two of which came at Pomona (2017 Winternationals and 2018 Finals).

● Hagan has been the No. 1 qualifier 43 times in his career, four of which came at Pomona (2011 Finals, 2017 Winternationals, 2018 Winternationals, 2019 Finals and 2020 Winternationals).

● Hagan owns the Funny Car track record at Pomona – 3.822 seconds at 335.57 mph on Feb. 11 in the 2017 Winternationals.

● DYK? The quickest side-by-side race in NHRA Funny Car history took place at Pomona during the 2018 Winternationals when Hagan ran a 3.823 to Robert Hight’s 3.866.

● Crew Chief Corner: Neal Strausbaugh is the crew chief for Pruett while Dickie Venables continues his longtime role as the crew chief for Hagan. Both Strausbaugh and Venables came to TSR from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), where the duo spent a combined 25 years. Strausbaugh had been an assistant crew chief since 2008 working across both Top Fuel and Funny Car, first with Cory McClenathan in Top Fuel (2008), Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel (2009-2016), Jack Beckman in Funny Car (2017-2018) and Pruett (2019-2021). Venables had two stints at DSR, spending 2010-2011 with Funny Car driver Johnny Gray before returning in 2013 to lead Hagan’s Funny Car effort.

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

Being with a new team at TSR, does the start of this season feel different?

“I haven’t felt any two seasons feel the same at the start of the year, but this one is most definitely the largest difference. A new racecar, a new group of crew members, a new co-crew chief, Neal Strausbaugh’s first season as a crew chief – I’m used to change so all these things bring comfort in their newness. What I’m not used to, but have always had a desire for, was to race with my spouse. This one happens to be my team owner, but also the new feeling has been operating in the management structure of this organization and taking on and sharing new responsibilities. To say it’s business as usual would be far from correct and, until I put on the helmet for the first time during a race event, I can’t say exactly what will be different, but I already know it will be, and I expect to enjoy our successes even more than before.”

For the novice drag racing fan, why is Pomona such a legendary and prominent venue for the NHRA?

“Professional drag racing is rooted in Southern California, and Pomona has been the foundation, literally, of generations of drag racing legends. SoCal may no longer be the physical center of the highest tier of drag racing as it once was – as that is now Brownsburg, Indiana – but the magic of its location and the heritage it holds is still undeniable.”

Explain the nuances of drag racing at Pomona. Is it like any of the other venues on the NHRA circuit, or does it have enough characteristics that make it unique?

“I might be biased, but I think it’s the most gorgeous track on the circuit. It’s surrounded by palm trees, purple mountain majesties, and an incredible Mexican food joint on the corner there at opposite end of the NHRA museum. Pomona is ground zero for NHRA drag racing, and it’s also where I began racing at just age 8. From the tower where I sang the national anthem as a kid, to hanging in the bleachers as a teenager with my friends, to roaming the pits, excited if I knew anyone on a team or got to take home a clutch disc or connecting rod, that was my life, and those memories came from Pomona. I’ve won there before in Top Fuel, and I didn’t think it could get any bigger than that moment, but that was because of what I didn’t know. With what I know now, if we can duplicate that same success from 2018 in our Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster, it will be a new milestone for me at Pomona, no doubt.”

Climate and weather play a big part in dialing in your dragster. What do you deal with at Pomona to get your car right?

“We’re back to our regularly scheduled Winternationals programming, being in February as opposed to July where it was last year, so that’s ideal for us. We prefer the cooler, drier conditions for making maximum horsepower, and that’s what it looks like we’ll get this weekend. The new Pomona surface will take some time to get worked in, which is probably why they have cars starting to run on Wednesday. Pomona has a reputation for creating world-record conditions, and I think the new track surface will help that for the second race of the season, and for running later in the evening. This weekend we will be running in the afternoon instead of at night, which is really where those record conditions are at.”

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

Being with a new team at TSR, does the start of this season feel different?

“We’re coming up on my 15th year of racing and, honestly, it does feel different. Our team’s morale and charisma is different. These guys are super excited to be here and Tony Stewart has been great to work for. It’s laid back, but business as usual for us. We know what we have to do. I’ve won multiple championships out here and have won a lot of races along the way. Our core group of guys between my crew chief, my assistant crew chief, my car chief and myself, we know what we have to do to get it done in our Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car. Out here, everyone gives 100 percent no matter what. There’s not a day where you can ask for any more from anybody because everyone is trying as hard as they can. I think Tony as a racer and competitor, he sees that.”

For the novice drag racing fan, why is Pomona such a legendary and prominent venue for the NHRA?

“Pomona is such a legendary place because we start there, we finish there, and history is made there. It’s where you crown champions. I’ve been fortunate enough to run there quite a few times, but I’ve also been fortunate enough to be crowned a champion there. That’s something that no amount of money can buy, and that’s something no one can take away from me. You are 10 people with one goal and you’re surrounded by people who helped you get there. It’s such a special and magical place because of how it ends there. You’re able to see history get made every year there.”

Explain the nuances of drag racing at Pomona. Is it like any of the other venues on the NHRA circuit, or does it have enough characteristics that make it unique?

“Pomona is unique in and of itself. It’s kind of short, so when you show up there, you know you better have your parachutes together and a handful of brake. It makes you be more aware and more prepared as a driver to start the season. You have to be more tuned-in to what you’re doing because the shut-down isn’t quite as long as other tracks. It makes you on top of your game to start the season. Pomona is a special place because drag racing originated in California, so there are so many legends that show up there. Back in the day, people were on fire and upside down there. They had to go through so much to put on a show. We’re so fortune nowadays that we have so much safety equipment and fire gear to keep us safe. I have a lot of respect for all the legends that started out there and made the sport what it is today.”

Climate and weather play a big part in dialing in your dragster. What do you deal with at Pomona to get your car right?

“The weather at Pomona is always changing, but I remind myself that the conditions are the same for everyone. That’s what our crew chiefs do so well because they take the conditions, their notes and the data they’ve compiled over the years to be able to go up there and make a solid run. I’m so lucky with Dickie Venables because he has been doing this for a very long time, so he has a lot of data, gut knowledge and instinct. I think we’re so successful because of Dickie and the calls he makes.”

Reigning Pro Stock champion looking to reach milestone in 900th event of the class

DETROIT (Feb. 14, 2022) – Ninety days have passed quickly since Greg Anderson hoisted the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock championship trophy for a fifth time.

“I’m still smiling everywhere I go,” he said.

With ample reasons. Anderson passed his mentor, Warren Johnson, last October as the all-time class leader with 98 victories. He added win No. 99 in the season finale on the way to wrapping up his first Pro Stock world championship since 2010.

“It was a magical season in so many ways,” said Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Seeking to join select company
Now, he’s looking to make more magic during the 2022 season that begins this weekend with the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.).

His immediate goal is 100 wins, which will put him in select company.

Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, driver of the BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS, leads all drivers with 154 career victories. Sportsman drivers Dan Fletcher (105), Frank Manzo (105) and David Rampy (100) have also reached the milestone.

“It’s far beyond belief. I’ve said it a million times that when I started this deal 20-some years ago I was hoping I could just win a race,” said Anderson, who piled up five wins in nine final-round appearances plus 12 No. 1 qualifier honors in 2021. “I didn’t have a plan of winning 50 races or 75 races or even 100 races.

“It’s been quite a run. I guess we’ve overachieved our goals, but as you go along you set goals like that, achieve them, and start raising them. Once we got to 75, it was like, well, the next mark is the wins record for the class, which was 97. We set our goal on that and finally achieved that last year and that was tremendous.

“To be honest, that 100 number just sounds a lot better than 97 or 98 or even 99,” he said. “We’ve got the record for the most wins in the class, but to get 100 is just a flat cool number, so I’m very much looking forward to it. I’m not thinking about it or worried about it because that’s the goal when you go to the racetrack is to win. I hope I can get it done at the first race out of the gate.”

Chevrolet domination in class
That would be serendipitous. This weekend’s opening round of competition happens to be the 900th event in Pro Stock history and the 498th entered by Anderson.

Pro Stock Eliminator was introduced as an NHRA national event in January 1970, emerging from the popular Super Stock, Modified Production and Factory Experimental battles of the previous decade. Bill Jenkins, driving his ’68 big-block Chevrolet Camaro, was the first of 70 drivers to claim victory in the class by defeating Ronnie Sox in the final round at Pomona.

Chevrolet has dominated the class with 347 wins, including 228 by the Camaro. The stout 2022 Camaro contingent is all but guaranteed to add to the total this weekend. Most Pro Stock drivers, including Anderson and his KB Racing teammates, tested last week in Arizona to get up to speed.

“Every year when you go into Pomona, at least me, I’m very apprehensive and ask myself, ‘What have the other teams found?’ We’ve had almost three months to find some gains – and we’ve worked awfully hard – but you have no idea until you get to the first race what the other teams have done,” said Anderson, who will tie Bob Glidden for most wins in class history at seven with a victory in the Winternationals.

“You can only control what you’ve done to prepare,” he said. “I know we’re going to be every bit as good or better than last year, and I have my hands full trying to beat my own team cars. The competition out there is incredible; the talent level is incredible. I’ll be looking forward to seeing how we stack up.”

Around the bend, Anderson will be chasing his 900th elimination round win (he enters the season with 881 – second only to Force’s 1,387) — and down the road he’ll seek to earn his sixth Pro Stock title to tie Johnson for second to Glidden’s 10.

“We had a great car all year long and I couldn’t have won if I didn’t have the horses,” Anderson said. “It’s a KB Racing team record. I wouldn’t be nothing without them. We’ll see what we can do this year, how we can improve.”

Chevrolet in Pro Stock
347 wins: Camaro 228, Cobalt 54, Cavalier 36, Beretta 11, Vega 11, Monza 6, Lumina 1

17 driver championships
103 wins in a row by a Camaro

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.