* Top Fuel 'rookie' and
* Competing in his third NHRA national event, the NHRA Arizona Nationals in
* In a close semifinals race, Stewart lost to race finalist
* NHRA Mission World Champion
* Hagan had victories over
* Hagan, the four-time World Champion just missed out advancing to the quarterfinals in Sunday's Arizona Nationals eliminations in a close race with
* Stewart and Hagan, who won their respective classes last year at
* Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage
Known throughout the racing community as 'Smoke,' Stewart had actually lived up to his nickname in qualifying rounds at
The first-round victory over former World Champion Brittany Force was Stewart's initial Top Fuel round win after making an impressive performance last year in the Alcohol Dragster division, which included two NHRA national event wins. Stewart replaced his wife, Leah, as the driver in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster at the Gatornationals last month.
In the second round at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Stewart ousted
'The struggles continued Friday and Saturday which we went through at Gainesville and Pomona,' said Stewart. 'There were just difficult track conditions on Friday. Saturday wasn't much better and was still a little frustrating for the team. On raceday Sunday, we had to go up against the number two qualifier (Brittany Force). We pedaled the throttle down to the finish line and got to the next round. Honestly, it's kind of the break this TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection team needed. It doesn't sound like a lot just winning one round. But having that opportunity to keep working on this car on a tricky racetrack meant a lot.
'We've had three very challenging racetracks this year because of weather, different conditions and different variables. The encouraging thing is we're going to Vegas next week and we're all very confident the track is going to be in great shape. I never thought just winning one round would take such a weight off your shoulders. It's kind of like when we made the first run at Gainesville. I kind of relaxed and settled in. We'll just keep digging. I'm looking forward to next week in
Stewart's TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT teammate,
In Sunday's eliminations, the four-time NHRA Mission World Champion was seeking to move into the quarterfinals when young
'It was a tough weekend for us with three qualifying runs and a tricky racetrack,' said Hagan. 'Our setup and combination didn't really work well all weekend. We just got outran out there. I don't know that we were going to run a 3.94 against Wilkerson, but we definitely weren't trying to run 4.04. At the end of the day, we learned how to go down a hot racetrack, and we can apply that to some races coming up in the middle of the summer. We had hotter weather conditions than we're used to here in
Stewart and Hagan now move to
Nitro qualifying rounds at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals are scheduled on
@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
The next-generation Dodge Charger electrifies a legend, with the Charger retaining its title as the world's quickest and most powerful muscle car led by the all-new, all-electric 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack. The all-new Dodge Charger will also offer performance choices via multi-energy powertrain options, including the 550-horsepower Dodge Charger SIXPACK H.O., powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo Hurricane High Output engine.
Dodge also keeps its foot on the gas as a pure performance brand with the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever, and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet.
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).
Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news, including daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider
Mopar
Mopar is the global name for
A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over more than 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.
Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.
(C) 2024 Electronic News Publishing, source