Traveling over 320 miles per hour, Matt Hagan had his nitro-burning Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car on the edge and headed to a “win light” Sunday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, only to lose by inches to defending World Champion Austin Prock, while TSR Dodge//SRT teammate Tony Stewart advanced to the quarterfinals in the Top Fuel class.
Hagan, the four-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion from Virginia, is a former NHRA Arizona Nationals champion and his Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine looked strong in the first round in defeating Bobby Bode and was set for the challenge of Prock in round two. Always one of the top Funny Car drivers in reaction time, Hagan left the starting line with Prock and the two ran side-by-side the entire 1,000 feet with the decision in Prock’s favor by inches.
Hagan, a crowd favorite, was nipped at the finish line by 0.0036 seconds with a run of 4.005 seconds to Prock’s slower 4.010. Prock’s starting line advantage of 0.070 seconds to Hagan’s 0.078 was the difference in Hagan not advancing to the semifinals.
“It was a tough weekend to go out second round when we’re used to going some more rounds,” said Hagan. “The loss fell on the driver today. We got beat on a little baby ‘holeshot.’ We got to the stripe before he did as far as the ET (elapsed time) says. He had a .070 light to my .078 light, so I didn’t get it done and it falls on me. The ‘kid’ is really good, but we’re just as good and just as competitive. I’m really proud of Mike Knudsen (crew chief), Phil Shuler (co-crew chief), Alex Conaway and all the guys making the calls necessary to be a good racer on Sunday. Everything is coming together, and we’ll be ready for Pomona this week.”
Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer in his second season in the Top Fuel class, qualified seventh in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT nitro-burning Top Fuel dragster and defeated Shawn Reed in the opening round of eliminations. In the second round, Stewart took on two-time World Champion Brittany Force. His dragster lost traction off the starting line, and Stewart was forced to shut down the engine.
Stewart remains positive about the progress with his racecar as the team heads to the historic Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals this weekend (March 28-30).
“It’s disappointing to go out in the second round,” said Stewart. “But we had eight or nine runs between Gainesville and here (Phoenix) where the car didn’t smoke the tires and made it down the track. Looking at the big picture, I’m excited and grateful that we have a car that’s going down the racetrack now. Today was just one of those days where it’s unique conditions, very hot. We won’t have these conditions at Pomona next weekend.
“We have to look at the positives and the gains our TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection team has made since Bradenton testing in February testing. Before you can worry about picking up performance, you at least have to be consistent. I’m optimistic that we’ve made huge strides in a short amount of time. We have a lot to look forward to.”
Ida Zetterström, the European Top Fuel drag racing champion from Sweden, lost out in another close finish in first-round competition against Justin Ashley, 3.805 to 3.818, in her second season in the JCM/Dodge//SRT dragster.
“Overall, I think we had a strong weekend,” said Zetterström. “We ran well in qualifying and found a lot of good things. On race day, we put down a strong run. It’s quite a hot track out here and we just didn’t have enough facing Justin Ashley. It’s hard to lose. I feel like we made really good progress. We are rolling into Pomona with some newfound confidence.”
Alexis DeJoria, Zetterström’s JCM teammate, qualified the Bandero Café Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car in sixth at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, but she lost in the first round to two-time World Champion Cruz Pedregon in his Snap-On Dodge//SRT Hellcat.
The NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series now moves to the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds this weekend for the 65th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at the In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip with nitro qualifying beginning on Friday, March 28, at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. PDT. Saturday’s nitro qualifying rounds are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. PDT with final eliminations set for 11 a.m. PDT.
The NHRA Winternationals finals will be televised on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT.
This story was originally published on March 24, 2025. 
The post Hagan Falls by Inches in TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car at NHRA Arizona Nationals, Stewart Top Fueler Exits in Second Round first appeared on Drag Illustrated.