Drag RacingNHRA Team News

NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS QUALIFYING: LEAH PRUETT AND MATT HAGAN SWEEP NITRO NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS

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By: Tony Stewart Racing (Photos Courtesy TSR)

LEAH PRUETT
Rush Truck Centers / Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster

  • 13-time NHRA National Event Winner
  • Finished 2023 runner-up in championship points
  • Finished runner-up up at the 2026 NHRA Arizona Nationals
  • Has finished quarterfinals or better all season
  • Second No. 1 of the 2026 season
  • No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Winternationals
  • Won NHRA New England Nationals with No. 1 qualifying run Friday night at Bristol Dragway
  • 17th No. 1 of her Top Fuel career

Qualifying
Qualifying: No. 1
3.794 seconds at 332.43 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 3
Q1: 3.808 at 329.18
Q2: 3.794 at 332.43
Q3:  4.01 seconds at 238.51 mph 
Q4: 3.918 seconds at 325.45 mph

Saturday Quote:

“This is probably the No. 1 qualifier we’re most proud of all season,” Pruett said. “We raced for a final-round win Friday night, took everything the track had to give us. It tried to get loose three or four times but that 3.79 was all she had. It was incredible. The momentum is tangible right now. Winning races and proving you can beat the points leader reinforces what we already believed about this team. We’ve got a hot rod, a first-round bye, and in my opinion, one of the most consistent race cars out here. That’s a great place to be heading into race day. Opportunity for greatness is what we feed on. That’s what gets us excited every time we roll up to the starting line.

“Huge appreciation for our technology partner Pellera Technologies. It organizes our data in a way that is more accessible to our crew chiefs to filter through possibilities and scenarios. That’s something that both my and Matt’s crew chiefs work together on. We were able to pull together data from Matt’s run and help it to factor into our decisions when we went up there Friday night for that final round run that ultimately got us the No. 1 spot. It’s an attribute to our hard work as a team, Pellera, and the communication that is just organic between both TSR teams.”

Friday Quote:

“Yes, we smoked the tires in Q1 but I’ll tell you something about this track. I got to about 200 feet I was like this is the smoothest thing I think I’ve ever been on. This is incredible, we’re making it to the end and then of course, we didn’t. This is such an opposite feeling of what drivers as far as characteristics on a track,” said Leah referencing the new track surface at Bristol Dragway.

“Going low is significant for cars in a 15 car field. You essentially get a whole extra run. That puts you a run ahead of everyone. The Kalitta cars have been great at that. So I’m really proud of our team and our progression and putting us in those same situations. Those are earned and we are right there doing the things we need to do to earn those same opportunities. I’m proud of this team and how hard they’ve worked. I have a new appreciation for what our crew chiefs go through after sitting on the sideline for two years and working so closely with them. Tuning it up, being aggressive like we were is way more than just turning one knob.”

MATT HAGAN
JHG Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car

  • Four-time world champion (2023, 2020, 2014, 2011)
  • Finished 2025 season runner-up
  • Won the NHRA Winternationals, NHRA’s 1000th Funny Car race
  • 14 season streak with at least one win
  • Won the Thunder Valley Nationals in 2015
  • Runner-up in 2016
  • First No. 1 at Bristol Dragway
  • 55th career No. 1 qualifier

Qualifying:
Qualifying: No. 1
4.009 seconds at 319.60 mph
Q1: 5.670 at 126.19
Q2: 4.009 at 319.60
Q3: 6.352 at 114.58 mph
Q4: 4.295 at 241.93 mph

Saturday Quote:

“These No. 1 qualifiers mean a lot because they’re really for the crew guys. They’re the ones working over a 3,000-degree race car in brutal heat and putting a great machine underneath us. When you can hand those guys a yellow hat and a little bonus money, it goes a long way because they’re the true workhorses of this sport. We’ve got the team, the people, and the parts in place. Now it’s just about execution.

“I’m very blessed to have a great group of guys. We grow every weekend and we learn something new every weekend. That’s what makes it so fun to come out here because we have this new surface on the track and the crew chiefs are kind of licking their chops to see what they can do. We’re adapting to the situations and as long as we can keep doing that, keep making the right calls, both these TSR teams are going to go far.”

Friday Quote:

“I know we ran a 4-second flat out there and that doesn’t sound very impressive, but as the rubber comes around on this new track surface, we’ll be able to apply more power to it. As more runs are made down you’ll start to really see better performance. It’s just a matter of time, but the racing surface itself is a massive improvement from what we’ve had in the past. I couldn’t even feel the bumps for the tunnel or anything like that. So, hats off to the work that was done, we have a really good racetrack under us, and I think it will only get better as we go. So I don’t feel like that 4-second run will hold as the No. 1 qualifier, but it gives us a good baseline to work off of.”