NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS: MATT HAGAN TAKES JHG TO WINNER’S CIRCLE
Funny Car Winner: Matt Hagan
By: Tony Stewart Racing (Photos Courtesy TSR)
BRISTOL , Tenn. (June 14, 2026) – Matt Hagan and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge // SRT Hellcat Funny Car team raced to their second win of the season, 57th of his career Sunday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
The four-time world champion secured the victory at his home track with a 4.125-second pass at 310.91 mph to defeat second generation racer Daniel Wilkerson who ran 6.317 pass at 128.89 mph. Hagan’s win comes two days after teammate Leah Pruett picked up her first win of the season from the postponed NHRA New England Nationals. Both also entered race day as the No. 1 qualifiers.
“I always call myself an old plow horse. Hook me up to the plow and I’ll just go out there and get the job done,” Hagan said. “I’m not pretty like Leah or famous like Tony, but at the end of the day, the field’s plowed.
“For Leah (Pruett) to finish off the New England win here on Friday and for us to come back and to just beat the rain dealing with the weather in and out, it was a special weekend for TSR. The Safety Safari did a great job putting a good race track underneath us.
“Bristol is a special place for me. I’ve got a lot of home tracks—between Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Richmond—but this one has always felt like home. We are blessed to be here. The last time I won here was Father’s Day weekend, and I was crying like a kid—freaking sobbing like a kid. That one was emotional, and this one means a lot, too.
En route to his 100th final round, Hagan took down Jon Capps, had a bye run and sent two-time and reigning world champion Austin Prock packing.
“This weekend was challenging. My guys did a great job, because I don’t know that we ran on eight cylinders any run. It was a driving job out there as far as keeping it in the groove. Daniel Wilkerson was driving his butt off, though. He’s a good kid from an amazing family. His dad, Tim, is just salt-of-the-earth. I was rooting for the kid, but I had to tell myself, ‘Don’t root for him too hard, his day is coming.’
“That’s the atmosphere out here in NHRA. We have good, salt-of-the-earth people, and it feels like family. I think that’s why I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Anywhere else, I probably would have packed it up and tried to make more money than what Tony’s paying me, but I just love doing it.
“The biggest thing I can put in perspective is that people aren’t replaceable. I’ve had some of my guys for 15 years. When you have a good group that digs deep and works hard for you, it’s something you can’t buy. You can have all the money in the world and buy all the parts, but it still has to come together, and the people make that happen. That’s why we have over 55 wins now and four championships. I’d love to get our fifth before we step away from the sport. It was a lot of fun here at Bristol, and we’re really glad to get a win for JHG. We gotta keep guys like Jason in our sport.”
The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series continues June 26-28 with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The event marks the halfway point of the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season.
MATT HAGAN
JHG Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Unofficial Points Standings: 2nd
- 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
- 100th final round
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
Race Results:
E1: 4.101 seconds 298.98 mph def.Jon Capps 8.516 seconds 80.38 mph
E2: 4.673 seconds 180.60 mph BYE
Semis: 4.079 seconds 311.05 mph def. Austin Prock 4.212 seconds 268.97 mph
Finals: 4.125 seconds 310.91 mph def. Daniel Wilkerson 6.317 seconds 128.89 mph
“I always call myself an old plow horse. Hook me up to the plow and I’ll just go out there and get the job done,” Hagan said. “I’m not pretty like Leah or famous like Tony, but at the end of the day, the field’s plowed.
“For Leah (Pruett) to finish off the New England win here on Friday and for us to come back and to just beat the rain dealing with the weather in and out, it was a special weekend for TSR. The Safety Safari did a great job putting a good race track underneath us.
“Bristol is a special place for me. I’ve got a lot of home tracks—between Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Richmond—but this one has always felt like home. We are blessed to be here. The last time I won here was Father’s Day weekend, and I was crying like a kid—freaking sobbing like a kid. That one was emotional, and this one means a lot, too.
“This weekend was challenging. My guys did a great job, because I don’t know that we ran on eight cylinders any run. It was a driving job out there as far as keeping it in the groove. Daniel Wilkerson was driving his butt off, though. He’s a good kid from an amazing family. His dad, Tim, is just salt-of-the-earth. I was rooting for the kid, but I had to tell myself, ‘Don’t root for him too hard.’ His day is coming.
“That’s the atmosphere out here in NHRA. We have good, salt-of-the-earth people, and it feels like family. I think that’s why I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Anywhere else, I probably would have packed it up and tried to make more money than what Tony’s paying me, but I just love doing it.
“The biggest thing I can put in perspective is that people aren’t replaceable. I’ve had some of my guys for 15 years. When you have a good group that digs deep and works hard for you, it’s something you can’t buy. You can have all the money in the world and buy all the parts, but it still has to come together, and the people make that happen. That’s why we have over 55 wins now and four championships. I’d love to get our fifth before we step away from the sport. It was a lot of fun here at Bristol, and we’re really glad to get a win for JHG. We gotta keep guys like Jason in our sport.”
LEAH PRUETT
Rush Truck Centers / Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster
Unofficial Points Standings: 3rd
- 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
Race Results
E1: RT 0.060 3.770 seconds 332.43 mph def. BYE
E2: RT 073 12.454 seconds 49.85 mph Lost to Shawn Langdon RT .065 3.977 seconds 315.12 mph
“We did a good job of staying in the eye of the tornado of the many variables that came with this race weekend. Finalizing our Epping race with the first Diamond Wally of the season is extremely well-deserved [and] profound, because what that showed was… that the Kalitta group can be beat. Waiting 120 hours to run a final round, that’ll wear on your system a little bit, [and] I’m really proud that we were able to get that done.
Our car shows that it is quicker—can be quicker—than a Kalitta car. We rolled that momentum into Sunday [with a] very impressive 3.77. Ultimately, [in the second round] we smoked the tires… and we lost the race, [but] that’s without even stating the action that was taking place on the starting line. Our opponent was experiencing complications… it most definitely was almost a burndown. We learn from every single win and every single defeat. That’s racing, right? That’s why they call it racing and not winning.
I’d say my first point of contention was being super upset that our day got stopped because I was really looking forward to a date with my husband in the semifinal round. It has eluded us yet once again.
And of course, our teammate [Matt Hagan] taking it home all the way. It gave me goosebumps watching Matt just absolutely own the tree, the staging process and everything. If I were to wrap the whole weekend up into one word, it would be ‘strong.’ Absolutely strong. TSR [is] coming home with two Diamond Wallys, two number one qualifiers. Our guys are extremely impressive, [and they] deserve a bit of time… to get back after it.”
