NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS: TONY STEWART RACING PREVIEW

By: Tony Stewart Racing (Photo Courtesy TSR)

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 11, 2026) – The Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, the ninth event on the 20-race Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule, will be busy for both Leah Pruett and the Rush Truck Centers Top Fuel team and Matt Hagan and his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car team.

For Pruett, she’ll have one go down the revamped Bristol Dragway track surface before taking on Shawn Langdon for the New England Nationals Top Fuel event championship. After rain forced a postponement from the New Hampshire event just five days ago, both the Top Fuel and Funny Car final rounds will be decided during the second qualifying session on Friday evening.

“As it sits right now, both Langdon and I will run our first qualifying pass in the right lane because of how we sit in the points standings (Pruett is currently third while Langdon leads). Which means, with our final round being ran in the second session, and them having lane choice, there’s a strong chance we will run our final in a lane we have not been down,” Pruett said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into trying to maintain the momentum we had in Epping. Manufacturing momentum from data and track info that are not seamless is going to be exciting. It’s going to be different and it’s going to be one we will never forget.”

Pruett is 1-2 in final rounds against Langdon. Her win against the former Top Fuel World Champion came at the 2022 NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver, where she also started from the No. 3 qualifying position, just as she did the New England Nationals.

While it’s been rare in her career, Pruett has had to run a postponed final in the past. “The last time that I had to wait an extended amount of time for a final round would have been in 2010. I had advanced through eliminations at the Hot Rod Reunion, driving a Nostalgia Funny Car and the final round was postponed until the NHRA World Finals at my hometown track in Southern California. We got to run our final round at the Big Show,” Pruett said. “I would compare that situation to this one even though we’re going from one National Event race to another National Event. There’s been an entire week of hype, coverage and conversation around the upcoming final. Even though it was 16 years ago, it provides a level of comfort to me. I did win in 2010, and I secured the Nostalgia Funny Car championship. Overall, this is an entirely huge week. That’s before we even think about the other accolades on the table. We’re staying true to exactly how we operate and what got us here – one round at a time.”

Those other accolades include the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, where she’ll rematch with New England Nationals semi-final opponent Billy Torrence for an opportunity to earn additional championship points and also could potentially secure her first No. 1 qualifier and/or her first win at the Thunder Valley Nationals. Pruett previously visited the finals in Bristol coming up short to Tennessee native Clay Millican as he won his first NHRA tour event in 2017.

In Funny Car, Matt Hagan, who lives just a two-hour drive from Bristol Dragway in Christiansburg, Viriginia, will be looking for his second win at the fan-favorite facility. Representing Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage at what is also their home race (based in Columbia, Tennessee), Hagan has visited the final round twice at the Thunder Valley Nationals in 2015 and 2016. He took home the Wally in 2015 starting race day from the No. 2 spot.

“It will be neat to see folks that I grew up racing with, see people that have grown up watching me and seeing all the Hagan t-shirts supporting me. I always joke that if I can outsell [team owner] Tony [Stewart] at some of these race tracks then I’ve had a good weekend,” Hagan said. “There will be a lot of fans, a lot of family, a lot of friends, and I really can’t wait.”

Hagan and the JHG Dodge team already have a win this season from the Winternationals, (which was also the 1000th NHRA Nitro Funny Car race winner, along with three semi-final finishes. The four-time world champion is coming off a second-round exit at the New England Nationals, his third of the season. Hagan has only had one first-round exit in 2026.

“We’re doing better right now than we were at this time last year. We went out in the first round three races in a row, but at the end of the season we still had a chance to win the championship. So, while these races are building momentum and helping us get a baseline, there’s still a lot of racing left to do,” Hagan said. “We’re learning from the mistakes and early exits just as much as we’re learning from the wins. Learn and move forward. Hopefully this weekend that means celebrating in the winner’s circle.”

Hagan will have a special tow vehicle for the weekend provided by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. The JHG Dodge Funny Car will be towed to the starting line by a 1946 Crew Cab Dodge Power Wagon RestoMod. A two-and-a-half-year build, it’s a custom four-door conversion with new chassis that boasts 400HP in Street Mode and 500HP in Performance Mode.

“Jason Johnson has some incredible one-of-a-kind vehicles in his collection. This is one of them. The JHG Funny Car is going to look awesome behind this badass truck,” Hagan commented. “It’s a perk of our partnership and Bristol also being their home track. Hopefully the fans enjoy it just as much as the team does.”

Following the Thunder Valley Nationals, on June 19th, JHG will host an open house from 1-6 p.m. at 3672 Talley Moore Road, Columbia, Tennessee. The JHG car collection will be on display with live music from John Stone. Hagan, Pruett, Tony Stewart, Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield and Jianna Evaristo will be onsite along with their NHRA cars and bikes for autographs and photos. 

Competition at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals begins with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 2 and 4:15 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30pm and 3 p.m. Eliminations are slated for noon on Sunday. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Friday at 8 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

-TSR-