Leah Pruett, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Top Fuel Dragster:
- Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Thursday (3.724 ET at 326.87 mph)
- Fell to No. 7 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.759 ET at 321.58 mph)
- Fell to No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Friday (3.720 ET at 329.99 mph)
- Secured No. 8 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 3.768 ET at 315.42 mph.
- Advanced to Semifinals on Saturday:
- Round 1: 3.972 ET at 266.53 mph, defeated Mike Salinas (4.412 ET at 251.25 mph)
- Semifinals: 3.741 ET at 328.38 mph, lost to Doug Kalitta (3.709 ET at 330.63 mph)
Matt Hagan, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
- Earned No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Thursday (4.114 ET at 273.77 mph)
- Earned No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.942 ET at 323.89 mph)
- Fell to No. 10 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Friday (3.970 ET at 280.08 mph)
- Secured No. 6 qualifying position in Q4 on Friday (3.880 ET at 329.10 mph)
- Advanced to Finals on Saturday:
- Round 1: 4.239 ET at 223.58 mph, defeated J.R. Todd (broke, no time)
- Semifinals: 3.912 ET at 329.50 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (4.137 ET at 243.50 mph)
- Finals: 3.872 ET at 329.75 mph, lost to Austin Prock (3.845 ET at 332.43 mph)
- Hagan advanced to the Finals for the inaugural SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout Presented by JHG. It marked the first time he’s faced Austin Prock in Funny Car, with Prock previously competing in NHRA’s Top Fuel class.
- Pruett and Kalitta picked up where they left off in the 2023 NHRA season, with the pair previously racing each other for the championship title.
- With Pruett stepping aside from racing in 2024, the PRO Superstar Shootout marked her final race of the season. Husband Tony Stewart will take over in the Top Fuel seat when the NHRA season begins in Gainesville.
Matt Hagan, Driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
“It was really neat making it to the final with all of the JHG guys here and having them on the car. It’s been a busy week with all of the testing before the race weekend started. I’m so thankful for my crew and how hard they all work. We had a good test session. We had a boomer earlier in the week that was unexpected. It was a parts failure, but we’re pushing these things to the limit. I think the PRO Superstar Shootout was a great event. I was really proud of how smooth it went. All in all, we really couldn’t have asked for much more. The NHRA does a good job, but I think there’s always room for improvement. I’m sure we’ll get a participation t-shirt for coming in second, but at the end of the day, we’ll take what we can get.”
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series kicks off its season at the NHRA Gatornationals March 8-10 at Gainesville Raceway. Tony Stewart will be making his Top Fuel debut, alongside four-time and reigning Funny Car champion Matt Hagan.
TSR PR
