Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan, Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers, Head to Norwalk

Norwalk, OH – The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, marks the ninth event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ 21-race calendar. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two fulltime entries – one in Top Fuel for 10-time Top Fuel winner Leah Pruett and one in Funny Car for 46-time Funny Car winner and three-time champion Matt Hagan.

Coming into Norwalk, Pruett is tied with Antron Brown for fifth in the Top Fuel standings, 134 points behind leader Justin Ashley. Hagan is currently second in the Funny Car standings, 32 points behind leader Ron Capps.

Direct Connection is the primary partner of Pruett and Hagan this weekend in Norwalk. With muscle car enthusiasts looking for “ready to run” parts, Direct Connection serves as the source for high-performance parts and technical expertise straight from the factory. The Top Fuel Dragster and Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car are featured in Sublime green. Sublime was first introduced during the 1970 model year. The Dodge Charger and Challenger, in current form, are coming to an end after this year. Dodge is bringing back the iconic color for consumers to bring nostalgia to the highways and purchase their own commemorative last call vehicle.

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals will serve as Pruett’s 195th career Top Fuel start and her eighth at Norwalk. For Hagan, this will be his 320th career Funny Car start and his 14th at Norwalk.

Pruett is eyeing her first victory in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. She has advanced to the Semifinals three times in seven starts at Norwalk, losing to Doug Kalitta in 2017, Blake Alexander in 2018 and Mike Salinas in 2022. Pruett is seeking her first No. 1 qualifier at the event.

Hagan has one career win at Norwalk in 2018 (4.094 ET at 288.21 mph) when he defeated Courtney Force (4.220 ET at 227.54 mph). Hagan has two No. 1 qualifiers at the event, which came in 2015 (3.973 ET at 321.96 mph) and 2017 (3.865 ET at 333.33 mph).

Hagan is the track record holder at Norwalk for elapsed time at 3.865-seconds, a mark he set on June 23, 2017.

Pruett and Hagan will participate in a Dodge autograph session on Friday from 4:15-4:45 p.m. EDT and again on Saturday from 11:15-11:45 a.m. EDT. Both sessions will take place in the pits at the Dodge display.

Pruett, Hagan and Stewart will participate in Tony Stewart Store merchandise trailer signings. Pruett will be signing Friday from 12:45-1:15 p.m. EDT. Stewart will be signing Friday from 3:45-4:15 p.m. EDT. Hagan will be signing Friday from 7:00-7:20 p.m. EDT. Stewart will have a second signing on Saturday from 12:00-12:30 p.m. EDT.
Leah Pruett, Driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster
You’re coming off of your first No. 1 qualifier of the season at Bristol Dragway. What momentum does that give you heading into Norwalk?

“The momentum of getting our first number one qualifier of the year is in-line and appropriate to our progress, which provides a level of gratification that our efforts are in the right direction. Our early round exit from Bristol has only amplified our hunger to turn our well-running race car into a resident of the winners circle.”

Dodge’s headquarters is located 150 miles north of Norwalk in Auburn Hills, Michigan. TSR partner, DAYCO, is also headquartered 150 miles north of Norwalk in Roseville, Michigan. Talk about the significance of competing in a quasi-home race for both Dodge and DAYCO.

“Norwalk is technically a homecoming for us for both Dodge and DAYCO. Dodge is not just as our largest partner, but power plant and supporter in helping us gain advantages. On both the Funny Car and Top Fuel side, we work remotely with the Detroit headquarters on a number of projects and this is our opportunity to have our face-to-face meetings with them and go over more details about our projects. That is something I look forward to. For those individuals to be out at the track with us, that might spur conversations that we haven’t been able to have via email and Zoom. Winning with the Dodge Direct Connection car always has an extra push of horsepower behind it because it’s so endemic and this team would not exist without Dodge and the people who are coming to Norwalk. It’s not added pressure, by any means, but rather a welcome backing. We can’t wait to unleash our HEMI horsepower for them to see and continue the programs that we have.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
You’ve earned one career win at Norwalk. What would another win mean on your quest for regaining the points lead?

“Norwalk is awesome and they give you an ice cream scoop when you win. I have one of those up on the wall and I’d like to add another one to it. Points are really close between our crew and (Ron) Capps. We have a great car and we’ve been putting in a lot of work with hot weather conditions and I think it’s going to pay off in the end for us. Hopefully, no matter what the conditions are, we’ll have a car ready to go. I feel really confident with the last two runs we made during Bristol that we’re moving in the right direction.”

Dodge’s headquarters is located 150 miles north of Norwalk in Auburn Hills, Michigan. TSR partner, DAYCO, is also headquartered 150 miles north of Norwalk in Roseville, Michigan. Talk about the significance of competing in a quasi-home race for both Dodge and DAYCO.

“We have so many great partners, including Dodge and DAYCO. With them being close to Norwalk, it’s a drivable distance to the track, so we’re looking forward to them coming out to support us. We love putting on a show for them. They do an amazing job keeping us surrounded by great people and parts.”