TSR HEADS TO READING WHERE THE CHASE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS

Reading, PA – The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 16-18 at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, is the 17th race on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ 22-race schedule. However, it’s the opening round in the six-race Countdown to the Championship, where both Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers – Leah Pruett in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car – are ready to make a title run in their respective divisions. The top-10 drivers in each of the NHRA’s four professional categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – compete in the Countdown.

This year’s Countdown marks Pruett’s sixth appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 11th. Pruett is seventh heading into the Countdown, 140 points behind leader Brittany Force. Hagan is third, 40 points behind leader Robert Hight.

Pruett has a winning career record (9-6) against No. 1 seed Force, but she has lost to the 2017 series champion both times they have met at Maple Grove – in 2016 when Pruett was the No. 1 qualifier and in 2021. Pruett’s overall record in Countdown events is 40-40. She is seeking her first Countdown event win.

Hagan is 120-60 in the Countdown. His best Countdown season was 2014 when he went 18-3 en route to his second Funny Car title. There was no Countdown in 2020 when Hagan won his third Funny Car championship. He and Hight are tied for the most Countdown wins at 12 apiece. (Cruz Pedregon is next best with nine Countdown wins.)

Pruett comes into Reading representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation on her blue-and-yellow Top Fuel dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports the familiar silver, black and red scheme of Dodge Power Brokers on his Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car.

The Rayce Rudeen Foundation is a non-profit organization that works with organizations and programs to encourage a healthy and productive life that is free of addiction. The designated 501(c)(3) is named in honor of Rayce Rudeen, who at age 26 passed away from an accidental Fentanyl overdose. Since its inception, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation has advocated for creating a supportive community in which everyone can access prevention, treatment, recovery and family-support services, all free from stigma. By collaborating with local universities, researchers, organizations, businesses and community coalitions, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is leading communities toward a united and compassionate response to addiction by identifying gaps in care and building educational tools.

The Dodge Power Brokers program serves as the exclusive source for Direct Connection, Dodge’s factory-backed performance parts program, which is equipped with staff trained to deliver a performance-focused customer service experience. Dodge//SRT and Mopar have supported Hagan since his rookie season in 2009.

The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals will serve as Pruett’s 188th career Top Fuel start and her ninth at Maple Grove. For Hagan, this will be his 310th career Funny Car start and his 13th at the track.

Pruett is seeking her first victory in the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals. However, she does have No. 1 qualifier at the event, earned on Oct. 1, 2016 with a run of 3.705 seconds. Pruett has 10 career Top Fuel wins.

Pruett made her only Funny Car start at Maple Grove in 2011 when she qualified No. 16 before losing to Johnny Gray in Round 1.

Hagan won the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in 2014. His run of 4.330 ET at 215.00 mph defeated Tommy Johnson (5.465 ET at 152.31 mph). Hagan also has two No. 1 qualifiers at Maple Grove – 2010 when he set a then NHRA national record 4.011 ET and in 2016 with a 3.873 ET.

Hagan had to sit out last year’s race at Maple Grove due to COVID-19 protocols, but Tommy Johnson Jr., filled in for him and won the race in Hagan’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car with Dickie Venables as crew chief, beating John Force in the final round.

Maple Grove was Hagan’s first race as a Funny Car driver in 2008, but he failed to make the starting field. It seemed to only light Hagan’s fire, as he has gone on to win three Funny Car championships and 42 races.

Leah Pruett talks about Reading and the countdown.

In TSR’s inaugural season, both you and your teammate are in the Countdown to the Championship. Talk about that.

“Qualifying for the countdown was in our expectation wheelhouse. I’m very proud of my men for consistently executing their talents and work ethic to the level we believed true from the beginning. I’m even more proud of the attitudes they carry and enthusiasm to apply the best full-court press plays we have.”

You and your crew tested prior to Reading. How will that additional track time help in advance of the Countdown?

“Our test session is extremely performance-point focused. What we have in mind can fundamentally improve our acceleration package. We should know in a short number of runs if it’s a package we want to be dedicated to. However, we do not want to take the risk in Reading qualifying without having important data, especially since there are only three qualifying runs.”

You first ran the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Top Fuel dragster at the Sonoma Nationals, where you earned No. 1 qualifier and advanced to Round 2. Describe the importance of running their scheme again, knowing all the foundation is accomplishing.

“The honor I have to carry the Rayce Rudeen Foundation colors and spread their message is incredible. I feel like we made a great impact on the West Coast and helped many families and individuals struggling with addiction. I’m looking forward to making a difference on the East Coast, as well as advance in the Countdown.”

Matt Hagan talks about Reading and the countdown.

In TSR’s inaugural season, both you and your teammate are in the Countdown to the Championship. Talk about that.

“Even though it’s the first season with TSR, we’ve had this group together a long time and we’ve always been in the championship hunt with Dickie Venables (crew chief), Mike Knudsen (co-crew chief) and Alex Conaway (car chief). It’s nice when you can keep a group together because everyone knows what to expect. The crew can push hard to run hard and I have to dig deep on the tree. It’s going to take everything from everybody to win this thing this year. Everyone has closed the gap for how fast they’re running compared to how fast we’re running. No one really has an edge on anybody. It’s going to come down to reaction times and crew chiefs, so it’ll be tough. We have to dig deep and work hard.”

You and your crew tested prior to Reading. How will that additional track time help in advance of the Countdown?

“Anytime you get to shake the car down, it’s a plus. I’m always begging to test and run the car more, so any time we can take hits, it’ll be for the better. I’m excited to get out there and try a couple things the crew wants to work on. It’s another chance to see the tree and hit the lights. The seat time is irreplaceable.”

You are 120-60 in your 12-year Countdown career. What is your mindset entering Reading and what would a fourth championship mean?

“We’ve had a lot of good wins, but we’ve also runnered-up a bunch. We have to give it all because it’ll take all. We saw that last race at Indy, losing by .006 to (Robert) Hight. At the end of the day, the win light didn’t come on, so as a group, we all have to do more. I’m ready to come in and rip people’s heads off. We’re going into battle and it’s a war. This is the closest thing you get to gladiators nowadays. It’s the same thing with football and other stick-and-ball sports. This is what we’ve waited all year long to do. We have to give it all and sacrifice mindset and mentality to go out there and win this thing.”