Pruett, Hagan Reach Four-Wide Nationals Final Rounds in TSR Dodge Nitro Cars, Pruett Races Husband Stewart for First Time in Top Fuel

Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge teammates Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan advanced to the final rounds in Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions, respectively, Sunday in the unique NHRA Four-Wide Nationals drag races at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte.

Pruett, driving the TSR Dodge Top Fuel dragster, returned to the driver’s seat last month after a two-year hiatus to start a family and immediately made her presence felt with a runner-up finish at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix and a No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. That momentum continued this weekend at the Four-Wide Nationals with another strong qualifying showing (No. 2) in the 16-car Top Fuel field.

Seeking her first NHRA victory since 2023, Pruett immediately stunned the field with a first-round time of 3.673, the quickest elapsed time of the entire event, with the Neil Strausbaugh/Mike Domagala-led crew leading her to round two. She continued to advance with another solid time of 3.749, which put the 12-time NHRA Top Fuel winner into the finals.

In the final round, Pruett matched up against former world champions Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon, as well as her husband Stewart, marking the first time a husband and wife had competed in an NHRA Top Fuel competition. Kalitta went on to capture the Four-Wide Nationals Top Fuel title with a 3.692, followed by Pruett’s 3.724 and Langdon’s 3.727. Stewart’s Elite Motorsports dragster smoked the rear tires in the final.

“Our TSR Dodge team continues to show strength every single weekend,” said Pruett. “Even though it’s only three rounds, it’s five-and-a-half hours and we had a really good strategy for this weekend. After the first three races, I have made the biggest gains this weekend in my reaction times. No one wants to lose in the final round. It didn’t go as well as planned this time, but we have many benefits from the weekend. We are very happy with the car, and we are No. 3 in points now.
This year, with my return to driving, I get to re-establish myself in front of everyone and every single eyeball. And I feel that things are moving very well and in the right direction for me back in the car and working with the team again.

“I didn’t think about racing Tony in the final round, because it is way more than just Tony. We were racing against the Kalitta cars, the two top cars in the series right now. Actually, when I was in the car, I thought that I didn’t even get to talk to him before the race. That is totally fine. I was emotionless. And that is the goal when he is in the other lane. I feel the matchups with Tony are coming in drawn out orders. At Phoenix, it was a qualifying round. Then it wasn’t head-to-head in today’s final either. We could possibly run each other if we both make it next week at the Mission 2Fast2Tasty final at the Southern Nationals. I know our head-to-head matchup is coming soon.”

Hagan, a four-time Funny Car world champion from nearby Virginia, came back to his home track at zMAX Dragway where he set the historic first sub-four-second Funny Car run in 2011, as well as now coming off winning the coveted 1,000th NHRA Funny Car race two weeks ago at the Winternationals in his TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat. In addition, Hagan was honored as one of the top 75 drivers in NHRA’s 75th Anniversary celebration this year.

As a huge fan-favorite in Charlotte, Hagan didn’t disappoint with his nitro-burning monster by winning the first round of Funny Car eliminations with a strong 3.914 and then a 3.948 in taking the top spot in the second round. Seeking a second-straight NHRA win, Hagan took on former world champions Ron Capps, Jack Beckman and J.R. Todd in the only four-wide race of the season.

In the final, Hagan’s mount clocked a 3.947, but he lost out to Capps’ 3.905 as the NHRA national tour heads to the Southern Nationals next week (May 1-3) at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Hagan currently ranks second after four races in the 20-event NHRA national campaign.

“The four-wide is different,” said Hagan. “It’s like you throw your name in the hat and see what is drawn. It’s crazy because crew chiefs don’t get that many runs in each lane. We didn’t even get over to lane four in qualifying due to the 2Fast2Tasty final. It’s a great and different show for the fans. It was fun to have our cars back in Dodge livery too. Plus, the Mopar CAP program was here with all of the college kids, and we could talk to them about having a future in the car community.

“Regarding the racecar, we went some rounds and gained points. Of course, we would have liked to have won again like the Pomona 1,000th race win two weeks ago. I want to thank zMAX Dragway for honoring me this weekend for the first three-second run back in 2011. It’s fun to be a part of the NHRA’s 75th Anniversary and to be honored like they did this weekend. This is my home track, and we saw a lot of friends and fans here. Thanks to them.”

TSR team owner Stewart, the Motorsports Hall of Famer, was coming off his first Top Fuel win of the 2026 season two weeks ago at the Winternationals in the Elite Motorsports dragster and was set for another win in the rare four-wide racing format. The Indiana driver captured round one Sunday with a 3.727 and advanced in the second round with a 3.776. Unfortunately, Stewart’s dragster smoked the tires in the final round against Kalitta, Langdon and his wife, Pruett.

“We had a shaky start to the weekend,” said Stewart. “Qualifying didn’t go quite the way we wanted but these R+L Carriers guys kept their heads down and got to work. Mike Green and Joe Barlam (Stewart’s crew chiefs) pulled us together. But I love the four-wide, especially on race day. It’s like two heat races and then the feature (in oval racing). The weather was on our side today with cooler conditions giving way for some really stout racing. This class is so tight and the competition is unreal. We saw that today. Lining up in the final quad with Leah, that was special. It wasn’t the final run we needed or wanted to make, but it just wasn’t in the cards. But reaching the finals, that’s nothing to hang our heads about. The great part is we get to turn around and do it all over again in just a few days (at the Southern Nationals). I’m looking forward to it.” 

Pruett, Hagan and the two TSR nitro teams make a quick turnaround with more NHRA competition on May 1-3 at the South Georgia Motorsports Park with the upcoming Southern Nationals. Nitro qualifying will get underway on Friday, May 1, at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT, with Saturday’s action set for 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 3. The Fox Sports 1 broadcast will be telecast at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT.