Big Weekend for TSR Dodge NHRA Team at Bristol Brings Double Wins as Pruett Takes Delayed Epping Top Fuel Final, Hagan Wins Thunder Valley Funny Car Title

"When the season started, a couple races in, I found myself not really knowing how to collect my new self, not knowing how to emotionally manage myself and I got pretty down. But I have an incredible team behind me, and we worked on hitting marks that were obtainable for me. We had a plan, a systematic approach with a team that is unwavering behind me. That's why this win is so fulfilling. I think I'm in a better spot than I've ever been as a driver."

Pruett's TSR Dodge teammate, four-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Hagan, was anxious to return to his home track at Bristol, as the Virginia driver had just one NHRA national win (2015) at the Bristol Dragway. But the tough track surface and hot, humid air made the conditions very tricky for the Funny Car crew chiefs.

Hagan's brain thrust, Mike Knudson and Phil Shuler, worked meticulously throughout the weekend with their TSR JHG Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine to survive and advance in eliminations Sunday. After notching the No. 1 qualifying spot on Friday night, Hagan's crew dialed in their car on Saturday as they prepared for tough Sunday battles against a solid field.

Hagan, with superb starting line reactions, also got some breaks by winning the first round against Jon Capps, who red-lighted off the starting line, and a bye run in the quarterfinals. The semifinals proved to be the ultimate matchup with two-time reigning Funny Car world champion Austin Prock, who held lane choice over Hagan. With the heat and humidity on the rise, Knudson, Shuler and car chief Alex Conaway made the proper adjustments and posted a 4.079 to Prock's 4.212. Hagan then took on young Daniel Wilkerson in the final round. With a spectacular 0.032 starting line light, Hagan drove to his 57th NHRA career Funny Car win (all with Dodge) and a time of 4.125.

The triumph marked Hagan's second win of the season (he took the NHRA 1,000th Funny Car race at the Winternationals in April) and his second Bristol win dating back to 2015. The win puts Hagan just 24 points out of the NHRA Mission Funny Car points lead with the Summit Racing Nationals next on the NHRA national event schedule (June 26-28).

"I always call myself an old plow horse," said a smiling Hagan. "Hook me up to the plow and I'll just go out there and get the job done. I'm not pretty like Leah or famous like Tony, but at the end of the day, the field's plowed. For Leah (Pruett) to finish off the New England win here on Friday and for us to come back and to just beat the rain, then dealing with the weather in and out, it was a special weekend for TSR.

"Bristol is a special place for me. I've got a lot of home tracks — between Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham and Richmond — but this one has always felt like home. We are blessed to be here. The last time I won here was Father's Day weekend (in 2015), and I was crying like a kid — freaking sobbing like a kid. That one was emotional, and this one means a lot, too."

NASCAR Hall of Famer and TSR Dodge team owner Tony Stewart, a past winner at the Bristol oval, took two round wins Sunday with the R+L Carriers/Elite Motorsports Top Fueler when he defeated Justin Ashley and rookie Maddie Gordon to advance to the semifinals. But the driver known as "Smoke" couldn't get by Langdon, whose 3.791 bested Stewart's 3.921. Despite the loss, Stewart remains fourth in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points.

Nitro action returns for the TSR Dodge pair, Pruett and Hagan, at the Norwalk, Ohio, racing plant when qualifying opens on Friday (June 26) at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EDT, with Saturday's qualifying sessions set for noon and 2:30 p.m. EDT. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on Sunday (June 28). The Fox Network telecast will be shown Sunday at 5:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. PDT.

In other Dodge-related motorsports action, Ram NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Mini Tyrrell scored back-to-back CARS Late Model Stock Car short track main events this weekend in the Mini's Mission 125s at Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Virginia.

Tyrrell is now a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor with Kaulig Racing, after winning Ram's Race for the Seat, but an off-weekend from the trucks gave Tyrrell the opportunity to enjoy an event that has grown into a proud CARS Tour tradition.

It took Tyrrell almost the entirety of Saturday's 125-lap feature, but he found his way to the lead after a daring three-wide pass on Conner Jones and his Kaulig Ram truck teammate Brenden "Butterbean" Queen with five laps remaining. That sensational pass was all Tyrrell needed to earn his second-straight Dominion win and his fifth overall in the LMSC Tour.

For more information on NHRA, visit NHRA.com.

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