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INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 02, 2026) – As the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing
Series heads to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for the Cornwell
Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers
Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan enter drag racing’s grandest stage—The
Big Go—with significant momentum and high expectations.
Leah Pruett and her Dodge Top Fuel team arrive in Indianapolis following
a stout performance at the Brainerd Nationals, where she reached the
semi-final round and set the event’s quickest elimination elapsed time
with a 3.702-second run. In addition to her standout elapsed time,
Pruett reached a career milestone at Brainerd by blasting down the track
at 341.08 mph, marking both the top speed of the event and the fastest
pass of her career.
In preparation for NHRA Drag Racing’s biggest event, Pruett’s Dodge
team stayed to test on Monday after Brainerd.
“Testing went excellent,” Pruett said. “We worked closely with
Dodge and their team on a couple long-term projects. We were also able
to make some large swings, so I would say, it was a highly educational
test day. Personally, I had been sick all race weekend and was at the
height of fighting off the yuck on Monday, which meant the inside of my
visor got to see a lot of snot time when the chutes hit. Looking forward
to a healthy fun fast U.S. Nationals this weekend.”
Although Pruett has previously captured a U.S. Nationals victory in
Factory Stock Showdown (2018), a Top Fuel title at Indy has remained
just out of reach. In Top Fuel, her career-best U.S. Nationals showing
came in 2020 when she earned runner-up honors to Shawn Langdon while
posting the quickest time of the event at 3.703 seconds.
“The importance of this race lies within the heritage and legacy that
has been built over decades,” Pruett said. “The tangible importances
are the opportunity to earn points and a half, which can definitely
shake things up for many teams. The goal is to ultimately finish as high
in points as we can to get the best run at a championship. The
sentimental value of winning the U.S. Nationals carries just as much
importance; all teams are bringing their absolute A-game, and winning
The Big Go just speaks volumes others can’t.”
Returning to compete at Indianapolis Raceway Park brings a sense of
familiarity and heightened energy for Pruett, making the U.S. Nationals
feel like a premier showcase for the entire team.
“Indy now feels like more of a racer’s homecoming,” Pruett noted.
“It’s home to so many in the nitro ranks, with friends and family in
attendance more than ever. The US national’s vibe is undeniable, which
just means the consistency of being cool, calm and collected will be at
an all-time high. It’s the perfect race to prepare for Countdown
pressures.”
Matt Hagan and the Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car team arrive at drag
racing’s biggest stage already with three wins this season
(Winternationals, Thunder Valley Nationals and most recently the
Brainerd Nationals). Their victory just two weeks ago at Brainerd
International Raceway marked Hagan’s 14th consecutive season with at
least three victories. Even with the Funny Car points lead and
consistent performance, the Dodge team took advantage of testing Monday
after Brainerd.
“We have a great car, and we had a great test session,” Hagan noted.
“We just want to race. We have a lot of momentum and we’re going to
carry that into Indy to see what we can do. Unfortunately, with these
Funny Cars, you can do all that and say all that, and sometimes it’s
just hard to even qualify. There are going to be 24 cars there and
it’s a big field, so just getting in the show is step one.”
His legacy at Indianapolis is already etched into the record books:
Hagan won the event in 2016 and followed it up in 2017 by setting the
Indianapolis Raceway Park track record for both elapsed time (3.799
seconds) and speed (338.77 mph) — marks he set en route to the most
recent of his five No. 1 qualifying starts at the event (he was also No.
1 in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016).
“I’ve been blessed to win Indy, but I was super sick when I did,”
Hagan recalled. “Every time I pulled the parachutes, all this snot
would come out and hit the visor, and I was just like, ‘Golly, can
this just be over?’ So I never really got to celebrate Indy. I just
wanted to take some NyQuil and go to bed. It would be amazing to be able
to win and actually spend the time with my guys and celebrate. It’s
one of those races that you definitely don’t want to leave the sport
without winning, so we’re glad we’ve accomplished that, but there
are just a lot of things that you miss out on when you’re not feeling
good.”
Before launching his bid for a bookend victory to match his 2016 U.S.
Nationals title, Hagan will also compete in the PlayNHRA All-Star
Callout bonus race. Previously finishing the specialty event as
runner-up in both 2022 and 2023, Hagan enters this year’s competition
as the second seed and will get the second choice of opponents unless he
is called out by No. 1 seed Jack Beckman. Adding to the intensity of the
weekend, Hagan will also participate in the final Mission Foods
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the 2026 season.
“The Big Go and the importance of that race is everything,” Hagan
said. “It’s a marathon, right? You’ve got to have some stuff left
in the tank by Monday, but we start racing right off the rip. Between
the Callout, the Too Fast Too Tasty, the opportunity for the regular
season championship, and then the event itself, there’s just a lot
going on. It’s a chance to win a little over $350 grand, I think. I
haven’t really done the math on that, but it’s somewhere way up
there—especially when we also only race for $500,000 at the end of the
season championship. That’s a pretty big payday, so I’ve got to get
locked in. Indy to me is obviously the biggest race of the year
considering what’s at stake, and being in the position that we’re in
to really truly have an opportunity to win the season championship.
It’s not like we’re sitting sixth and hoping something happens.
It’s important, so yeah, it’s a huge race, but it’s also one for
the history books, too.
Indianapolis also holds a deeply sentimental place in Hagan’s heart, as
the legendary track served as the literal launching pad for his
multi-championship career in professional drag racing.
“I remember my first Indy in 2008—I qualified, but some of the big
names in the sport who raced for Don Schumacher Racing at the time never
made the show,” Hagan reflected. “It really raised Don
Schumacher’s eyebrow, I guess. He came through my pit and was like,
‘Who are you, and what’s the deal?’ He just had one of his cars
not qualify while we got in, and he looked at Scelzi retiring and said,
‘I need a wheelman. Why don’t you sell your junk and come drive
mine?’ At the time, I was blown away—I didn’t really even know who
Don Schumacher was because I was running IHRA and was just in my little
bubble. When I got to digging and looking I was just like, ‘Wow.’
So, it all really started right there at Indy for my career. I’ve got
some history there for sure, some really rough memories along the way,
but there’s a lot of love at Indy for me.”
Competition at the Cornwell Qualifying Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park begins with five rounds of
qualifying Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. and
Sunday at Noon and 2:45 p.m. Eliminations will be held on Labor Day
Monday at 10 a.m.
Television coverage of the event will start with two qualifying shows
Sunday at 3:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET. A special PlayNHRA Funny Car All
Star Callout show will air Sunday at 7:00 p.m. ET. Eliminations will
begin to air Monday at noon on FS1 before switching to FOX at 2 p.m. ET
-TSR-