The final round of the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals concluded in style as the drivers gear up for a thrilling showdown at Pomona. Four-time world champion Matt Hagan set the strip on fire at Las Vegas as he won the Funny Car race at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals with a weekend best time. In just 3.877 seconds at 327 mph, he beat Austin Prock, a win which was the third of the season, 55 of his career, and sixth one at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

But it wasn’t just Hagan, not at all. His Tony Stewart Racing crew put on a hell of a show, something he couldn’t resist appreciating, even more than his own feat.

Hagan hails his crew

When asked, “How proud are you right now?”, Hagan straight-up said that it was a must-win race for him. But he didn’t waste any time before crediting the entire win to his team, Tony Stewart Racing, throwing special light on his crew chief and car chief. “You know I’m super proud of my guys, Mike Knudsen, Alex Conaway.. making the calls for the first time at every race track we show up to.

“Super super, proud of my guys, I mean. Just Unbelievable. Crew chiefs win races, man,” he said. Towards the end, Hagan beat Prock (6.424) with twice the speed, and Prock’s tires smoking off the starting line certainly helped him.

This season, Hagan’s TSR crew, led by new crew chief Mike Knudsen, alongside co‑crew chief Phil Shuler and car chief Alex Conaway, implemented fresh tuning and setup strategies. This is something that provided Hagan with a car that had better consistency and speed. And this showed in the Vegas race, as the team made rapid, precise calls, which Hagan himself mentions.

“It makes me so excited inside to see the potential in these guys. A lot of guys will come in and say ‘Okay, you may grow on your own, you can learn, we can do this.’ And it’s one thing to look over the shoulder of a veteran like Dickie Venables and say, ‘Hey ya, that’s right, you’re making the right call’. But it’s another thing to come and you go like ‘Am I notepad-ing this thing as it used to be?’

Hagan says that although it’s helpful to learn from experienced veterans like Dickie Venables, it’s totally a different challenge to make decisions and take responsibility on their own. He appreciated how his team is making the right calls in the races and doing a lot of self-learning.

This win was his first over Prock in three final round matchups. Hagan’s second in the table behind him, trailing by 101 points.

With this win, his hunt for his fifth title continues. Currently, Hagan is tied at second in the all-time champion list with Kenny Berstein and Don Prudhomme, who’ve also won four titles like him.

The Vegas victory has extended his streak to 13 consecutive seasons with at least three tour wins, the longest active streak in NHRA and second-longest in Funny Car history, trailing only John Force’s legendary 18-season run from 1990 to 2007.

Meanwhile, Hagan’s TSR teammate, Tony Stewart, did his best but managed to only reach the semis at Las Vegas.

Stewart’s Vegas performance

In the semifinals at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals, Tony Stewart indeed got a strong start against Brittany Force, but couldn’t hold that for long. Sitting in his 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster, he surely gained an advantage first. But midway down the track, his car lost traction. This allowed Force to surge ahead and take the win. Eventually, Force carried that same momentum into the final and beat Shawn Langdon to claim the event victory.

His performance in Vegas showed that his team definitely had the competitiveness and capacity, even if the end result didn’t go his way. The strong launch and early advantage against Force proved that he can still compete with the best.

Nonetheless, with the semifinal finish, Stewart moved into the top five in the current NHRA Mission Top Fuel points. Now, he heads into the final race at Pomona, where he’d look to jump from his fifth place, aiming for either the podium or the title itself.