NHRA: Kalitta and Hagan clinch titles at Pomona finale

Doug Kalitta clinched a long-awaited first Top Fuel title in winner-take all final against Leah Pruett while Matt Hagan won his 4th Funny Car title in Pomona.

NHRA Top Fuel

Doug Kalitta defeated Leah Pruett in a winner-take-all Top Fuel final round for the 2023 Top Fuel world championship, ending one of the most notorious streaks of frustration in the sport’s history. Kalitta, a six-time championship runner-up, powered to a 3.67 to beat Pruett’s 3.72 and prevent her from joining her Tony Stewart Racing Funny Car teammate Matt Hagan as a 2023 champ.

WATCH @Air_Doug race to his FIRST @CampingWorld Series Top Fuel Championship!

In-N-Out Burger #NHRAFinals • @TeamKalitta pic.twitter.com/RypOhR4QJg

— NHRA (@NHRA) November 13, 2023

The final round of the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals evoked memories of the 1990 Finals, where Joe Amato won a winner-take-all championship from Gary Ormsby in Pomona and brought the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season to a fittingly dramatic finish, with Chad Green (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also collecting event wins.

The win was Kalitta’s third this season, following wins in Reading and Charlotte during the playoffs, and the 53rd of his great career that began in the late 1990s.

“It’s incredible the way the points thing worked out to come down to that last run,” Kalitta marveled. “I just stay focused, It was obviously a big round for us and it played out just perfectly. It’s just one of those deals get to the end of the track and I cannot believe these guys are cheering and high-fiving as I get around the corner because I missed seeing the win light.

“When we got to semis with the cars still in, you’re just wishing and hoping for the best really. Fortunately, we had lane choice the first three rounds, so that gives you a little bit of confidence with the lane and this track really came together, both lanes were in great shape. This is one of the coolest places to run, with the museum and just the history of the NHRA, and I’ve heard all the stories back in the day with Connie, and this is just like the pinnacle for me.”

Kalitta began his run to his 112th career final round with a 3.70 victory over Dan Mercier then belted out runs of 3.73 and 3.72 in the heat of the day to get past Josh Hart and Justin Ashley.

Pruett helped her own fate by defeating points leader Steve Torrence in the semifinals to give her and Kalitta the chance to race for the crown. Before that, the driver of the Dodge Direct Connection machine defeated former world champs Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown.

NHRA Funny Car

Matt Hagan joined drag racing royalty Sunday at the NHRA In-N- Out Burger Finals when he secured his fourth career NHRA Camping World Funny Car championship in the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine.

Hagan, a six-time NHRA national event winner this year, joined legends John Force, Don Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein as the only four-time Funny Car World Champions with his second-round finish in the final race in the 21-event NHRA national tour.

Hagan entered the season-ending race in Pomona, California, with a 15-point lead in the “Countdown” for the Funny Car title. After qualifying fourth (3.869 seconds) in the 16-car field, Hagan defeated Alex Laughlin in the opening round and lost a wild second round matchup with Blake Alexander in which both drivers smoked the tires. With his chief challengers – Bob Tasca III and Robert Hight – also losing in the second-round, Hagan notched his fourth World title and first for Tony Stewart Racing.

It was high drama for Hagan after his defeat to Alexander, as he had to watch with the title on the line as Hight lost to eventual race winner Chad Green, securing the Funny Car crown for Hagan. At the race conclusion, Hagan scored 2,628 points to Hight’s 2,616 and Tasca’s 2,611 in the season-long fight which began in March at the NHRA Gatornationals.

“What a season for Matt Hagan and his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat in the 2023 NHRA Camping World drag racing series!” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “In capturing six NHRA Funny Car races, Matt drove his Sublime TSR Direct Connection machine to his fourth NHRA World Championship. The TSR crew, led by Dickie Venables, Mike Knudson and Alex Conaway, has done a sensational job in giving Matt a strong machine all season. The Funny Car division in NHRA is so competitive and it takes experience, knowledge and consistency to claim a World title. Matt and his squad have shown all of those traits this year. The TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat is a great example how our Dodge roster of machines and Direct Connection performance parts are a winning combination.”

“I was doing some praying today entering the race,” said Hagan after the race. “I hadn’t prayed to my mom since we lost her this year. And I said, ‘I don’t know what you are doing up there. But I sure could use some help today from you and my brother.’ You hate to see someone go out in the second round to win a championship. I don’t wish losing on anyone. That’s not my style of racing.

“But it was the body of work that we did all year with Dick Venables, Mike Knudson, Alex Conaway and the whole TSR Dodge Direct Connection team. We were in position to win the championship if everyone went out in the same round as us. And the cards fell that way for us. We won six races and twice were runner-up which should give you a good chance for the title. It’s incredible that Tony Stewart can be the World Champion in his second year in NHRA. He has put together an outstanding team. Some team owners have put in millions and millions of dollars in NHRA racing and never won a championship. It speaks volumes that the leader Tony is and the people he has assembled around him.”

“I’m so proud of Matt,” said Tony Stewart, TSR team owner. “He is one of the best cheerleaders for a racing team that I know. He never lets his crew guys get down. He makes my job so much easier as a car owner. He is my little, big brother. To lock this championship already in the Tony Stewart Racing Nitro history, this is an unbelievable day. And we had a chance with Leah’s team too. They did an awesome job as well. Thanks to every one of our partners, crew, support workers and fans, we greatly appreciate all of the effort for the 2023 season.”

Hagan, fellow three-time world champ Robert Hight, and Bob Tasca III all came into Sunday with a chance to win the championship that would simply go to the driver who went the furthest in eliminations unless they both went out in the same round, in which case points leader Hagan and the Dodge Power Brokers team would be the champs.

And that’s exactly what happened in round two. First, two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon defeated Tasca to end his bid for a first world championship. One pair later, jaws dropped across In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip as Hagan fell to Blake Alexander, and suddenly the ball was in Hight’s court with a win-it-all battle with Chad Green.

WATCH @MattHagan_FC win the 2023 @CampingWorld Series Funny Car Championship!

In-N-Out Burger #NHRAFinals pic.twitter.com/c5mVKfA3wU

— NHRA (@NHRA) November 12, 2023

Incredibly, Hight’s car lost traction at halftrack and Green stormed to victory, setting off a celebration in the shutdown area where Hagan was anxiously looking on.

“I thought I was far enough down that we had it made,” said Hight. “Usually, we don’t spin the tires that far down. Congratulations to Matt Hagan. Those guys, they’ve won the most races so far this year. They’ve been there all year. We’ve kind of been here just at the end. Proud of my guys. We’re not going to give up; we’re going to keep digging. You always hope that you’re here on Sunday. That oildown (by Blake Alexander), man that was the longest 15 minutes I ever spent in a race car with all the thoughts that go through your head about ‘Can we get this done?’ I’m still proud of my team.”

Green will long remember the 2023 Finals as not only the site of his first career Funny Car win but also the chance to share the winner’s stage with his son, Hunter, who won in Top Alcohol Dragster. Green, a former winner in Pro Mod and a two-time Funny Car runner-up in this breakthrough season, beat Tim Wilkerson on a holeshot, 3.91 to 3.90, in a car tuned by Wilkerson’s son, Daniel. It’s just the 50th race of Green’s Funny Car career.

“First off, it’s been an amazing season,” said Green. “This has been a dream season for us. We’ve done so good all year long. I couldn’t be more proud of my guys. They’ve really come a long way in the last few years, and they’ve stuck with me. We’ve been trying all year to get this Wally and have been close a few times, and I can’t think of a better way to top off a season by ending like this with a win at the last race.

“As the day went on, and I saw Hunter progressing through the rounds and saw what was happening with him and I saw what was happening with us and saw that some of the big dogs go out, and I was like, ‘Yeah, we’ve really got a chance to win this thing.’ To tell you the truth. I’ve had a good feeling about this race all week.”

Green and the Bond Coat team enjoyed a couple of retribution wins in the first two rounds, defeating J.R. Todd and Robert Hight, who had defeated him in his only other career Funny Car finals earlier this season, in Somona and Reading, respectively, and his shocking win over traction-plagued Hight in round two decided the season championship in Matt Hagan’s favor. Green then reached the final round on a 3.961 to 3.960 holeshot win over Blake Alexander.

Wilk and his Scag Power Equipment team began their run to the final round by sending outgoing world champ Ron Capps home early, then took out the sport’s all-time winner, John Force, in round two and reached the final with his best pre-final run of the day, 3.92, to defeating reigning event champ Cruz Pedregon to reach his 53rd career final.

NHRA Pro Stock

Stanfield had a monster season in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown with his third world championship, but Pro Stock has been a different story. Through the first 17 events of the season, Stanfield, who is universally considered one of the class’ best natural talents, had just a single runner-up finish to show for his efforts.

That all changed in Pomona when Stanfield drove his Janac Bros/J3 Energy Camaro to the Pro Stock title. Stanfield won the race with his clutch foot, leaving ahead of opponent Matt Hartford and claiming a holeshot win, 6.534 to 6.519. For Stanfield, who is expecting his second child with wife, Jolie, any day, the win was his eighth in 75 Pro Stock events.

“We certainly struggled this year but to end the season with a win is awesome,” said Stanfield. “I know our team did a good job. They were hungry to get this win.

“This is a nice [baby] gift,” said Stanfield, clutching the Wally trophy. “My wife is ready to pop at any moment. It’s special to get it done at the last race of the year. In the final, I asked Matt if he was cooled down and gassed up because I thought it might take a while for us to stage. Actually, Matt is a good friend and we do a lot of business with him. We have a lot of fun racing him. It’s just not as much fun when he beats you. I have to thank the Janac Brothers and J3 Energy and the Elite team. They give me the best thing they can give me. And I’m just very thankful.”

Stanfield was the No. 5 qualifier in the quick field with a 6.501 and rolled through eliminations with wins against Deric Kramer, Troy Coughlin Jr. and championship runner-up and low qualifier Greg Anderson. Stanfield admittedly got a bit lucky in that round as Anderson fouled away one of the quickest runs of the event with a 6.506.

With the win, Stanfield moved from No. 5 to No. 4 in the Pro Stock standings.

Despite the loss, Hartford should be able to pull a lot of positives out of the 2023 season as he wheeled his GETTRX/Total Seal Camaro to three wins in five final rounds. Hartford drove through a tough roster of opponents on Sunday including Dallas Glenn,  Kyle Koretsky, and newly crowned six-time world champ Erica Enders, who shook the tires. With the runner-up finish, Hartford was able to slip past Anderson for the No. 2 spot in the Camping World standings.

NHRA Bikes

Herrera has been making history in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class all season, and he made more of it in the Pomona final with a record-setting 11th win of the season. Herrera, who locked up the season championship simply by qualifying for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, raced his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods teammate for the fifth time this season and remained perfect with a 6.721 to 6.796 victory.

Herrera finished the season with an other-worldly 50-4 record in elimination rounds following victories against Blaine Hale, LE Tonglet, and Steve Johnson.

“This whole year has been surreal. I have to give it up to my whole team, especially Andrew [Hines, crew chief] He really deserves this,” said Herrera. “Last week, he texted me and said he was ready to go to Pomona and get this deal done. It’s so cool to get a text like that from someone like him.

In the final, Ed and I were just having fun. I knew he wasn’t going to stage first. He rapped the throttle a couple of times and I was tempted to look over at him but I figured if I did, he’d quick stage and I’d get timed out. I really want him to win his 50th race but I just can’t give it to him. He wants to earn it and I don’t blame him. I’d feel the same way.

Today, it was a little hard to get into race mode,” Herrera said. “We celebrated a bit last night but I love to race and I was just able to put everything in the back of my mind and come out and race.”

Krawiec, has also had a great season despite going winless. He finished the year with four straight runner-up finishes as he continues to seek his landmark 50th career win. The four-time world champ stopped Chris Bostick, Marc Ingwersen, and Hector Arana Jr. to reach his 96th career final round.