POMONA, Calif. — Tony Stewart collected his third NHRA Top Fuel victory on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
It was the first for Elite Motorsports in the nitro class and came on the same day that Matt Hagan drove the Tony Stewart Racing Funny Car to victory in the 1,000th NHRA Funny Car race.
Stewart credited his wife, Leah Pruett, who returned to the seat of the Tony Stewart Racing Top Fueler this season for his success.
“This is three Top Fuel wins now for me, and the one person I’ve never mentioned in the media and in the interviews is my wife Leah [Pruett],” Stewart said. “And if it wasn’t for her and everything that she and Matt [Hagan] (Funny Car driver) taught me. Leah has probably been 95% of it, people don’t realize how integral of a part she’s been in my career in drag racing. I’ve had a 1,000 questions and every time there’s an answer, it leads to three more questions.
“Everything that I’ve done in the sport has been because of her. And to be a part of NHRA’s 75th Anniversary, to win with Matt Hagan in the 1000th Funny Car race is huge. This is Leah’s home track. All of this just feels extra special to me,” continued Stewart. “Leah’s story of telling me that when she was a kid, she’d sneak out of school just to come to the drag races on Friday here at Pomona. When she won here, just to be here for an event and a track that’s so special means everything.
“Now I’m here sitting holding a ‘Wally’ trophy, in NHRA’s 75th Anniversary, just super special. It’s awesome.”
• Matt Hagan claimed his 56th career victory in what was the 1,000th NHRA Funny Car event trophy. Hagan defeated Ron Capps in what was the 85th elimination matchup between the two former Don Schumacher Racing teammates, who enjoy competing against one another.
“I’m trying to catch Capps on overall wins [Ron Capps has 78 career victories]. But he has 20 years of racing on me,” Hagan said. “One thing about Ron is he’s just a great driver. He took me under his wing when I was first out here, and we got into all kinds of trouble together too. So, when we race each other, even back in the DSR days, we really throw it down, especially in the final round.
“Pomona Dragstrip has shown me so much love over the years. It’s a magical place, because champions are crowned here at the end of the year. There’s just so many great memories made here.”
“You really couldn’t ask for a better final in a lot of different ways,” Capps said. “It was really mano a mano with both teams – ‘Stretch’ (Mike Knudsen, Hagan’s crew chief) and Guido and then Matt and me. I get up for racing Matt. He was a teammate of mine for a long time and I know how good he is.
“To me, that’s like a ‘Snake’ and ‘Jungle Jim’ race back in the day. You’ve got a great car, you get up there and you throw down, then you add the fact that it’s Pomona on a late Sunday night under the lights and the 1,000th win in Funny Car is on the line. There’s so many cool things about it. I’m bummed it didn’t go our way, but at the same time, we have a good hot rod, and we moved up in points. I’m just so proud of Guido and the guys.”
Ironically, Hagan and Capps are tied atop the Funny Car standings after three races.
• Greg Anderson defeated his KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn in the final round at Pomona to collect his 113th NHRA Pro Stock victory.
“Everybody in the Pro Stock class knows Dallas Glenn is riding a wave right now, and I love the kid – it’s a blast to race him, and I’m so damn happy he’s on my team,” Anderson said. “There’s no telling how many wins this kid is going to have; he’s going to be a threat for the most amount of race-wins someday.
“It’s incredible to see, and I’m just trying to hold him off as long as I can. Today was a hard-fought win, and we can all be proud. I’m proud of everybody on this race team, and I’m even a little proud of myself right now. This is pretty darn cool.”
• John Force Racing Funny Car driver Jordan Vandergriff lost to Capps in the semifinals.
“What a weekend for the John Force Racing Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet Funny Car,” said Vandergriff. “Being at my home track, having a lot of my friends and family out here and doing it for John at his home means a lot to me, too. So, getting to the semis was great but somebody was just a little quicker in the end. We’re getting there. I think we have something really strong to build on and I know a win is coming very soon.”
• Doug Kalitta lost to Justin Ashley in the Top Fuel semifinals, but claimed the point lead in the class.
“That was a close one. It was just a dead heat run against Justin,” Kalitta said. “Apparently, the data for the computer may have been acting up a little bit with the clutch so that was unfortunate, but for Alan (Crew Chief Alan Johnson) to be able to make it run what it ran without having a lot of data, that’s pretty good. This Mac Tools team definitely has a good car, and we’re looking forward to dragging her out and going a little more on the schedule.”
• Two-time Funny Car champion Austin Prock continued to struggle in his transition to the Bob Tasca Racing team.
Prock qualified fifth, but encountered a unique problem in Sunday’s opening round matchup against Jason Rupert.
A malfunction in the safety system prematurely shut the car off. The result was Prock’s third first-round loss in as many races.