Tony Stewart Racing Funny Car driver Matt Hagan drove his Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat to his first-ever Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals win and provided his team with their first nitro victory in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series on Sunday. Hagan earned the coveted Gatornationals Wally trophy in his 14th attempt after powering his way through the elimination rounds to advance to the team’s second consecutive final round appearance in just its third national event and reached a 40th career Funny Car victory milestone.

Photos courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

The victory comes in just the third NHRA national event for Stewart’s upstart two-car nitro program.

“It was just a matter of time before we got this win. Not to brag or boast, but crew chief Dickie Venables is a genius,” said Hagan. “Dickie can do things with a racecar and just go off his gut instinct and the things that he does are just phenomenal. When you look at the stats and the numbers, we basically won more races together than anybody else in the last 10 years. It’s chemistry. You can’t buy it. You click and work together and we have a group of individuals that are driven and goal-oriented. It’s exciting for me. It’s one of those things where, when it’s good, it’s just really good, and that’s what we have here with our team.”

It was a first for a lot of us and a first for the team. It was a special day and the Gatornationals is such a special event for the NHRA. I couldn’t be more proud of our crew and any happier for our guys on the win. – Tony Stewart

“To get this first win at the Gatornationals and Tony Stewart’s first win in a drag car, it’s pretty awesome,” Hagan continued. “He wants to be here, and it says a lot for our sport. It was a good weekend for Tony, a good weekend for NHRA, and I’m just very blessed and humbled to be here. I want to make sure I’m showing up on the starting line and doing my part and I just know what this team is capable of. It’s a lot of tough competition, but as a driver, that’s exciting.

“I’m very excited about today,” said an elated Stewart, who had a banner day as his Stewart-Haas NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe earned his first career victory Sunday in Phoenix. “TSR got its first nitro win, and it was pretty cool because Matt Hagan, Dickie Venables and most of the crew got their first win here, too. It was a first for a lot of us and a first for the team. It was a special day and the Gatornationals is such a special event for the NHRA. I couldn’t be more proud of our crew and any happier for our guys on the win.”

“Congratulations to Matt Hagan and the Tony Stewart Racing team for their first win of the 2022 season aboard the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car at the NHRA Gatornationals,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “It’s great to see Matt earn his 40th career win and continue to demonstrate what Dodge//SRT performance looks like and what enthusiasts can expect from Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection.”

Hagan, who entered Gainesville second in the Funny Car standings, had never won at Gainesville, considered to be one the sports’ “grand slam” events. He’s qualified No. 1 there three times, and runnered-up once (2018), but on Sunday afternoon he was not be denied, bettering opponent Blake Alexander on both ends of the racetrack with a winning 3.910 at 330.96 mph.

“It was just a big weekend for me, personally. I’ve been wanting to win this race and check it off on my career box, and I think this allows me to accomplish everything I’ve ever set out to do in NHRA.”

Hagan now trails Robert Hight, who won the season’s opening two races, by just 11 points.