(Photos by Kim Fuller, Ken Hughes & Rich Bain) • Four-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan won the 1,000th Funny Car race in NHRA history on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, defeating three-time world champion Ron Capps in the final round to close out the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals.

Tony Stewart (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won the third of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Hagan went 3.876-seconds at 330.39 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat, holding off Capps’ 3.893 at 334.32 in an epic side-by-side final round, capturing the milestone race in what was a thrilling matchup of the two winningest active drivers in the class.

This one will certainly mean a great deal for Hagan, as he captured a historic victory and also shared the winner’s circle with his boss, Tony Stewart.

“I was telling Tony that sometimes you just wake up and you know today’s going to good, and it was great. To win with the boss man to double up, and, you know, Leah [Pruett] was No. 1 qualifier, and winning the 1,000th Funny Car and the [Mission] #2Fast2Tasty yesterday …. the only thing we didn’t leave with was the change under the bleachers,” Hagan said.

Racing legend Tony Stewart delivered the first Top Fuel win for Elite Motorsports, going a weekend-best 3.683 at 332.51 in his R&L Carriers-sponsored dragster, to knock off Justin Ashley in the championship round. It’s the first career win at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip for Stewart and his third career victory in his short NHRA career. He picked up wins as both a driver and team owner on Sunday, as he drove to victories in eliminations against Will Smith, Gainesville winner Josh Hart and Shawn Langdon. The Final Round was a matchup against Ashley, who posted three straight reaction times of .025 leading to the final.

Stewart was .047 in the championship round and quickly tracked down Ashley on his standout run, getting the win a year after finishing as the Winternationals runner-up, this time during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. “I’ve been [in NHRA] for five years now and following Leah around and being a part of it, but it doesn’t take long to realize how special Pomona is in drag racing, and how much it means to everybody,” Stewart said. “To be able to come here, and especially on an anniversary or for NHRA, you couldn’t ask for a better scenario for me. The only thing that would have made it better is if we met Leah in the finals. But for Matt to win is the 1,000th Funny Car win here, and to be here on NHRA 75th anniversary, and win here at the Winternationals, that is huge.”

In Pro Stock, six-time world champion Greg Anderson continued to rule the class at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, as he won for a record-tying 17th time at the historic facility, holding off KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn in the final round with a run of 6.505 at 209.88 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.

It is the 113th career win for Anderson, who qualified No. 1 and ran the quickest in every round of eliminations. He dipped into the 6.40s in the first three rounds en route to wins against Kenny Delco, Matt Latino and Greg Stanfield. That set up a third straight final round against Glenn at Pomona dating back to the 2024 In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals and Anderson stayed perfect in that regard, chasing down Glenn at the finish line. Glenn was .003 on the starting line, but Anderson was a solid .018 and tied John Force for the most wins in NHRA history at the legendary track. He’s also now won the Winternationals eight times, which ties him with Bob Glidden for the most in Pro Stock history, as the veteran continues to perform at an extremely high level.

“I came to the racetrack today with a lot of confidence. I felt good. I knew I was going to have a great hot rod. It’s been great all weekend,” Anderson said. “It just absolutely loves this racetrack. It’s a blast to drive this car. We had a great weekend as a team; from top to bottom, the KB Titan team was very, very impressive, but that meant it was going to be really hard for me to find a way to win on Sunday, but we did it.”

The Legacy Nitro Funny Car Series Final at Pomona put Geoff Monise in the Quarter Pounder Firebird with 4.644 ET, 243.02 MPH, outperformed Nathan Sitko’s 4.698 ET, 236.80 MPH driving the Hodgson Racing Bubble Up Firebird. Congratulations to Both Heritage Series Teams on in the 75th NHRA Season!

Racing continues the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season with the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway just outside of Charlotte April 24-26.

Lucas Oil Sportsman Winners at Pomona

Ten Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series winners left In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip with hardware, and stories that’ll remind you why sportsman racing still matters.

Doug Gordon’s return to the seat after stepping aside while daughter Maddi moved up to Top Fuel, Gordon came back and won. In a razor-close Top Alcohol Funny Car final, he edged Annie Whiteley, 5.460 to 5.458, in a finish that felt more like a grudge match than a comeback story.

Garrett Bateman snapped a long drought in Top Alcohol Dragster, picking up his first national event win since 2017. He was consistent, living in the 5.20s all weekend and sealing the deal when Jon Bradford faltered in the final.

Comp Eliminator saw Ryan Warter add another Wally, when Josh Lee fouled in the final. Meanwhile, Kyle Rizzoli continued his dominance in Super Stock, grabbing his 16th career win, and fourth at Pomona, with a killer .013 reaction time.

For momentum, Justin Lamb is your guy. Back-to-back wins in Phoenix and Pomona have him rolling early in 2026, and he sealed this one by out-running Jared Jordan in a dial-in chess match that could’ve gone either way.

Local racer Justin Morris gave Pomona something to cheer about, scoring his first national event win in Super Comp on a holeshot, yes races are still won on the starting line as much as the 1320 stripe.

Mike Wilbishouser laid down a .000 light and a dead-on 9.900 in Super Gas. That’s the kind of run racers chase for decades, congrats!

Kenny Snow capitalized on a foul start in Super Street to put his Chevelle in the winner’s circle again, while Grant Durie added another Pomona trophy in Top Dragster thanks to another foul start by his opponent.

Finally, Jeff Gilette, hirty-four years after his first Pomona win, took the Top Sportsman Wally with a near-dead-on pass that shut the door on his opponent.

Racing continues the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season with the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway just outside of Charlotte April 24-26.

CHECK OUT OUR GALLERY FROM THE NHRA WINTERNATIONALS