Mopar
Tony Stewart Racing Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Cars Exit Early in Seattle
Auburn Hills, MI – Traction issues for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) nitro drivers Matt Hagan and Tony Stewart made for early exits Sunday in 
their Direct Connection Dodge//SRT nitro machines in the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Seattle, the eleventh stop in the 20-race NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series.
Hagan, the reigning NHRA Mission Funny Car World Champion, won his opening round of competition with a strong 3.891 at 327.43 miles per hour run in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat against Dave Richards and was seeking a quarterfinal victory against Paul Lee when his 11,000-horsepower Funny Car lost traction. Hagan held the starting line advantage with an excellent .059 reaction time, but his mount spun the tires early and Lee moved on to the second round.
Despite the short day for Hagan, the four-time Funny Car World Champion remains in the top three in the NHRA Mission points standings as the national tour heads to Sonoma Raceway on July 26-28 for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Continue reading
Hagan Drives TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat to Semifinals, Stewart Misses by Inches Early in NHRA Summit Racing Nationals
Auburn Hills, MI – Reigning NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion Matt Hagan continued his road toward a fifth world 
title Sunday at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, with a semifinals finish in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat nitro-burning race car.
Hagan, who is one of only four drivers to ever win four NHRA Funny Car championships, produced another strong performance, along with his Dickie Venables-led TSR crew, with two round victories in eliminations over former World Champion Cruz Pedregon and defending Norwalk race winner Blake Alexander. Hagan, who qualified sixth in the 16-car Funny Car lineup, recorded times of 3.914 and 3.900 in those wins, including setting low elapsed time (ET) in the second round.
In the semifinals against another former champion, Ron Capps, Hagan’s 11,000-horsepower machine lost traction off the starting line and Capps advanced to the Funny Car final round. Despite the semifinals loss, Hagan continues to pile up valuable points and ranks third, just three points out of second as the Virginia driver now enters the “Western Swing” of the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series with the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways on July 19-21. Continue reading
Dodge Brand Extends Partnership with Tony Stewart Racing in NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series
Auburn Hills, MI – The Dodge brand today announced a partnership extension with the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Nitro organization to 
continue fielding two nitro-burning entries (Top Fuel and Funny Car) in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mission Drag Racing Series.
The Dodge brand’s partnership with TSR, started in 2022, has resulted in 14 NHRA national events wins to date as well as the 2023 NHRA Mission World Funny Car Championship, captured by Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat driver Matt Hagan. In 2024, Stewart announced he was assuming the seat of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel car in place of his wife, Leah Pruett, who stepped away from the driver’s seat this year to start a family with team owner and husband Stewart.
“The Dodge brand is excited to extend our partnership with an elite, winning organization like Tony Stewart Racing,” said Matt McAlear, Dodge brand CEO – Stellantis. “Dodge owns a historic legacy in NHRA competition, and racing icon and legend Tony Stewart, four-time NHRA world champion Matt Hagan and 18-time NHRA event winner Leah Pruett are the perfect ambassadors to represent our brand and our Direct Connection performance parts line. Along with our Dodge Brotherhood of Muscle, I look forward to continuing to cheer on Tony, Matt, Leah and the entire TSR organization.” Continue reading
Stewart and Hagan Take TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Cars to Semifinals, Fight Wild Weather Conditions at NHRA Virginia Nationals
Auburn Hills, MI – The wildest weather conditions in the past several years on the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series hit the PlayNHRA 
Virginia Nationals this weekend, but the two Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge nitro teams were able to negotiate near 150-degree track temperatures and place in the semifinals with drivers Tony Stewart (Top Fuel) and Matt Hagan (Funny Car).
With air temperatures near 100 degrees as well due to an East Coast hot weather “dome,” the TSR crews fought incredible odds with the hot and humid conditions and a slippery track. Stewart and Hagan both showed strong starting line reactions in Sunday’s elimination rounds to gain important points as the NHRA tour heads next to the Summit Racing Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, on June 28-30.
Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and NHRA Top Fuel rookie, enjoyed one of his best NHRA Top Fuel races at Virginia Motorsports Park by qualifying a season-best third in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster at 3.885 and set low elapsed time in the first two rounds of the Sunday competition. Continue reading
Hagan Advances to Funny Car Semifinals While Stewart Exits Early in Top Fuel at ‘Tricky’ Track for Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Auburn Hills, MI – The “tricky” track conditions this weekend at Bristol Dragway proved to be the talk of the pit area at the NHRA Super 
Grip Thunder Valley Nationals, and the crews of Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Nitro operation tried their best to adjust as quickly as possible.
The heat, humidity and a slippery surface due to a race day “oil down” kept all of the nitro teams on their toes through two days of qualifying and final eliminations Sunday. Thunder Valley and the weather conditions have always made for a tough setting at the annual NHRA national event in June.
Matt Hagan, the reigning NHRA Mission World Funny Car Champion, and his Dickie Venables-led TSR Dodge//SRT team were very consistent throughout the three-day meet to advance to the semifinals with the TSR Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine. In qualifying, Hagan scored times of 4.125, 4.136, 4.140 and 4.134 on the delicate pavement and powered to an impressive 3.951 in the cooler Sunday morning eliminations over Chad Green. Continue reading
Ida Zetterström Announces 2024 NHRA Schedule and Crew Chief, Expands Relationship with Dodge
Zetterström to Compete in Eight 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Series Events Under the Tuning Direction of Jon Schaffer
BROWNSBURG, IN – The JCM Racing team has announced that 2023 FIA Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström will make her NHRA 
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series debut at Brainerd International Raceway, Aug. 16 – 18, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Aboard the JCM/VP Racing/Edelbrock/CompCams Top Fuel dragster, Zetterström will stage a 12,000-horsepower machine in competition for the first time in the U.S. when qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals kicks off on Friday, Aug. 16.
“I’m so excited to share that I’ll finally be hitting the track at Brainerd and will be competing alongside my teammate, Tony Schumacher, in the final eight of 20 races on the schedule this year,” said the Swedish-born racer who relocated to the Indianapolis area in January to be near JCM Racing’s Brownsburg, Indiana headquarters. “I’ve been champing at the bit to share my first race date, but we wanted to wait until we had it completely buttoned up first.
“Fans have been asking what’s taking so long for me to get on the track, but the reality is, it takes a while to assemble a new operation. I didn’t move to the U.S. and hop into the driving role of a team and operation that already existed. Instead, we’re building this team from scratch and there’s a lot that goes into that. In addition to building a car and figuring out a crew, we have to stock our parts inventory, trucks and trailers need to be purchased and outfitted as fully stocked race rigs, wraps need to be designed, approved, and installed. The list goes on and on, but I’m so glad that we finally have that Brainerd date confirmed because now the countdown is on – 86 days!” Continue reading
Hagan Takes Back-to-Back Wins in TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car in Tough Track Conditions at NHRA Route 66 Nationals
Auburn Hills, MI – Matt Hagan just shook his head when he jumped from his 11,000-horsepower, nitro-burning Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) 
Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car Sunday in the NHRA Gerber Collison & Glass Route 66 Nationals drag races near Chicago. Hagan was sitting in victory lane, never thinking he would be there after battling tough racing conditions during the weekend.
Hagan, the four-time NHRA Mission World Champion, scored his second consecutive NHRA Funny Car national event win after overcoming tricky track conditions during Friday and Saturday qualifying rounds. Hagan, who won the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals last month in Charlotte, qualified only 11th in the 16-car Funny Car field, tackling hot and humid weather in the Chicago area.
But the Virginia racer and his TSR Dodge//SRT crew made the proper adjustments throughout race day Sunday to record his 51st career NHRA national win and defeat legendary John Force in the final round with a 3.998 over Force’s 4.096 in front of a large crowd at the Joliet, Ill., racing plant. Continue reading
Mopar® Career Automotive Program (CAP) Features Tony Stewart Racing Drivers And Students at NHRA Route 66 Nationals Drag Races This Friday in Joliet
JOLIET, IL – Students from three local area colleges – Waubonsee Community College, Moraine Valley Community College and Milwaukee 
Area Technical College — will participate in a special Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) career networking event Friday (May 17) at Route 66 Raceway in the NHRA Gerber Collison & Glass Route 66 Nationals drag races.
The Mopar CAP Program partners with 100 colleges and technical schools throughout the nation in a curriculum to guide students into the automotive industry in a variety of applications.
porating the Mopar CAP curriculum, schools give students the ability to turn their passion for automotive activities into a career and assist them in gaining training and fundamental knowledge needed to work with some of the hottest vehicles in the industry from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT and Alfa Romeo brands. Giving students the competitive edge, Mopar CAP combines hands-on experience and classroom instruction from certified educators. Continue reading
Stewart & Hagan Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers Head to Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals
Joliet, IL – The Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance near Chicago, Illinois, is the sixth 
event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar in 2024. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two full-time entries – one in Top Fuel for Top Fuel rookie Tony Stewart and one in Funny Car for 50-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan. Hagan delivered TSR’s first victory of the season in the prior event at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina, driving his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car to his 50th career victory in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.
Coming into Chicago, Stewart is seventh in the Top Fuel standings, 212 points behind leader Justin Ashley. Hagan is currently third in the Funny Car standings, 32 points behind leader Austin Prock.
With Hagan’s win at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, he became the 17th pro driver with 50 tour victories. John Force, Robert Hight and Ron Capps currently are the only other Funny Car drivers to have reached that plateau. Hagan has won a tour event for 12 consecutive seasons, the longest active streak in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. He tied John Force for the most Funny Car wins in the four-wide era with three. Continue reading
Hagan Captures 50th NHRA Career Win in TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Funny Car at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte
Auburn Hills, MI – Reigning NHRA Mission Funny Car Champion Matt Hagan made drag racing history Sunday when he scored his 50th 
NHRA career victory at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car.
The four-time NHRA Funny Car titleholder passed the legendary Don “The Snake” Prudhomme in NHRA career victories with an impressive “holeshot” win in the final round over a strong lineup of John Force, J.R. Todd and Daniel Wilkerson with a 3.946 run at 332.34 mph. Hagan’s spectacular reaction time of 0.029 was the difference Sunday in scoring his first 2024 NHRA national event title.
It was the fourth NHRA win for Hagan at a drag strip he considers his “home track” after taking national wins in 2011, 2013 and 2014 at the popular zMAX Dragway. The Virginia racer advanced in the first round with a 3.918 over David Richards, Austin Prock and Blake Alexander, and then won the semifinals over Wilkerson, Bob Tasca III and Richards with a 3.879 at 334.24 mph, his top speed of the year. Continue reading
