Tony Stewart Racing
On to Round 3 of the Countdown for TSR’s Hagan and Stewart
Madison, IL – The NHRA Midwest Nationals near St. Louis is the 17th race on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race 
schedule and it is the third round in the six-race Countdown to the Championship. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tony Stewart (Top Fuel) and Matt Hagan (Funny Car) are both in the Countdown, with 2024 marking Stewart’s first appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th.
Stewart is eighth in the Top Fuel standings heading into St. Louis, 174 points behind championship leader Antron Brown. Hagan is currently fourth in the Funny Car championship standings, 153 points behind leader Austin Prock. Hagan is a four-time champion (2011, 2014, 2020 and 2023).
Hagan is coming off a runner-up finish last week at Charlotte that moved him into fourth place in points, 17 behind third place Jack Beckman, in his bid to win back-to-back championships for the first time in his career. Continue reading
Hagan Posts Top Qualifying Spot, Advances to NHRA Charlotte Final in Tony Stewart Racing Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Auburn Hills, MI – Defending NHRA Mission Funny Car World Champion Matt Hagan, seeking his second straight zMAX Dragway victory, 
drove his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat to a final-round finish Sunday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, while TSR teammate Tony Stewart exited early in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations.
Hagan, who captured the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals event win in Charlotte last April, and his championship-winning TSR crew had their nitro-burning Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine running strong all weekend with qualifying runs of 3.832 (season best) and 3.865 to secure the No. 1 starting spot entering Sunday’s final eliminations. It was Hagan’s second top-qualifying position of the season after claiming the No. 1 spot at Pomona in March.
The four-time NHRA world champion scored round victories against Dave Richards and Bob Tasca III before facing current NHRA Mission Funny Car points leader Austin Prock in the final round in very hot, humid weather conditions with track temperatures close to 130 degrees. It was Hagan’s 92nd career final round appearance in the Funny Car category. Continue reading
Stewart and Hagan looking for Redemption in Charlotte
Charlotte, NC – The NHRA Carolina Nationals near Charlotte, North Carolina, is the 16th race on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing 
Series’ 20-race schedule and it serves as the second race in the six-race Countdown to the Championship. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tony Stewart and Matt Hagan are eyeing a title run in their respective Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions. This year’s Countdown marks Stewart’s first appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th.
Stewart is currently seventh in the Top Fuel standings heading into the second round of Countdown, 94 points behind leader Justin Ashley. Hagan is fifth in the Funny Car standings, 137 points behind leader Austin Prock.
Stewart comes into Charlotte representing Mahindra on his red and black Top Fuel dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports red on his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car. Continue reading
TSR Heads to Maple Grove for Round 1 of the Countdown
Reading, PA – The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 12-15 at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, is the 15th race on the NHRA 
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race schedule. However, it’s the opening round in the six-race Countdown to the Championship, where both Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers – Tony Stewart in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car – are ready to make a title run in their respective divisions. The top-10 drivers in each of the NHRA’s four professional categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – compete in the Countdown. Stewart is a Top Fuel rookie and Hagan is a 51-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion.
This year’s Countdown marks Stewart’s first appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th. Stewart is seventh heading into the Countdown, 77 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan is third, 46 points behind leader Austin Prock.
Hagan has won 15 times in the Countdown to the Championship, second among Funny Car drivers only to Robert Hight (16), who presently is not active.
Stewart and Hagan come into Reading representing Rinnai America Corporation and Operation Healing Forces/Shelor Motor Mile, respectively. Continue reading
Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers Head to the US Nationals
Indianapolis – The NHRA U.S. Nationals Aug. 28-Sept. 2 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) is the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing 
Series’ regular season finale. The Big Go marks the 14th race on the 20-race calendar before the Countdown to the Championship begins Sept. 13-15 with the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. 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 51-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan.
At the conclusion of the U.S. Nationals, the top 10 drivers in the standings in each of the four professional categories of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. The top 10 drivers in each class then compete in the final, six-race playoffs to vie for the title. Coming into Indianapolis, Stewart is seventh in the Top Fuel championship standings, 357 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan, meanwhile, is third in the Funny Car championship standings, 230 points behind leader Austin Prock. Hagan secured his position in the Countdown to the Championship during the previous event in Brainerd, Minnesota.
The Big Go is always a big deal, and the points that can be earned in the U.S. Nationals reflect the magnitude of the event. Round wins are worth 1.5 times more at Indianapolis (30 points per round). Stewart and Hagan will also participate in five qualifying rounds, versus the standard three or four rounds at all other events. At the conclusion of the weekend, points will be adjusted for the start of the Countdown to the Championship. First and second place will be separated by 20 points, while the remaining top 10 drivers are separated in 10-point increments. Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points from the season will be added on top of the points reset. Each Challenge win is worth three bonus points, runner-ups earn two points, and the quickest losing semifinalist earns one point. Hagan has earned eight points in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this season. Stewart has earned one point thus far, with the possibility of earning more points in Indianapolis. Continue reading
Hagan Scores Runner-up Finish at Brainerd in Dodge/SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Stewart Records Best ET and Speed in TSR Top Fuel Dragster
Auburn Hills, MI – Matt Hagan, the reigning and four-time NHRA Mission World Funny Car Champion, raced to a runner-up finish in his
Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, on August 18, 2024.
Prior to his runner-up showing, Hagan was shaking his head in disbelief after four rounds of Funny Car qualifying for the event. Hagan’s best qualifying run of 3.997 left him in the 13th starting position in the 16-car Funny Car lineup entering Sunday’s final eliminations, and the Virginia driver had to match up against three-time World Champion Ron Capps in round one in front of huge Brainerd crowd.
But as Hagan always says, “I have the best race day team out here,” and the Dickie Venables-led TSR Funny Car crew proved that statement again when Sunday’s action got underway, as Hagan drove his Dodge//SRT Hellcat all the way to a runner-up finish in the highly competitive NHRA Mission Funny Car field. Continue reading
Stewart and Hagan head to Brainerd for the Lucas Oil Nationals
Brainerd, MN – The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway serves as the 13th event on the NHRA Mission 
Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar. 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 51-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan – to the second-to-last race of the regular season before the Countdown to the Championship begins Sept. 13-15 with the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
After the 14th and final regular-season event on Sept. 2 with the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the top-10 drivers in the standings in each of the four professional categories of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. The top-10 drivers in each class then compete in the final, six-race playoffs to vie for the title. Coming into Brainerd, Stewart is ninth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 357 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan, meanwhile, is third in the Funny Car championship standings, 254 points behind leader Austin Prock.
Stewart enters Brainerd representing Mahindra tractors on his red and black Top Fuel Dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports the orange, blue and cream colors of American Rebel Beer on his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car. Continue reading
Tony Stewart Scores First Top Fuel Final at NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Matt Hagan Takes Semifinal Finish in Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Auburn Hills, MI – Racing legend Tony Stewart just missed making motorsports history Sunday at the NHRA DENSO Somona Nationals 
when he scored a Top Fuel runner-up finish with his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Rinnai Dodge//SRT nitro-burning dragster.
Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer, was attempting to become the first driver in racing history to capture major professional race wins in four separate disciplines (NASCAR, IndyCar, USAC and NHRA) as he faced former world champion Antron Brown in the Top Fuel final round in just his 12th professional event.
Stewart, who had defeated Shawn Langdon, Justin Ashley and Ron August Jr. in the first three rounds of competition before a large crowd in the 75-degree weather, posted a quicker reaction time over Brown, but Brown’s car drove around Stewart’s mount with a 3.746 to 3.774 for the Top Fuel event title.
Replacing his wife, Leah Pruett, at the beginning of the 2024 season in the TSR Dodge//SRT dragster as the pair begin a family in November, Stewart has been impressive off the starting line and showed it again Sunday with a great reaction time against two of the best in Top Fuel: Ashley in the second round and Brown in the final. The runner-up finish for Stewart keeps him in the top-ten in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points standings as the series heads to Brainerd, Minnesota, for the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals on Aug. 16-18. Continue reading
Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan Top Fuel | Funny Car Teams Head to the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals
Sonoma, CA – The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway marks the culmination of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag 
Racing Series’ two-week long Western Swing. The previous event of the Western Swing was the NHRA Northwest Nationals July 19-21 at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals is the 12th event on the NHRA’s 20-race calendar.
Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) will be represented in Top Fuel by Top Fuel Rookie Tony Stewart and in Funny Car by 51-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan. Stewart and Hagan enter Sonoma representing Rinnai and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, respectively.
Rinnai America Corporation, a subsidiary of Rinnai Corporation in Nagoya, Japan, was established in 1974 and is headquartered in Peachtree City, Ga. Rinnai Corporation manufactures gas appliances including tankless water heaters, a wide range of kitchen appliances and heating and air conditioning units. As the technology leader in its industry, Rinnai is the largest gas appliance manufacturer in Japan and is the number-one selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in the United States and Canada. With a global perspective to create 21st-century products for the home and business, Rinnai Corporation commits itself to safety and Creating A Healthier Way of Living©. Continue reading
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
