Hagan Takes Runner-up in TSR Dodge//SRT Funny Car, Moves to Second in Points as Stewart Loses Close Top Fuel Semifinal at Charlotte

Auburn Hills, MI – Four-time NHRA world champion Matt Hagan was close to his second 2025 NHRA Mission Funny Car win on Sunday at the NHRA Four-Wide Carolina Nationals with a runner-up placing in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat, while TSR teammate Tony Stewart took his Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster to the semifinals.

Hagan, a Four-Wide winner at zMAX Dragway last year, was seeking his 54th career NHRA victory as he matched up in the final round against reigning world champion Austin Prock, Gatornationals winner Chad Green and Arizona Nationals winner Daniel Wilkerson. An engine explosion in the semifinal forced the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT crew to prepare a backup SRT Hellcat body for the final round competition.

Hagan, who also won at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in July, came back to record a 3.952 to Prock’s 3.912 to take second in the four-car finale, and the runner-up finish moved the Virginia driver to second in the current Funny Car points standings as the NHRA Mission campaign travels to St. Louis this weekend (Sept. 26-28) for the NHRA Midwest Nationals.

In the semifinals, Hagan defeated former world champion Jack Beckman, Spencer Hyde and Green, while, in round one, Hagan took top honors over Beckman, J.R. Todd and John Smith. In the four-wide format, the top-two finishers in the opening rounds and semifinals advance, with four cars racing for the win in the final round.

“What a wild final,” said Hagan. “Usually, when someone (Chad Green) goes red (light) next to you, I was surprised, and I almost double stepped the throttle at the start. And if I had gone red too, I would have been out, and the other two automatically win. It’s not like a usual two-wide race, and it throws you off your game. You just aren’t ready for the guy next to you to go red. My crew guys have been great. We have gone through some adversity the last few weeks and the guys are getting blisters on their feet from working so hard on the racecar. They had 15 hours at the track on Thursday and then the whole weekend too.

“It was a good weekend overall with the No. 1 qualifier and seven for seven strong runs down the track. We have a good racecar now after our troubles last week. We have to keep grinding and we have more parts on order. The three-race swing (Reading-Charlotte-St. Louis) is a grind for everyone on the tour. It’s like the Western Swing back in the days. It’s tough. I think the crew chiefs (Mike Knudsen and Phil Shuler) have discovered those problems and we are ready for the final four races of the ‘Countdown.’”

Hagan’s TSR Dodge//SRT teammate, Tony Stewart, the NHRA Top Fuel regular season champion, opened the Four-Wide competition Sunday with an impressive “holeshot” victory over the No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force and the recent Reading Nationals winner Shawn Reed.

Stewart drove the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster to a 3.766-second pass against Force’s 3.758 and Reed’s 3.787. In the semifinals, Stewart lost a close race against the eventual race winner Justin Ashley, Shawn Langdon and Force with a 3.784 to Ashley’s 3.788.

After two races in the six-event “Countdown,” Stewart, the former NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion, now ranks fourth in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points as the national tour goes to St. Louis (Sept. 26-28), Dallas (Oct. 10-12), Las Vegas (Oct. 31-Nov. 2) and Pomona (Nov. 14-16).

“We had an issue on Friday in round one of qualifying,” said Stewart. “I heard it while I was backing up (from the burnout) and Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) heard it, so we shut the car off and didn’t hurt any parts. It backed us into a corner a bit for the Friday night qualifying session, not having a run under our belt. But we still put ourselves in a good quad (four cars) for round one today and won that on a ‘holeshot.’

“We had a tough second round matchup with three strong teams to go against. The guy that beat us (Ashley) won the race, so that’s just part of the sport. We have four more races to go dig and try to gain ground back. We’re not out of this thing by any means. We have the bit in our teeth, so we’ll go bust our butts next week (at St. Louis) and see what we can do to keep gaining some of these points back.”

Hagan and Stewart will return to action for the third straight weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway for the annual NHRA Midwest Nationals. Qualifying action begins Friday, Sept. 26, with rounds at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. CDT. On Saturday, Sept. 27, the nitro sessions are scheduled for 12:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. CDT with final eliminations set for Sunday, Sept. 28, at 11 a.m. CDT. The Fox Sports 1 telecast will get underway at 3 p.m. EDT.