Epping Event Recap for the NHRA New England Nationals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
NHRA New England Nationals
May 30-June 1 | Epping, New Hampshire

Event Recap

Tony Stewart, driver of the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster:
• Earned No. 2 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.742 ET at 330.47 mph)
• Earned two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session
• Fell to No. 6 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q1 run. In Q2 on Friday, Stewart ran a 6.019 ET at 112.73 mph.
• Maintained No. 6 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Stewart ran a 3.727 ET at 329.75 mph. Stewart faced Steve Torrence in Round 1 of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where his run defeated Torrence’s 7.263 ET at 76.72 mph.
• Secured No. 2 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.694 ET at 330.55 mph). Stewart faced Doug Kalitta in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, where his run lost to Kalitta’s 3.670 ET at 337.24 mph.
• Scored two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session
• Advanced to the Finals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.699 ET at 331.45 mph, defeated Rit Pustari (7.738 ET at 75.65 mph)
• Round 2: 3.733 ET at 330.96 mph, defeated Justin Ashley (5.893 ET at 118.90 mph)
• Semifinals: 3.711 ET at 332.34 mph, defeated Antron Brown (3.738 ET at 333.66 mph)
• Finals: 3.720 ET at 329.91 mph, lost to Brittany Force (3.694 ET at 340.39 mph)
• Currently leading the Top Fuel championship standings, 71 points over Shawn Langdon

Matt Hagan, driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
• Earned No. 4 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.930 ET at 327.74 mph)
• Fell to No. 9 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q1 run. In Q2 on Friday, Hagan ran a 4.420 ET at 197.74 mph.
• Fell to No. 10 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 4.451 ET at 195.31 mph. Hagan faced Austin Prock in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where his run defeated Prock’s 5.399 ET at 171.23 mph.
• Secured No. 9 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.920 ET at 329.83 mph). Hagan faced Jack Beckman in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, where his run lost to Beckman’s 3.913 ET at 316.52 mph.
• Round 1: 3.893 ET at 333.74 mph, lost to Spencer Hyde (3.863 ET at 333.08 mph)
• Currently fourth in the championship standings, 95 points behind Funny Car leader Austin Prock

Notes of Interest

• In the first seven events this season, Stewart has advanced to five consecutive Finals. He maintains the Top Fuel points lead as the NHRA heads to the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals next weekend in Bristol, Tennessee.
• Stewart is the only driver in Top Fuel that has advanced past Round 1 in every race this season.
• By advancing to the Semifinals, Stewart qualified to participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the next event, the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The challenge brings competitive racing to the qualifying schedule at 13 regular-season events during the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series campaign, pitting semifinalists from the previous race against each other in a pair of rematches, with the two winners then matching up in the final qualifying session. Stewart earned a rematch against Antron Brown in Round 1.
• Hagan and Stewart both advanced to their second consecutive final-round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. They previously both advanced to the Final at the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago. It marked the fifth Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season that Hagan and Stewart have participated in. The only event neither driver participated in the specialty race was the 65th NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California.
• Despite losing in Round 1, Hagan is the all-time leader in New England Nationals victories, having won four of the last eight events. During that span, he has compiled an 18-4 record. Hagan has more No. 1 starts at Epping than any other Funny Car driver with three.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster

“I’m very happy with the weekend. We gained points in qualifying in two of the rounds. We had one run where we didn’t make it down the track and it was driver error on my part and the crew chiefs still said it was a fifty-fifty shot as to whether it would have made it down the track anyways. I felt something that was new and that will continue to happen because I haven’t experienced every scenario yet. It is all part of the learning experience, so I’ll log the experience in my head. We came into eliminations today as the number two qualifier, which was great. We had a solid day. Brittany (Force) deserved to win the race. They threw down in the Semifinals and made a pass that got them lane choice in the Finals and that definitely helped them. We fell a little short in the Finals, but I’m happy with my lights in the Semifinals and the Finals. I’m still doing it staging thin, so those are legitimate reaction times. I know on race day, there are drivers that do different things to make their lights look better, but when you look at the sheet, mine are legit. I’m proud of that and I’m proud of our team for making five finals in a row. We’re the only team in Top Fuel that has made it past the first round in every race. I’m extremely proud of our team. Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief), Mike (Domagala – co-crew chief), Ryan (McGilvry – car chief), Phil (Shuler – Hagan’s co-crew chief), and all the guys are just crushing it right now. We have a race car now. When we show up to the track, we’re not hoping we’ll make it down the track. We’re showing up to race and that’s exactly where I want to be. We’re running with the big dogs and we’re more consistent than a lot of them. Brittany and (David) Grubnic did a great job today. It was impressive to see how great they ran. I was baffled by it, so it was cool to see big numbers like that and be part of it. We all want to win every time we go up there, but having two wins under our belt helped to soften the blow a little bit. I’m proud of everyone, so we’ll look forward to going to NASCAR country next weekend and having some fun.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“Today was a tough race day. We qualified ninth, so we didn’t have lane choice in round one. We pulled back a little bit because the left lane is a bit bumpy. We ran a good drag race, but we were on the back side of it and that is drag racing. We definitely would have liked to have gone some rounds in our Dodge Direct Connection Funny Car. The ladder opened up with Austin (Prock) losing first round, so we could have made up some points. We’re looking forward to Bristol. I know they’ve been working on the track surface, so we should put on a good show for the fans. We’ll be running the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage car there. They’re going to bring in a neat tow vehicle for the team to use there. We’re trying to incorporate more of Jason’s (Johnson) dealerships into what we’re doing at the track. We’re in striking distance of a win, we just have to put together four in a row.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals June 6-8 at Bristol Dragway.

-TSR-

Contact Ashley Wilson
Tony Stewart Racing
(303) 594-8147 or [email protected]