Advance for the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

American Rebel Beer
Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals
June 21-22 | North Dinwiddie, Virginia

Event Overview

Saturday, June 21 (Nitro Qualifying & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 11:30 a.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying (Q2) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Round 1: 2 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying (Q2) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Round 1: 2:35 p.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Finals: 4:30 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Finals: 5:05 p.m. EDT

Sunday, June 22 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 12 p.m. EDT
• Round 2: 2 p.m. EDT
• Semi-Finals: 3:35 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 5 p.m. EDT

TV coverage
• Sunday, June 22: Qualifying show, recapping all of Friday & Saturday’s action – 2 p.m. EDT on FS1
• Sunday, June 22: Finals show – 4 p.m. EDT on FOX

Notes of Interest

• The American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in North Dinwiddie, located just south of the state capital in Richmond, hosts the ninth event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar in 2025. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two full-time entries – one in Top Fuel for Tony Stewart and one in Funny Car for 52-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan.

• Coming into Richmond, Stewart is leading the Top Fuel championship standings, 76 points over Shawn Langdon. Hagan is fifth in the Funny Car standings, 109 points behind leader Austin Prock.

• American Rebel Beer is the primary sponsor of both Hagan and Stewart in Richmond. American Rebel Beer was founded in April of 2024 by American Rebel CEO Andy Ross. American Rebel Beer is All Natural, Crisp, Clean and has a Bold Taste with a Lighter Feel. It does not use corn, rice or other sweeteners typically found in other mass-produced beers. American Rebel Beer is currently offered in 12 states (Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia), with additional states being announced soon. You can also find American Rebel in various legendary bars like Kid Rock’s, Tootsies, Honky Tony Central, and many others in the entertainment district in Nashville, as well as retail outlets, venues and music festivals throughout the United States. American Rebel Beer is America’s Patriotic, God-Fearing, Constitution-Loving, National Anthem Singing, Stand Your Ground Beer.

• The American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals will mark Stewart’s 29th career Top Fuel start and his second at Virginia. For Hagan, the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals will be his 361st career Funny Car start and his sixth at Virginia.

• Hagan and Stewart are eyeing their first victory at the Virginia NHRA Nationals, and Stewart is also seeking his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. Hagan has one No. 1 qualifier at the Virginia NHRA Nationals in 2022 (3.853 ET at 331.45 mph). The run set the track record for time. His Q1 run in 2022 set the track record for speed at 335.82 mph.

• Both Hagan and Stewart advanced to the Semifinals at the 2024 Virginia NHRA Nationals. Hagan ran 4.031 ET at 312.42 mph in the Semifinals, which lost to Austin Prock’s 3.962 ET at 316.97 mph. Stewart ran a 4.631 ET at 180.65 mph, which lost to Doug Kalitta’s 3.828 ET at 326.79 mph.

• Stewart made 35 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at nearby Richmond Raceway, where he collected three wins (Fall of 1999, Spring of 2001, Spring of 2002).

• Virginia represents a home race for Hagan. The 52-time event winner is a native of Christiansburg, Virginia, located 190 miles west of the track.

• By advancing to the Semifinals at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Stewart qualified to participate in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where he will face a rematch against Steve Torrence.

• Stewart will participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty autograph session on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The session will take place at the Mission Foods Display.

• American Rebel Beer CEO Andy Ross will be performing a free concert for the fans on Saturday between Q2 and Q3 and also on Sunday following the first round of eliminations. The concerts will take place in the Midway across from the TSR pit.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the American Rebel Beer Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster

The Virginia NHRA Nationals will mark three qualifying sessions in one day. What excitement will that bring for the fans by having it condensed to one day?
“It gives the fans the opportunity to know that they’re going to see all the top teams make three solid runs, which will set the field for the race the next day. It’s a great opportunity to see a lot of racing action in one day.”

The NHRA is now crowning a Regular Season champion after 14 events. With six events remaining prior to the Countdown to the Championship, are you able to think about the possibility of bringing that title home?
“I definitely think we have a shot at it right now. This is the hot part of the summer and this is where I felt all along this year that our car has been at its best. When the tracks get hot, they get greasy and hard to get a hold of. I feel like our program really suits this time of the year, so I definitely think it’s a possibility to get the regular season championship.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the American Rebel Beer Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car

The Virginia NHRA Nationals will mark three qualifying sessions in one day. What excitement will that bring for the fans by having it condensed to one day?
“Having three runs in one day is great. I love the idea of a morning, midday and evening run. My crew is coming into town early to fish and enjoy some team bonding. They’ll get to come to the track and work hard with three runs on Saturday. We want to focus on a really good qualifying position. If we can do that, it could hopefully change our Sunday around by being able to qualify in the top-half of the field.”

American Rebel Light will be sponsoring their second NHRA event this season and you will also be representing their colors on your Funny Car. How special has that relationship with Andy Ross (American Rebel CEO) and American Rebel become?
“I’m excited about having American Rebel on the car and also have them as a sponsor of the event. It’ll be great having Andy Ross (American Rebel CEO) out there and he’s also going to play a concert for the fans. He’s growing the brand and we’re excited to help him do that. Charlotte was a great event when he sponsored the NHRA race, which then opened the opportunity to sell his product at the Coca-Cola 600. There’s been a lot of cross promotion. Drag racing opens the door to a lot of things and we’re excited to be part of that. I can’t wait to get to Richmond after getting to enjoy a weekend off.”

-TSR-

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