Event Recap for the 25th Annual Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals – HAGAN WINS!

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Top Fuel | Funny Car
25th Annual Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals powered by Direct Connection
Oct. 30-Nov. 2 | Las Vegas

Event Recap

Tony Stewart, driver of the Rush Truck Centers Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster:
• Earned No. 7 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.690 ET at 160.73 mph)
• Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.741 ET at 330.72 mph)
• Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Stewart ran a 3.762 ET at 325.22 mph.
• Secured No. 5 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Stewart ran a 4.730 ET at 156.48 mph.
• Advanced to Semifinals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.856 ET at 293.22 mph, defeated Dan Mercier (4.695 ET at 163.71 mph)
• Round 2: 3.778 ET at 328.38 mph, defeated Tony Schumacher (3.808 ET at 319.90 mph)
• Semifinals: 5.015 ET at 144.58 mph, lost to Brittany Force (3.824 ET at 323.35 mph)
• Currently fifth in the Top Fuel championship standings, 243 points behind leader Doug Kalitta

Matt Hagan, driver of the American Rebel Beer Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
• Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.951 ET at 322.42 mph)
• Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
• Earned No. 2 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.897 ET at 329.75 mph)
• Scored two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session
• Maintained No. 2 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.926 ET at 327.74 mph.
• Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
• Secured No. 3 qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.917 ET at 325.85 mph.
• Advanced to Finals on Sunday:
• Round 1: 3.927 ET at 324.12 mph, defeated Cruz Pedregon (4.000 ET at 318.32 mph)
• Round 2: 3.879 ET at 328.86 mph, defeated Chad Green (4.606 ET at 179.78 mph)
• Semifinals: 3.912 ET at 327.43 mph, defeated Daniel Wilkerson (4.695 ET at 213.43 mph)
• Finals: 3.877 ET at 327.03 mph, defeated Austin Prock (6.424 ET at 102.46 mph)
• Currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 101 points behind leader Austin Prock

Notes of Interest

• Hagan earned his 55th career victory at the NHRA Nevada Nationals. It marked his fifth career win at the NHRA Nevada Nationals (2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2025). Hagan has raced in 12 final rounds at the Las Vegas track, more than any other venue.
• Stewart has won an event on all tracks at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway property – the drag strip (TAD Four-Wide Nationals in 2023), the dirt track (his first USAC Silver Crown event on October 18, 1997), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (captured his 1997 IndyCar championship and earned the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series event win), the Las Vegas Bullring pavement short-track (won in a USAC midget in 2002 and also won in a sprint car in the same night) and the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (won the 2010 Las Vegas Sprint Car Nationals).
• Dodge served as the title sponsor of the NHRA Nevada Nationals. As part of the event, Dodge launched its first Dodge Charger Drag Pak: the all new 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection. The brand’s newest purpose-built race car unites SRT race HEMI engine power with a drag-race-ready version of
• Stewart represented Rush Truck Centers on his Top Fuel dragster for their solo primary sponsorship of the season. Rush Truck Centers has been dedicated to exceeding customer expectations for 60 years. They are the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America with more than 140 locations coast to coast and takes pride in its integrated approach to customer needs – from vehicle sales to aftermarket parts, service and body shop operations, plus financing, insurance, leasing and rental, as well as alternate fuel systems and other vehicle technologies. Rush Truck Centers’ talented service technicians are the heartbeat of its dealerships. The company is always looking to add the best and brightest technicians to its team. Service technicians interested in looking for the next step in their careers can find additional information and listings of open positions on the Rush Enterprises Technician Careers page.
• Hagan represented American Rebel Beer on his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car. 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 15 states (Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, 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.
• TSR hosted guests from Dodge, Mopar CAP (Career Automotive Program), American Rebel Beer, Rush Truck Centers, Rinnai, and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage at this weekend’s NHRA Nevada Nationals.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the Rush Truck Centers Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster

“We would have liked to have gone through the semis and to the final, but I feel that we have our race car back now. Since the Maple Grove crash, I’m not sure we had the same race car that we had the majority of the season. I feel like this weekend Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) had the mentality that he was going to be a little more aggressive in qualifying, and, even in the semis when we smoked the tires, we were aggressive. I do feel that we have our car back. I feel good about where we are right now. It’s unfortunate that we dug a hole before these last two events. We’ll get the car back running well just in time to get my wife (Leah Pruett) back in the race car. It was a great win for Matt too at the Dodge event. We had the Dodge executives here and that is exciting.”

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

“It was a ‘have to win’ race for us. Sometimes you pull your crew chief aside and say, ‘We have to win this one.’ I’m super proud of my guys – Mike Knudson (crew chief), Phil Shuler (co-crew chief), Alex Conaway (car chief) and the whole TSR crew. They were making the call for the first time at every racetrack, and to see the potential that Knud has for the future is awesome. Some guys will ask for the growing year their first year as a crew chief. He doesn’t have the notepad and experience of a Dickie Venables who was my crew chief for many years. Crew chiefs win races. I just jump on the pedal and go. But they have to make the right calls at the right times. Las Vegas has been very kind to me over the years with five wins in the Fall races and one in the Spring. We have had a number of parts failures at times and that has hurt us in the championship hunt. It is humbling, because it’s out of your control. But our team has overcome adversity this year and here we are in the winner’s circle again. It’s been a fun year with these crew guys and it’s great to see them when we win. It was exciting today because all of our major sponsors were here – Dodge, Direct Connection, American Rebel Beer, Johnson Horsepowered Garage — and it’s great to see their excitement in the winner’s circle too. This fight for the championship isn’t over, and we’ll be ready for Pomona in two weeks. I’m hungry to get a fifth World title.”

Next Up

The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season culminates Nov. 13-16 in Pomona, California, with the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

-TSR-

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