Indianapolis Advance for the 71st Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
71st Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals
Aug. 27-Sept. 1 | Indianapolis

Event Overview

Friday, Aug. 29 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 7:30 p.m. EDT

Saturday, Aug. 30 (Nitro Qualifying & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q2) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge – Round 1: 12:30 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q2) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge – Round 1: 1:10 p.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge – Finals: 3:15 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q3) Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge – Finals: 3:55 p.m. EDT

Sunday, Aug. 31 (PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout and Top Fuel Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q4): 12 p.m. EDT
• PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout – Round 1: 12:45 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q4 – All entries not in the Callout): 1 p.m. EDT
• PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout – Semi-Finals: 2:15 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (All Funny Car entries not in the Callout): 4 p.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q5): 2:45 p.m. EDT
• Funny car qualifying session (Q5 – All entries not in the Callout): 3:25 p.m. EDT
• PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout – Finals: 3:55 p.m. EDT

Monday, Sept. 1 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 10 a.m. EDT
• Round 2: 12:30 p.m. EDT
• Semi-Finals: 2:15 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 3:50 p.m. EDT

TV coverage on FS1/FOX
• Sunday, Aug. 31: Qualifying show recapping Friday and Saturday’s action (9:30 a.m. EDT on FS1)
• Sunday, Aug. 31: PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout (5 p.m. EDT on FS1)
• Sunday, Aug. 31: Qualifying show recapping Sunday’s action (6:30 p.m. EDT on FS1)
• Monday, Sept. 1: Finals Round 1 (12 p.m. EDT on FS1)
• Monday, Sept. 1: Finals (2 p.m. EDT on FOX)

Notes of Interest

• The NHRA U.S. Nationals Aug. 27-Sept. 1 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. 12-14 with the 40th NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two full-time entries – one in Top Fuel for Tony Stewart and one in Funny Car for 53-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 second in the Top Fuel championship standings, 45 points behind leader Shawn Langdon. Hagan, meanwhile, is third in the Funny Car championship standings, 269 points behind leader Austin Prock. Stewart secured his position in the Countdown to the Championship during the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

• 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 earned 16 points in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and Stewart earned 14 points this season.

• The NHRA U.S. Nationals is a marquee weekend for TSR and team partner Dodge. Direct Connection adorn Stewart’s Top Fuel dragster and Hagan’s Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car. With muscle car enthusiasts looking for “ready to run” parts, Direct Connection serves as the source for high-performance parts and technical expertise straight from the factory. Stewart and Hagan will be running special schemes that were voted on by the fans. Direct Connection was first launched in 1974 when Dodge ad man Joe Schulte came up with the Direct Connection idea. Little did he know he started the way factory performance parts were marketed to street enthusiasts and grassroots bracket racers, but it also helped professional teams put their competitors on the trailer. Now, 51 years later, Direct Connection is still a leader in the performance parts industry.

• The NHRA U.S. Nationals will serve as Stewart’s 34th career Top Fuel start and his second in the event. For Hagan, this will be his 366th career Funny Car start and his 17th in the U.S. Nationals. It will mark his 20th overall start at Indianapolis, which includes three pandemic-related special-event starts in 2020.

• Stewart is seeking his first victory in the NHRA U.S. Nationals, as well as his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. In 2024, Stewart secured the No. 2 qualifying position and advanced to the Semifinals on Monday, where his 9.625 ET at 77.88 mph lost to Steve Torrence’s 3.769 ET at 331.12 mph. The Indiana native has a long history of racing in Indianapolis, having competed at the Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) oval and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in IndyCar and NASCAR. Stewart won NASCAR’s Brickyard 500 in 2005 and 2007.

• Hagan won the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 2016. His run of 3.964 ET at 327.43 mph defeated Del Worsham (3.958 ET at 324.20 mph). Hagan also has five No. 1 qualifiers at Indianapolis, which came in 2010 (4.039 ET at 299.86 mph), 2013 (4.007 ET at 319.22 mph), 2014 (3.998 ET at 318.99 mph), 2016 (3.858 ET at 330.80 mph) and 2017 (3.799 ET at 338.77 mph).

• Hagan is trying to win multiple tour events for the 13th consecutive year, extending the longest such streak among active drivers.

• Hagan is the track record holder at Indianapolis in both time and speed (3.799 seconds, 338.77 mph), which he set on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. The 3.799-second mark is a personal best and it made Hagan just the second Funny Car driver to break the 3.800 second barrier. In addition to his 2016 victory in the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals, Hagan won two of the three special events contested at Indianapolis in 2020 during the COVID-19 shortened season. On July 12, he beat Tommy Johnson Jr., to win the E3 Spark Plugs Nationals and on July 19 he beat Jack Beckman to win the Summernationals.

• Hagan and seven of his Funny Car counterparts have a race within the race at Indianapolis. On Sunday, the PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout pits the top eight Funny Car drivers against one another in a winner-take-all event worth $80,000 and televised live on FOX. Hagan is the fourth seed in the specialty race by way of qualifying points since last year’s specialty race. Hagan is joined in the Callout by Austin Prock, who earned the top seed, Jack Beckman in the second seed, Ron Capps in the third seed and fellow Funny Car drivers Bob Tasca III, Daniel Wilkerson, J.R. Todd and Cruz Pedregon. The Callout is exactly what it sounds like. Prior to the second round of qualifying on Saturday, drivers will “call out” who they want to go up against on Sunday. Prock gets to pick from the seven drivers who he wants as his opening-round opponent. Beckman would get the next pick, provided he is not called out by Prock. Capps gets the third pick, if he’s not called out by Prock of Beckman. Hagan would follow until all the first-round matchups are set. The first round of the Callout will take place at 12:45 p.m. EDT on Sunday with the semifinals set to follow at 2:15 p.m. FS1 comes on the air at 5 p.m. EDT to recap the action from the first round and semifinals before showing the final round that begins at 4 p.m. where the last two drivers standing in the bracket-style elimination go head-to-head for bragging rights and the $80,000 payday.

• Hagan and the other seven Funny Car Callout competitors will be participating in an autograph session on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The session will take place at the Mission Foods display.

• Hagan, Leah Pruett and Stewart will participate in a Dodge autograph session on Friday from 6:15-6:45 p.m. EDT and in another session on Saturday from 10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT. Both sessions will take place in the pits at the Dodge display.

• Hagan and Stewart will participate in a Tony Stewart Store merchandise trailer signings throughout the weekend. Hagan will be signing on Saturday from 2:15-2:45 p.m. EDT. Stewart will be signing on Sunday from 10:45-11:15 a.m. EDT.

• Hagan and Stewart will be unveiling their U.S. Nationals paint schemes on Friday, August 29 at 4pm at the Dodge display. Drivers will also be available to speak with the media.

• Dom Stewart will be participating in the ‘Baby Walker Nationals’ on Saturday at 12:20 p.m. EDT. He will be joined by fellow NHRA toddlers Noah Alexander, Tripp Coughlin, Harper Torrence, and Maverick Hull. The five infants born with a need for speed will strap into customized walkers for a star turn at the track on which their dads will pursue a piece of racing history on Monday. The race will take place along the return road in front of the grandstands.

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

Round wins are worth 1.5 times more at Indianapolis and you enter Indy just 45 points behind Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon. How awesome would it be to earn the regular season championship following the NHRA U.S. Nationals?
“It’d be great to win the regular season championship. We’ve been really consistent this year until the last couple races, but we’ve been in a way better position than we were at this time last year. I’m proud of our team and proud of everyone’s effort. There’s no better way to reward the entire team than with a bonus from winning the regular season championship, so I’m excited about that.”

You and teammate Matt Hagan will be running unique Dodge schemes that the fans voted on. How special will it be knowing the fans were involved in your colors for the NHRA’s biggest event?
“I always think it’s cool when we can get the fans involved, especially by helping to pick our paint schemes for the U.S. Nationals. It’s our biggest race of the year and for Dodge to allow fans to have the opportunity to help us pick our paint schemes is really cool. Knowing that they were a part of picking our schemes makes them feel like a bigger part of our team, so that’s the exciting part. The best part is I haven’t even seen it yet, so I don’t know which one they picked, but I can’t wait to see it this week.”

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

You enter Indianapolis with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points lead, having gathered 16 points this season. How valuable will those be in the title hunt once we reach the Countdown to the Championship?
“Coming into Indy with all those #2Fast2Tasty points and knowing they’ll get added to our total when they reset is really big. We’ve seen championships come down to two points, so every point matters. Knowing we’ve accumulated the most points in the challenge is great. You don’t always think about it during the regular season, but then they reset and it can add up to a round or two sometimes. The competition is so tough, so everything matters. We’re excited about heading to Indy. We have a new crew chief (Mike Knudsen) and I think he’s done extremely well. I’m excited for what the future brings.”

You and teammate Tony Stewart will be running unique Dodge schemes that the fans voted on. How special will it be knowing the fans were involved in your colors for the NHRA’s biggest event?
“I think it’s really neat that we were able to engage the fans by them picking out the paint scheme we will run. I’m excited to see how it looks. Dodge is always on the cutting edge of great designs. We have a patriotic design this year with the red, white and blue. All the Hellcats we’ve run in the past have been great. The only thing that would make the paint schemes for the U.S. Nationals more special is if we can pull them into the winner’s circle and show it off on TV for four rounds on Monday. I’m looking forward to seeing how it looks.”

-TSR-

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