Reading Advance for the 40th Annual NHRA Nationals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers
40th Annual NHRA Nationals presented by Nitro Fish
Sept. 12-14 | Reading, Pennsylvania

Event Overview

Friday, Sept. 12 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 6 p.m. EDT

Saturday, Sept. 13 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q3): 1:30 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q4): 4 p.m. EDT

Sunday, Sept. 14 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 11 a.m. EDT
• Round 2: 1:15 p.m. EDT
• Semi-Finals: 2:55 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 4:10 p.m. EDT

TV coverage on FS1
• Sunday, Sept. 14: Qualifying show recapping Friday and Saturday’s action (12 p.m. EDT)
• Sunday, Sept. 14: Finals show (2 p.m. EDT)

Notes of Interest

• The 40th Annual NHRA Nationals presented by Nitro Fish Sept. 12-14 at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, is the 15th race on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race schedule. However, it’s the opening round in the six-race Countdown to the Championship, where both Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers – Tony Stewart in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car – are ready to make a title run in their respective divisions. The top-10 drivers in each of the NHRA’s four professional categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – compete in the Countdown. Stewart is a two-time Top Fuel winner and Hagan is a 53-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion.

• This year’s Countdown marks Stewart’s second appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th consecutive appearance. Stewart is first heading into the Countdown, 16 points ahead of Shawn Langdon. Hagan is third, 27 points behind leader Austin Prock.

• Hagan has won 16 times in the Countdown to the Championship, tied for first among Funny Car drivers with Robert Hight, who presently is not active.

• Direct Connection is the primary partner of Stewart and Hagan this weekend in Reading. 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.

• The NHRA Nationals will serve as Stewart’s 35th career Top Fuel start and his second at Maple Grove. For Hagan, this will be his 367th career Funny Car start and his 16th at the track.

• Stewart is seeking his first victory in the NHRA Nationals, as well as his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. In 2024, he secured the No. 4 qualifying position and advanced to Round 2 on Sunday. In addition, Stewart made two starts at Maple Grove Raceway in the Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD) class. In 2023, Stewart qualified third at the NHRA Nationals in TAD and won the event, defeating Fiona Crisp, Mike Lewis, Brando Greco and Madison Payne. Stewart also collected a Division 3 win at Maple Grove Raceway in 2023, defeating John Ausherman, Dan Page and Matthew Cummings.

• Hagan won the NHRA Nationals in 2014. His run of 4.330 ET at 215.00 mph defeated Tommy Johnson (5.465 ET at 152.31 mph). Although Hagan has only one win at Maple Grove Raceway, his car has won twice. In 2021, when he was sidelined with COVID-19, Tommy Johnson Jr. subbed for him and won the NHRA Nationals in Hagan’s car. Hagan also has two No. 1 qualifiers at Maple Grove – 2010 when he set a then NHRA national record 4.011 ET and in 2016 with a 3.873 ET.

• The Mopar CAP (Career Automotive Program) will be partnering with TSR on Friday for the third of seven events this season. CAP consists of strategic alliances between Stellantis and over 100 colleges and trade schools teaching technical curriculum integrated into the school’s general automotive program, so that students can become certified Stellantis technicians.

• The Tony Stewart Store merchandise trailer will be on-site at the NHRA Nationals. Hagan will be signing on Friday from 4:30-5:00 p.m. and Stewart will be signing Saturday from 2:30-3:00 p.m.

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

Your Dodge//SRT Direct Connection team earned No. 1 in the NHRA Mission Foods Regular Season Championship at the previous event, the U.S. Nationals. The 40th Annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway starts the 2025 Countdown to the Championship. Given your success thus far in the season, what confidence does that give you heading into the opening round of the six-race Countdown?
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence, especially having the solid run on race day at the U.S. Nationals. I feel like it’s the momentum that we need to start the Countdown. The performance of our car is back where it was earlier in the year when we took the points lead, so I feel like there’s a lot of positive things going on. Anything can happen in these six races and you can’t stub your toe or have a mistake. But I am going into it with the mindset and the feeling in my gut that we have a car and a team that I feel like are on top of their game right now. We have our car in a good position to give us the best opportunity to win a real championship. I don’t know that you could ask for more than that.”

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

The 40th Annual NHRA Nationals begins your Ride to Five (Championships). What is your mindset heading into Maple Grove Raceway, being third in the Funny car standings and knowing a fifth championship is attainable for you and your team?
“The Ride to Five is very doable. Progress and momentum is key. We have a great team that is very dedicated and driven. They are goal-oriented and strive every day to be the best they can be. (Austin) Prock has won seven races, which is staggering. There is work to be done, but they are beatable. They don’t mess up very often, but we need to be able to take advantage of it when they do. The Indy ladder looked pretty promising and we could have met Prock in the final, but it just didn’t work out that way. We just need to capitalize on every opportunity we have and can’t give anything up. We have to make good decisions and I have to have good lights. We have six races to make this happen. We have a chance to get within striking distance with points resetting. When you let them get a race or two ahead of you, it’s really hard to make up that ground. We have to qualify well, so we have lane choice. Then I have to do my job with lights on the tree. We have to be methodical about what we do, but we have a chance to win this thing. I’m very focused and driven.”

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