St. Louis Advance for the 14th Annual NHRA Midwest Nationals

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan

Top Fuel | Funny Car
14th Annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals
Sept. 26-28 | St. Louis

Event Overview

Friday, Sept. 26 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 6 p.m. CDT/7 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 8 p.m. CDT/9 p.m. EDT

Saturday, Sept. 27 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q3): 12:15 p.m. CDT/1:15 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q4): 3 p.m. CDT/4 p.m. EDT

Sunday, Sept. 28 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 11 a.m. CDT/12 p.m. EDT
• Round 2: 1 p.m. CDT/2 p.m. EDT
• Semifinals: 2:40 p.m. CDT/3:40 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 4:15 p.m. CDT/5:15 p.m. EDT

TV coverage on FS1
• Sunday, Sept. 28: Qualifying show recapping Friday and Saturday’s action (1:30 p.m. EDT)
• Sunday, Sept. 28: Finals show (3 p.m. EDT)

Notes of Interest

• The NHRA Midwest Nationals near St. Louis is the 17th race on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race schedule and it is the third round in the six-race Countdown to the Championship. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tony Stewart (Top Fuel) and Matt Hagan (Funny Car) are both in the Countdown, with 2025 marking Stewart’s second appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th consecutive appearance.

• Stewart is fourth in the Top Fuel standings heading into St. Louis, 68 points behind championship leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan is currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 79 points behind leader Austin Prock. Hagan is a four-time champion (2011, 2014, 2020 and 2023).

• American Rebel Beer is the primary sponsor of both Hagan and Stewart in St. Louis. 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.

• The NHRA Midwest Nationals will be Stewart’s 37th career Top Fuel start and his second at St. Louis. For Hagan, the NHRA Midwest Nationals will be his 369th career Funny Car start and his 16th at the track.

• Stewart is seeking his first victory in the NHRA Midwest Nationals, as well as his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. In 2024, Stewart secured the No. 11 qualifying position and ran a 3.755 ET at 323.58 mph in Round 1 of eliminations, which lost to Shawn Reed’s 3.773 ET at 319.29 mph. Stewart’s wife, Leah Pruett, advanced to the Finals in 2023 in the Top Fuel Dragster, defeating Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence, before losing to Clay Millican in the Finals.

• The Regular Season Champion in Top Fuel (Stewart clinched the title in Indianapolis) has won the overall championship five of the last eight years. No. 1 seeds have won 31 of the 68 series championships in the Countdown Era. Tony is seeking his first win light at St. Louis and is trying to become the 28th different Top Fuel driver to win a Countdown event.

• Hagan enters the NHRA Midwest Nationals with two wins in 2021 and 2023. In 2021, his 3.933 ET, 333.49 mph run defeated Bob Tasca III (3.967 ET at 329.99 mph). In 2023, Hagan’s 3.991 ET at 324.90 mph defeated Ron Capps’ 4.025 ET, 306.88 mph run. Hagan has three No. 1 qualifiers at St. Louis, which came in 2013 (4.001 ET at 320.20 mph), 2015 (3.883 ET at 330.47 mph) and 2021 (3.875 ET at 327.03 mph). Hagan has gone to the finals six times at St. Louis, with runner-up finishes in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2020. After posting a 7-10 record with no wins in his first 10 starts at St. Louis, Hagan has raced in the final round three of the last five years.

• Hagan is coming off of a No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA Four-Wide Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, the 54th of his career and second of the season (NHRA Sonoma Nationals was the first).

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

St. Louis marks three Countdown weekends in a row for the American Rebel Beer crew. What momentum does that give you?
“We always have a fun weekend when Andy Ross from American Rebel is with us. He’s an awesome cheerleader that cares about our teams as much as we do. To have him and the large amount of guests he’s bringing, we’re proud of that. We’re having three grueling weeks in a row. I like it because that’s what I’m used to in NASCAR, so you just grind it out. We’ll get through St. Louis, then it gives both the Top Fuel and Funny Car teams time to regroup to get ready for the last three races. You’re never out until they say you’re mathematically out of it. We’re still in a decent spot right now, but we have our work to do.”

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

You’re coming off a final-round appearance at the NHRA Four-Wide Carolina Nationals and St. Louis marks three Countdown weekends in a row. What momentum does that give you?
“We are now second in points and within striking distance. (Austin) Prock and his JFR team is very tough. The kid cuts a good light, and they run really strong. We need to keep doing what we do and not worry about anyone else. If we run the racetrack as hard as we can, and we look at what is in front of us, I know we can win. That has always been my thinking that we just go race the track in front of us. I’m just proud of our TSR crew guys since they have worked so hard in recent weeks. We have been through some tough explosions the last few weeks, but I know we are ready to put that American Rebel Beer Dodge Hellcat back in the winner’s circle at St. Louis next weekend.”

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