• Motorsports legend Tony Stewart added to his incredible racing resume at the NHRA U.S. Nationals by claiming the 14-race Top Fuel regular season points title Monday
  • Driving the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster, the man known as “Smoke” advanced to the final round against Justin Ashley in the 71st “Big Go”
  • Stewart, a past NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion, took the $150,000 regular season top prize with a second-round win over Kyle Wurtzel, while rivals Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon exited earlier in the race
  • Entering third in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points Sunday, Stewart defeated former four-time World Champion Steve Torrence and Wurtzel to claim the coveted regular-season crown
  • Stewart then took a semifinal victory over Jasmine Salinas to advance to his fourth 2025 NHRA final round and faced Ashley for the prestigious $100,000 U.S. Nationals title
  • In the final, Ashley held a slight starting line advantage and nipped Stewart at the finish by 0.0027 seconds (four feet) to keep Stewart from a spectacular “double win” weekend in Indy
  • Stewart now enters the six-race NHRA “Countdown to the Title” as the points leader by double digits over Langdon, followed by Ashley and Kalitta
  • Four-time NHRA World Funny Car Champion Matt Hagan drove his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Nationals Monday
  • Hagan defeated Cruz Pedregon in the first round with a strong 3.887 pass to advance to the quarterfinals fight against Alexis DeJoria, but lost traction at the starting line
  • The 53-time NHRA career race winner captured the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Funny Car season qualifying championship Saturday as he qualified fifth in the 16-car field at Indy
  • Hagan finished third in the NHRA Mission Funny Car regular season points as he seeks a fifth World Championship in the six-race “Countdown” beginning at Reading, Pa.
  • Both Stewart and Hagan unveiled special liveries of their new U.S. Nationals red, white and blue nitro cars Friday in a special fan-driven Dodge Social Media Livery Contest
  • Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage.com

September 2, 2025 Auburn Hills, Mich. – Tony Stewart, the motorsports legend, continues to add to his amazing racing resume by clinching the 14-race NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel regular season points championship Monday with a runner-up finish in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster at the 71st U.S. Nationals, while TSR teammate Matt Hagan advanced to the quarterfinals in the Funny Car class.

Stewart, the only driver to win pro races in NHRA, NASCAR, IndyCar and all three classes of USAC competition, came from third in the Top Fuel points standing entering the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park classic to win the $150,000 regular-season top prize as he scored three round victories of competition and captured the Top Fuel regular series campaign by 39 points over rival Shawn Langdon.

Stewart, a two-time 2025 NHRA Top Fuel race winner, scored round wins over four-time world champion Steve Torrence, Kyle Wurtzel and Jasmine Salinas before facing off with Justin Ashley in the coveted final round at the event known in drag racing circles as the “Big Go,” After qualifying tenth at 3.744, Stewart recorded times of 3.716, 3.802 and 3.837 entering the final.

In a sensational final round matchup, Ashley took a starting line advantage over Stewart and won the race by 0.0027 seconds (four feet) despite a slower time of 3.839 to Stewart’s 3.815 Despite the final round loss, Stewart is the NHRA Mission Top Fuel points leader entering the six-race “Countdown to the Championship,” which begins at Reading, Pa., on Sept. 12-14.

Stewart’s final round loss didn’t damper his excitement for taking the NHRA regular season crown.

“I was not happy on Saturday after the second qualifying run,” said Stewart. “But the crew chiefs (Neal Strausbaugh and Mike Domagala) figured out what we were missing. Once they found it, the car was responding like it was earlier in the year when we were clicking rounds off. It’s hard not to be disappointed when you have the quickest car in the final and we didn’t turn on the win light. Justin is just tough. I had a good light (0.053), and he had a great light (0.027). It’s hard to hang your head after that.

“Looking back on Saturday, I would not have predicted that we would get to the U.S. Nationals final round. Winning the Top Fuel regular season championship is massive for us and our sponsors such as Dodge, Direct Connection, Rinnai, JHG, Mobil 1 and others in my eyes. It took 14 weeks to win a regular season championship, and it took four good rounds to win today. I’m not taking away from this race by any means. There was nothing I wanted more than to win the final round and take the U.S. Nationals trophy. I’m extremely proud of what we did for 14 weeks to win the regular season championship. I feel that we are in as good a spot as we can be for the next six races. I have been involved in so many points championships in so many different series that anytime there are points available, you need to score as many as possible. Matt won the Funny Car title in 2023 in the final Pomona rounds. Leah (Pruett) and Doug went right down to the final Top Fuel race of the year that year too.”

Hagan, the 2016 U.S. Nationals champion, qualified fifth in the 16-car Funny Car field with his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat and scored an impressive first round victory over former world champion Cruz Pedregon with a strong 3.887 pass to move to the quarterfinals Monday.

The four-time NHRA world champion then faced Alexis DeJoria in the second round of eliminations, but Hagan’s 12,000-horsepower, nitro-burning machine lost traction early in the 1000-foot run. DeJoria posted a 3.935 to advance to the semifinals. Despite the loss, the Virginia racer remained third in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings as the final six-race “Countdown” begins at Reading, Pa., on Sept. 12-14.

Earlier in the weekend, Hagan took the season championship for the Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty qualifying points in the Funny Car division.

“We gave it a valiant effort this week,” said Hagan. “I’m super proud of Tony, Leah and the guys to win the Top Fuel regular season points championship. It’s a team effort on both sides here at TSR. And our Funny Car team got the Mission 2Fast2Tasty season Funny Car championship too on Sunday. I really love that ‘Taco Tussle’ during the qualifying rounds. It’s exciting for the fans too.

“It’s been a while since I won Indy (2016), and it’s going to be another year now. We had a couple of hundred more horsepower than we expected for that run. I don’t know if it was a tune-up situation or the track just got hotter. It’s nice to have more horsepower, but it’s just how you use it. It’s a nitro car and it’s always unpredictable with a 12,000-horsepower monster. The regular season is over, and we’ll reset everything for the next six races. We have been running better in qualifying, and we can be consistent in eliminations too. The win at Seattle showed that. I’m very proud of our TSR Direct Connection crew, and I’m anxious for the ‘Countdown.’”

In a special fan-driven Dodge Social Media Livery Contest to pick Stewart’s and Hagan’s car designs for the U.S. Nationals, both drivers unveiled special red, white and blue Direct Connection car liveries Friday in front of a big crowd of fans and media.

Ida Zetterström, the 2023 FIA Top Fuel Champion from Sweden, returned to the U.S. Nationals in her powerful JCM/Dodge//SRT dragster, but the personable Swede had the tough task of racing No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force in the opening round of eliminations. Zetterström lost traction after the start while Force recorded the fastest speed in NHRA drag racing history at 343.51 miles per hour.

“Brittany is always a tough draw,” said Zetterström. “They’re past champions and they’ve been out here setting world records multiple times this year, so we knew they’re tough. It’s pretty incredible how stout the Top Fuel class is right now. There’s actually no easy draw. There were guys that qualified way higher than us this weekend, and you saw the upsets in the first round. So, we had a good start but ran into issues. Brittany ran low E.T. of the round. So, another tough race day for us.”

The nitro competition for the upcoming NHRA Nationals at Reading, Pa., gets underway on Friday, Sept. 12, with two qualifying rounds set for 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT, followed by Saturday’s qualifying sessions at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT. The final eliminations will begin on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m. EDT with the national telecast scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1.

Direct Connection
The Direct Connection portfolio, available online and through the Dodge Power Brokers dealer network, includes modern performance, crate engine, race and vintage muscle high-performance products for Dodge performance vehicles, offering factory street, strip and track performance parts developed by SRT engineers and backed by a Mopar® warranty for peace of mind.

Performance enthusiasts and racers can access the Direct Connection hotline at (800) 998-1110 for technical and race support. More information on Direct Connection and Dodge Power Brokers is available at DCPerformance.com.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge

For 111 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge, America’s performance brand, shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of its segments.

The new, next-generation Dodge Charger multi-energy lineup is led by the 670-horsepower Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack – the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car. For 2026, the all-new 550-horsepower Dodge Charger Scat Pack, powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo SIXPACK H.O. engine, expands the Charger lineup, powered by the most powerful Hurricane engine in production.

Dodge also keeps its foot on the pedal as a pure performance brand with the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful gas engine SUV ever, and best-in-class standard performance in the compact-utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet.

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Mopar
Mopar is the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic accessories.

A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over more than 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com.

Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Dodge brand: www.dodge.com
DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge and www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: @DodgeMoparMotorsports, @DodgeOfficial and @OfficialMopar
Twitter: @Dodge, @OfficialMopar and @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge, www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

The post Dodge//SRT Driver Tony Stewart Wins NHRA Mission Top Fuel Regular Season Championship, Races to U.S. Nationals Runner-Up Finish appeared first on Matt Hagan Racing.

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