Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
April 11-13 | Las Vegas
Event Overview
Friday, April 11 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 12:30 p.m. PDT/3:30 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 3 p.m. PDT/6 p.m. EDT
Saturday, April 12 (Nitro Qualifying & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge – Round 1: 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge – Round 1: 12:20 p.m. PDT/3:20 p.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q4) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge – Finals: 2:30 p.m. PDT/5:30 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q4) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge – Finals: 2:50 p.m. PDT/5:50 p.m. EDT
Sunday, April 13 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT
• Round 2: 1:40 p.m. PDT/4:40 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 3:15 p.m. PDT/6:15 p.m. EDT
TV coverage on FS1
• Friday, April 11: Qualifying show, recapping all of Friday’s action (6:30 p.m. PDT/9:30 p.m. EDT)
• Sunday, April 13: Qualifying show, recapping all of Saturday’s action (8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT)
• Sunday, April 13: Finals show (3:30 p.m. PDT/6:30 p.m. EDT)
Notes of Interest
• The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the fourth event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar in 2025. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two full-time entries – one in Top Fuel for Tony Stewart and one in Funny Car for 52-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan.
• Coming into Las Vegas, Stewart is fifth in the Top Fuel standings, 100 points behind leader Shawn Langdon. Hagan is third in the Funny Car standings, 74 points behind leader Jack Beckman.
• Stewart enters Las Vegas representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation on his blue and yellow Top Fuel dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports red and blue colors of Dodge Direct Connection on his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car.
• The Rayce Rudeen Foundation is a non-profit organization that works with organizations and programs to encourage a healthy and productive life that is free of addiction. The designated 501(c)(3) is named in honor of Rayce Rudeen, who at age 26 passed away from an accidental Fentanyl overdose. Since its inception, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation has advocated for creating a supportive community in which everyone can access prevention, treatment, recovery and family-support services, all free from stigma. By collaborating with local universities, researchers, organizations, businesses and community coalitions, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is leading communities toward a united and compassionate response to addiction by identifying gaps in care and building educational tools.
• Direct Connection is the primary partner of Hagan this weekend in Las Vegas. 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 Four-Wide Nationals will mark Stewart’s 24th career Top Fuel start. It’ll be his third overall Top Fuel start at Las Vegas and his second in the Four-Wide Nationals. He is seeking his first win and first No. 1 qualifier at the event. At the 2024 Four-Wide Nationals, Stewart secured the No. 11 qualifying position. He advanced to the Finals, where he ran a 3.769 ET at 324.51 mph and lost to Doug Kalitta (3.715 ET at 333.58 mph), Justin Ashley in second (3.745 ET at 333.82 mph) and Steve Torrence in third (3.745 ET at 334.40 mph).
• Stewart is coming off a runner-up finish at the NHRA Winternationals, which marked the second runner-up of his Top Fuel career.
• Stewart competed in the Top Alcohol Dragster class in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in 2023, where he earned his first national event win (over Todd Bruce, Chris Demke and Mike Coughlin). Stewart made his NHRA driving debut at Las Vegas during the NHRA Nevada Nationals Oct. 28-30, 2022. He qualified No. 2 in the field and reached the final round before losing to Madison Payne. During Stewart’s Top Alcohol career, he earned six of his 19 round wins at Las Vegas.
• Stewart has won an event on all tracks at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway property – 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).
• For Hagan, the Four-Wide Nationals will be his 356th career Funny Car start. It’ll be his 31st overall start at Las Vegas and his seventh in the Four-Wide Nationals.
• Hagan has earned one win at the Four-Wide Nationals, where his 2023 run of 3.943 ET at 326.79 mph run defeated Tim Wilkerson (3.969 ET at 319.45 mph), John Force (4.005 ET at 321.81 mph) and Chad Green (4.222 ET at 250.74 mph). Hagan has four wins at Last Vegas in the fall – 2017 when his 3.942 ET at 329.42 mph defeated Courtney Force’s 4.020 ET, 320.05 mph run, 2019 when his 3.876 ET at 331.36 mph defeated Jonnie Lindberg (3.945 mph at 321.12 mph), 2020 when his 3.914 ET at 326.40 mph defeated Ron Capps (4.463 ET at 173.70 mph) and 2022 when Hagan’s 3.896 ET at 330.23 mph defeated Robert Hight’s 6.157 ET, 111.12 mph run.
• Hagan will look to earn his fourth No. 1 start at Las Vegas, but his first since the track was reconfigured to four lanes. He scored his first No. 1 qualifier in October 2009 (4.030 ET at 313.88 mph), his second in November 2014 (3.983 ET at 322.42 mph) and his third in April 2015 (4.007 ET at 318.02 mph).
• Hagan has won at least one event in each of the past 12 seasons, the longest active streak among professional racers. He has won multiple events in 11 straight seasons.
• By advancing to Round 2 at the Winternationals, Hagan and Stewart qualified to participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. The challenge brings competitive racing to the qualifying schedule at 13 regular-season events during the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series campaign, pitting competitors from the previous race against each other in a pair of rematches, with the two winners then matching up in the final qualifying session. Hagan will face off against Blake Alexander and Stewart will race Doug Kalitta in Round 1. There is a bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship on the line.
• Hagan and Stewart will participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty autograph session on Saturday at 9 a.m. PDT. The session will take place at the Mission Foods Display.
Tony Stewart, Driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster
You’re coming off of a runner-up finish at the NHRA Winternationals. What momentum does that give you heading into Las Vegas?
“Hopefully Pomona gives us a lot of momentum going into the four-wide event in Las Vegas. I personally love the four-wide races, so I get excited about going to Vegas for this event. The runner-up finish at the Winternationals in Pomona gives our team a lot of confidence. We know we still have a lot of work to do to get caught up to a lot of the other teams on speed, but right now, our car is consistent going down the track. The consistency means the most to me at this point. I feel like we have to be consistent going down the race track before we can really press to make the car go faster. I feel like we’ve established that first benchmark and now we have the ability to try to make our car faster, so Vegas is a perfect place for it. It’s a place that is special to me. It’s where I ran my very first drag race in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and got my first win there as well, so every time we go to Vegas, I’m definitely excited about the trip.”
You’ll be representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation in Las Vegas. How special is their mission of encouraging a lifestyle free from addiction to you and your relationship with the Rudeen family?
“Drug addiction and the effects of fentanyl in our society is very important and means even more to us when you have friends in the racing world that have been affected directly by it. Rayce Rudeen was Kevin Rudeen’s son that he lost to a fentanyl overdose. It makes having the Rayce Rudeen Foundation logos on our car very special to Leah (Pruett) and myself. It’s a terrible addiction and a terrible substance that is wreaking havoc and around the world. It has affected so many families. What Kevin and Monika and their whole family are doing to try to give awareness and support to families that are going through this is amazing. Whether they have the addiction or whether they have a loved one that has the addiction, they give them support and the tools on how to support these families and combat the addiction. It is something that we’re very passionate about supporting. Having them at the race with us is something that makes Vegas even that much more special. I’m excited to be representing them and their family. We obviously wish Rayce was here also to be a part of this and see what impact he’s having on others, but his legacy will live on through the Rayce Rudeen Foundation. I think he’s probably looking down from above and very proud of what his family has done to support him and others that are going through fentanyl addictions.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
You entered Pomona seventh in points and left the event third in points. What momentum does that give you heading into Las Vegas?
“It’s early in the season and point standings are going to change a lot, but it just shows how competitive Funny Car is. Some of the heavy-hitters have been eliminated early on race day, so it changes week-to-week. I think you have to just try and do the best you can with what you have in front of you. We have a great team with great parts and pieces. The ‘boomer’ in Pomona was unexpected, so we don’t want it to make us too gun shy going into Last Vegas. The four-wides are such a different race. We have a good car that’s making it down the race track.”
You’ve won at least one event in each of the past 12 seasons, the longest active streak among professional racers. How special is that and how hungry does that make you to earn the win in Las Vegas?
“It’s funny when you think about winning races. You look at someone like Ron Capps, who won back-to-back world championships and then didn’t win a single race last year. You have to be grateful for every win light that comes on because they are so hard to come by nowadays. Everyone is pushing to the max . I think Funny Car is probably the most competitive class in the field. It’s dog eat dog with all 16 cars now. Getting a round win, let alone a race win, is huge. I would love to keep our streak going, but there’s no guarantees with what we do out here. It’s very humbling.”
Stewart is representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation in Las Vegas. You’re passionate about a lifestyle free from addiction, so how special is their partnership with TSR?
“The Rayce Rudeen Foundation is very special to me. My brother lost his life from opioid addiction, so I watched what it did to him from start to finish. It is so aggressive and sometimes, the person feels they have no control over the situation. My brother was prescribed the medicine from a doctor and he still passed away. So, I can’t image how tough it is for families that have a loved one addicted to other drugs like heroin or any opioid that’s free-range. The foundation is near and dear to my heart, and I learned a lot of life lessons along the way. If you can talk about it and help someone to change their life, it’s so important. I was so upset with my brother for a while. I didn’t understand the opioid binds the receptor to your brain, so you don’t release dopamine anymore and don’t feel like doing anything other than taking pills. It’s a very sad thing.”
-TSR-
Contact Ashley Wilson
Tony Stewart Racing
(303) 594-8147 or [email protected]
Continue reading...
Top Fuel | Funny Car
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
April 11-13 | Las Vegas
Event Overview
Friday, April 11 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 12:30 p.m. PDT/3:30 p.m. EDT
• Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 3 p.m. PDT/6 p.m. EDT
Saturday, April 12 (Nitro Qualifying & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge – Round 1: 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge – Round 1: 12:20 p.m. PDT/3:20 p.m. EDT
• Top Fuel qualifying session (Q4) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge – Finals: 2:30 p.m. PDT/5:30 p.m. EDT
• Funny Car qualifying session (Q4) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge – Finals: 2:50 p.m. PDT/5:50 p.m. EDT
Sunday, April 13 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
• Round 1: 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT
• Round 2: 1:40 p.m. PDT/4:40 p.m. EDT
• Finals: 3:15 p.m. PDT/6:15 p.m. EDT
TV coverage on FS1
• Friday, April 11: Qualifying show, recapping all of Friday’s action (6:30 p.m. PDT/9:30 p.m. EDT)
• Sunday, April 13: Qualifying show, recapping all of Saturday’s action (8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT)
• Sunday, April 13: Finals show (3:30 p.m. PDT/6:30 p.m. EDT)
Notes of Interest
• The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the fourth event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar in 2025. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two full-time entries – one in Top Fuel for Tony Stewart and one in Funny Car for 52-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan.
• Coming into Las Vegas, Stewart is fifth in the Top Fuel standings, 100 points behind leader Shawn Langdon. Hagan is third in the Funny Car standings, 74 points behind leader Jack Beckman.
• Stewart enters Las Vegas representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation on his blue and yellow Top Fuel dragster. Hagan, meanwhile, sports red and blue colors of Dodge Direct Connection on his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car.
• The Rayce Rudeen Foundation is a non-profit organization that works with organizations and programs to encourage a healthy and productive life that is free of addiction. The designated 501(c)(3) is named in honor of Rayce Rudeen, who at age 26 passed away from an accidental Fentanyl overdose. Since its inception, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation has advocated for creating a supportive community in which everyone can access prevention, treatment, recovery and family-support services, all free from stigma. By collaborating with local universities, researchers, organizations, businesses and community coalitions, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is leading communities toward a united and compassionate response to addiction by identifying gaps in care and building educational tools.
• Direct Connection is the primary partner of Hagan this weekend in Las Vegas. 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 Four-Wide Nationals will mark Stewart’s 24th career Top Fuel start. It’ll be his third overall Top Fuel start at Las Vegas and his second in the Four-Wide Nationals. He is seeking his first win and first No. 1 qualifier at the event. At the 2024 Four-Wide Nationals, Stewart secured the No. 11 qualifying position. He advanced to the Finals, where he ran a 3.769 ET at 324.51 mph and lost to Doug Kalitta (3.715 ET at 333.58 mph), Justin Ashley in second (3.745 ET at 333.82 mph) and Steve Torrence in third (3.745 ET at 334.40 mph).
• Stewart is coming off a runner-up finish at the NHRA Winternationals, which marked the second runner-up of his Top Fuel career.
• Stewart competed in the Top Alcohol Dragster class in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in 2023, where he earned his first national event win (over Todd Bruce, Chris Demke and Mike Coughlin). Stewart made his NHRA driving debut at Las Vegas during the NHRA Nevada Nationals Oct. 28-30, 2022. He qualified No. 2 in the field and reached the final round before losing to Madison Payne. During Stewart’s Top Alcohol career, he earned six of his 19 round wins at Las Vegas.
• Stewart has won an event on all tracks at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway property – 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).
• For Hagan, the Four-Wide Nationals will be his 356th career Funny Car start. It’ll be his 31st overall start at Las Vegas and his seventh in the Four-Wide Nationals.
• Hagan has earned one win at the Four-Wide Nationals, where his 2023 run of 3.943 ET at 326.79 mph run defeated Tim Wilkerson (3.969 ET at 319.45 mph), John Force (4.005 ET at 321.81 mph) and Chad Green (4.222 ET at 250.74 mph). Hagan has four wins at Last Vegas in the fall – 2017 when his 3.942 ET at 329.42 mph defeated Courtney Force’s 4.020 ET, 320.05 mph run, 2019 when his 3.876 ET at 331.36 mph defeated Jonnie Lindberg (3.945 mph at 321.12 mph), 2020 when his 3.914 ET at 326.40 mph defeated Ron Capps (4.463 ET at 173.70 mph) and 2022 when Hagan’s 3.896 ET at 330.23 mph defeated Robert Hight’s 6.157 ET, 111.12 mph run.
• Hagan will look to earn his fourth No. 1 start at Las Vegas, but his first since the track was reconfigured to four lanes. He scored his first No. 1 qualifier in October 2009 (4.030 ET at 313.88 mph), his second in November 2014 (3.983 ET at 322.42 mph) and his third in April 2015 (4.007 ET at 318.02 mph).
• Hagan has won at least one event in each of the past 12 seasons, the longest active streak among professional racers. He has won multiple events in 11 straight seasons.
• By advancing to Round 2 at the Winternationals, Hagan and Stewart qualified to participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. The challenge brings competitive racing to the qualifying schedule at 13 regular-season events during the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series campaign, pitting competitors from the previous race against each other in a pair of rematches, with the two winners then matching up in the final qualifying session. Hagan will face off against Blake Alexander and Stewart will race Doug Kalitta in Round 1. There is a bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship on the line.
• Hagan and Stewart will participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty autograph session on Saturday at 9 a.m. PDT. The session will take place at the Mission Foods Display.
Tony Stewart, Driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster
You’re coming off of a runner-up finish at the NHRA Winternationals. What momentum does that give you heading into Las Vegas?
“Hopefully Pomona gives us a lot of momentum going into the four-wide event in Las Vegas. I personally love the four-wide races, so I get excited about going to Vegas for this event. The runner-up finish at the Winternationals in Pomona gives our team a lot of confidence. We know we still have a lot of work to do to get caught up to a lot of the other teams on speed, but right now, our car is consistent going down the track. The consistency means the most to me at this point. I feel like we have to be consistent going down the race track before we can really press to make the car go faster. I feel like we’ve established that first benchmark and now we have the ability to try to make our car faster, so Vegas is a perfect place for it. It’s a place that is special to me. It’s where I ran my very first drag race in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and got my first win there as well, so every time we go to Vegas, I’m definitely excited about the trip.”
You’ll be representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation in Las Vegas. How special is their mission of encouraging a lifestyle free from addiction to you and your relationship with the Rudeen family?
“Drug addiction and the effects of fentanyl in our society is very important and means even more to us when you have friends in the racing world that have been affected directly by it. Rayce Rudeen was Kevin Rudeen’s son that he lost to a fentanyl overdose. It makes having the Rayce Rudeen Foundation logos on our car very special to Leah (Pruett) and myself. It’s a terrible addiction and a terrible substance that is wreaking havoc and around the world. It has affected so many families. What Kevin and Monika and their whole family are doing to try to give awareness and support to families that are going through this is amazing. Whether they have the addiction or whether they have a loved one that has the addiction, they give them support and the tools on how to support these families and combat the addiction. It is something that we’re very passionate about supporting. Having them at the race with us is something that makes Vegas even that much more special. I’m excited to be representing them and their family. We obviously wish Rayce was here also to be a part of this and see what impact he’s having on others, but his legacy will live on through the Rayce Rudeen Foundation. I think he’s probably looking down from above and very proud of what his family has done to support him and others that are going through fentanyl addictions.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
You entered Pomona seventh in points and left the event third in points. What momentum does that give you heading into Las Vegas?
“It’s early in the season and point standings are going to change a lot, but it just shows how competitive Funny Car is. Some of the heavy-hitters have been eliminated early on race day, so it changes week-to-week. I think you have to just try and do the best you can with what you have in front of you. We have a great team with great parts and pieces. The ‘boomer’ in Pomona was unexpected, so we don’t want it to make us too gun shy going into Last Vegas. The four-wides are such a different race. We have a good car that’s making it down the race track.”
You’ve won at least one event in each of the past 12 seasons, the longest active streak among professional racers. How special is that and how hungry does that make you to earn the win in Las Vegas?
“It’s funny when you think about winning races. You look at someone like Ron Capps, who won back-to-back world championships and then didn’t win a single race last year. You have to be grateful for every win light that comes on because they are so hard to come by nowadays. Everyone is pushing to the max . I think Funny Car is probably the most competitive class in the field. It’s dog eat dog with all 16 cars now. Getting a round win, let alone a race win, is huge. I would love to keep our streak going, but there’s no guarantees with what we do out here. It’s very humbling.”
Stewart is representing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation in Las Vegas. You’re passionate about a lifestyle free from addiction, so how special is their partnership with TSR?
“The Rayce Rudeen Foundation is very special to me. My brother lost his life from opioid addiction, so I watched what it did to him from start to finish. It is so aggressive and sometimes, the person feels they have no control over the situation. My brother was prescribed the medicine from a doctor and he still passed away. So, I can’t image how tough it is for families that have a loved one addicted to other drugs like heroin or any opioid that’s free-range. The foundation is near and dear to my heart, and I learned a lot of life lessons along the way. If you can talk about it and help someone to change their life, it’s so important. I was so upset with my brother for a while. I didn’t understand the opioid binds the receptor to your brain, so you don’t release dopamine anymore and don’t feel like doing anything other than taking pills. It’s a very sad thing.”
-TSR-
Contact Ashley Wilson
Tony Stewart Racing
(303) 594-8147 or [email protected]
Continue reading...
