Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers – TSR Photo
The 56th NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway is the first
event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar
in 2025
56th NHRA Gatornationals
March 7-9 | Gainesville, Florida
EVENT OVERVIEW
Friday, March 7 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
* Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 3 p.m. ET
* Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 5:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 8 (All-Star Top Fuel Callout and Nitro Qualifying,
streamed live on NHRA.TV)
* All-Star Top Fuel Callout – Round 1: 12:15 p.m. ET
* Nitro qualifying session (All Top Fuel Cars not in the Callout and
Funny Car): 12:35 p.m. ET
* All-Star Top Fuel Callout – Semifinals: 2:20 p.m. ET
* Nitro qualifying session (Top Fuel): 3 p.m. ET
* All-Star Top Fuel Callout – Finals: 3:30 p.m. ET
* Nitro qualifying session (Funny Car): 3:35 p.m. ET
Sunday, March 9 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
* Round 1: 10:30 a.m. ET
* Round 2: 12:45 p.m. ET
* Semifinals: 2:20 p.m. ET
* Finals: 3:45 p.m. ET
TV coverage on FS1
* Saturday, March 8: Qualifying Show 1 (8 p.m. ET)
* Saturday, March 8: All-Star Top Fuel Callout (9 p.m. ET)
* Sunday, March 9: Qualifying Show 2 (12:30 p.m. ET)
* Sunday, March 9: Finals show (7 p.m. ET)
NOTES OF INTEREST
* The 56th NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway is the
first event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race
calendar in 2025. Tony Stewart Racing [1] (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 – to the
north-central Florida track eyeing continued progress in its fourth
season. Hagan finished fourth in the 2024 Funny Car championship
standings, earning three wins. Tony Stewart finished ninth in the Top
Fuel championship standings in his NHRA rookie season. He advanced to
two final rounds and earned the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year title.
* Tony Stewart Racing is celebrating 25 years of full-time competition
in 2025. In November 2000, Stewart formed TSR, and since its inaugural
season in 2001, TSR has earned 28 owner championships – 14 in USAC,
nine in the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series, four in the
All-Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets Series and one in the NHRA.
Stewart announced the nitro operation in 2021, with 2022 marking the
team’s first season in competition.
* Direct Connection [2] is the primary partner of Stewart and Hagan
this weekend in Gainesville. 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 Gatornationals will mark Stewart’s 21st career Top Fuel start,
and his second Top Fuel start at Gainesville. For Hagan, the
Gatornationals will be his 353rd career Funny Car start and his 17th at
Gainesville.
* Stewart is seeking his first win and No. 1 qualifier at the
Gatornationals. In 2024, he ran a 4.453 ET at 267.80 mph in Round 1 of
eliminations, where he lost to Justin Ashley’s 4.414 ET, 297.94 mph
run. Despite losing in Round 1, Stewart’s reaction time (RT) of
.021-seconds bested Ashley’s .031 RT.
* Hagan starts the 2025 season with the longest active winning streak
in the NHRA in any pro category. He’s won at least one event in each
of the last 12 seasons. The next longest streak belongs to Steve
Torrence, who’s won 10 straight years in Top Fuel.
* Hagan has two wins at Gainesville, which came in 2022 and 2023. In
2022, his 3.910 ET at 330.96 mph defeated Blake Alexander’s 9.561 ET
run. In 2023, Hagan ran a 3.926 ET at 329.34 to defeat J.R. Todd’s
4.141 ET, 239.95 mph run. Hagan has three No. 1 qualifiers at
Gainesville, which came in 2010 (4.068 ET at 307.51 mph), 2011 (4.030 ET
at 309.84 mph) and 2020 (3.975 ET at 321.35 mph).
* Hagan and Stewart participated in a pre-season event, the PRO
Superstar Shootout in Bradenton, Florida. The invitation-only race
featured standout drivers from the Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock
categories. It also featured three Sportsman racing classes – Top
Sportsman, Stock and Super Stock). It was held in collaboration with the
Professional Racers Organization (PRO), Bradenton Motorsports Park and
FloRacing. It also offered a great opportunity for teams to participate
in multiple test sessions.
* Fans can join Pruett and Stewart at Gatornationals Fan Fest on
Wednesday, March 5. The event will take place at Burnyzz Speed Shop in
Ocala, Florida. Drivers will participate in an autograph session from
7:00-8:30 p.m. ET.
* Hagan, Pruett and Stewart will participate in a Dodge autograph
session on Friday from 1:45-2:15 p.m. ET. Pruett will participate in a
second signing on Saturday from 11:00-11:30 a.m. ET. Both sessions will
take place in the pits at the Dodge display.
* Hagan and Stewart will participate in autograph signings at the Tony
Stewart Store merchandise trailer. Stewart will be signing on Friday
from 4:15-4:45 p.m. ET. Hagan will be signing on Saturday from 1:45-2:15
p.m. ET.
* Hagan, Pruett and Stewart will be participating in a press conference
on Friday from 11:15-11:45 a.m. ET in the media center.
* Fans can join Hall of Fame drag racer Darrell Gwynn for the
Gatornationals track walk to benefit the Darrell Gwynn Chapter of the
Buoniconti Fund. In 1990, Gwynn had a racing accident that caused
paralysis. Following his accident, he established the Darrell Gwynn
Foundation, which provides support for people with paralysis and works
to prevent spinal cord injuries through their Wheelchair Donation
Program and Education & Prevention Program. The track walk takes place
on Sunday at 9:15 a.m. ET and costs $20 per person to participate.
* The Gatornationals will set the field for the first Mission
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of 2025. The semifinalists from Gainesville
will rematch during qualifying on Saturday at the next event in Phoenix,
with bonus money and points on the line.
TONY STEWART, DRIVER OF THE TSR DODGE//SRT DIRECT CONNECTION TOP FUEL
DRAGSTER
2024 marked your rookie season in the Top Fuel dragster, where you
finished ninth in the championship standings and earned the 2024 NHRA
Rookie of the Year title. With one year under your belt, what excitement
does that give you heading into 2025?
“It definitely takes some of the stress of being a rookie driver out
of the equation. Last year, I had to learn a Top Fuel car and go up
against the best in the class. The competition is tough, so having a
year under my belt lets me go into Gainesville a little more relaxed
than my rookie season.”
With the opportunity to test at Bradenton and Gainesville during the
off-season, explain how important it’s been getting that track time.
“Right now, with the performance of our car, we need all the testing
and track time that we can get. I’m not really sure what the cause of
the car’s lack of performance is, but we are just going to have to
keep working until we find it. Last year was definitely frustrating and
Bradenton was frustrating as well. I’m just hoping that we get the
needle moving in the right direction and I’ll get this car going down
the racetrack again.”
MATT HAGAN, DRIVER OF THE TSR DIRECT CONNECTION DODGE//SRT HELLCAT FUNNY
CAR
You’re entering 2025 with a new crew chief duo in Mike Knudsen and
Phil Shuler. Tell us more about that and getting into your routine as
the season gets started.
“Having a new crew chief is kind of exciting. I had almost 15 years
with Dickie Venables. We ran a lot of races together and made a lot of
memories. We won a few championships and accomplished a lot of great
things. I’ve also spent 15 years with Knud (Mike Knudsen) and watched
him move his way up from the bottom. I would love nothing more than to
win a championship with him. Things are looking bright for the future.
Hopefully I’ll still be racing for a while and have an opportunity to
set that in stone. I told him the other day that we have a chance to
start a legacy with what he’s doing and build on what I’ve
accomplished so far in the sport. I’m excited to dig deep and work
hard because I don’t want to let my guys down. We had a great
pre-season test that was a week long. A lot of things could have gone
wrong, but they didn’t. We rolled out of Bradenton, Florida with
smiles on our faces and a lot of data to work off of. We have to get a
routine down for the season because we have four guys in new positions.
We have one new guy on the car, but the rest of the group is the same
guys that have taken over new roles. We’ll have one more test session
before Gainesville, which will help. I’m hungry for succuss. I’ve
been up on the wheel. My lights are great and the car is running great.
Mike, Phil Shuler (co-crew chief) and Alex Conaway (car chief) are all
the real deal. I’m excited to get to Gainesville.”
2025 marks your 18th year with Dodge. How special has that partnership
been over the years?
“18 years is incredible. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go in
this sport, so it’s unreal I have been out here so long and had so
much sustainability with such a great sponsor. I’m excited for what
the future holds with Dodge. It’s great to have someone like Dodge out
here supporting what we do. They have been so loyal to me and we are
very loyal to them. My family has been a Dodge dealer for 50 years, so
it makes a nice circle. We can race on Sunday and sell on Monday. I’m
proud to have them as a sponsor and I hope to give them more
championships in the future.”
-TSR-