TONY STEWART AT THE AMERICAN REBEL LIGHT NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS AT CHARLOTTE, NC – NHRA PHOTO
Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66
Nationals presented by PEAK
May 15-18 | Joliet, Illinois
EVENT OVERVIEW
Friday, May 16 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
* Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 2 p.m. CDT/3 p.m. EDT
* Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 4:30 p.m. CDT/5:30 p.m. EDT
Saturday, May 17 (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. CDT/1 p.m. EDT
* Funny Car qualifying session (Q3) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car
Challenge – Round 1: 12:40 p.m. CDT/1:40 p.m. EDT
* Top Fuel qualifying session (Q4) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel
Challenge – Finals: 2:30 p.m. CDT/3:30 p.m. EDT
* Funny Car qualifying session (Q4) & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car
Challenge – Finals: 3:10 p.m. CDT/4:10 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 18 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
* Round 1: 10:30 a.m. CDT/11:30 a.m. EDT
* Round 2: 12:30 p.m. CDT/1:30 p.m. EDT
* Semi-Finals: 2:10 p.m. CDT/3:10 p.m. EDT
* Finals: 3:30 p.m. CDT/4:30 p.m. EDT
TV coverage on FS1
* Friday, May 16: Qualifying show (9:30 p.m. EDT)
* Sunday, May 18: Qualifying show, recapping all of Saturday’s
action (11 a.m. EDT)
* Sunday, May 18: Finals show (2 p.m. EDT)
NOTES OF INTEREST
* The Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by
PEAK near Chicago, Illinois, is the sixth 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. Hagan and Stewart both advanced to the
Finals in the prior event at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina.
* The NHRA is celebrating 25 years at Route 66 Raceway at the upcoming
Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
* Coming into Chicago, Stewart is second in the Top Fuel standings, 60
points behind leader Shawn Langdon. Hagan is currently third in the
Funny Car standings, 70 points behind leader Austin Prock.
* Hagan enters Chicago representing Dodge Direct Connection on his
Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car. Stewart, meanwhile, sports red, white and
black colors of Rinnai on his Top Fuel Dragster.
* Direct Connection [2] is the primary partner of Hagan this weekend in
Chicago. 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.
* Rinnai America Corporation [3], a subsidiary of Rinnai Corporation in
Nagoya, Japan, was established in 1974 and is headquartered in Peachtree
City, Ga. Rinnai Corporation manufactures gas appliances including
tankless water heaters, a wide range of kitchen appliances and heating
and air conditioning units. As the technology leader in its industry,
Rinnai is the largest gas appliance manufacturer in Japan and is the
number-one selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in the United
States and Canada. With a global perspective to create 21st-century
products for the home and business, Rinnai Corporation commits itself to
safety and Creating A Healthier Way of Living©.
* The Route 66 NHRA Nationals will mark Stewart’s 26th career Top
Fuel start and his second at Chicago. For Hagan, the Route 66 NHRA
Nationals will be his 358th career Funny Car start and his 14th at
Chicago.
* Stewart is eyeing his first victory at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals
and his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. In 2024, Stewart secured the
No. 16 qualifying position and ran a 3.993 ET at 276.69 mph in Round 1,
which lost to TJ Zizzo’s 3.805 ET at 329.42 mph. Stewart is currently
the only driver that will be attempting the trifecta at Chicago – the
oval track, dirt track and dragstrip.
* Hagan is the defending event winner at Chicago and has recorded four
career wins at the event (2010, 2013, 2014, and 2024). In 2010, he
defeated Robert Hight with a 4.035 ET at 312.78 mph (compared to
Hight’s 4.069 ET, 311.92 mph run). In 2013, Hagan’s 4.065 ET at
315.34 mph defeated John Force (4.113 ET at 304.80 mph). In 2014, Hagan
defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. with a 4.098 ET at 310.48 mph run (compared
to Johnson Jr.’s 4.147 ET at 308.50 mph). In 2024, Hagan ran a 3.998
ET at 323.27 mph to defeated John Force’s 4.096 ET at 311.05 mph.
Hagan has two No. 1 qualifiers at Chicago, which came in 2016 (3.882 ET
at 331.12 mph) and 2018 (3.917 ET at 326.79 mph).
* By finishing in the Semifinals at the American Rebel Light NHRA
Four-Wide Nationals, Hagan qualified to participate in the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA 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 semifinalists 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
earned a rematch against Alexis DeJoria in Round 1 and Stewart will race
Antron Brown. 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 9:00 a.m. CDT. The session will take
place at the Mission Foods Display.
* Hagan and Stewart will both be signing autographs at the TSR
merchandise trailer on Friday. Hagan will be signing from 12:45-1:05
p.m. CDT. Stewart will be signing between Q1 and Q2 at roughly 3:45 p.m.
CDT.
* The Mopar CAP (Career Automotive Program) will be partnering with TSR
on Friday for the first of eight 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.
* Hagan and Stewart will run special decals at Chicago in support of
Military Appreciation Month, which is celebrated every May. TSR salutes
all those who serve and have served, and honors the sacrifices made by
service members and their families. Three of TSR’s crew members are
veterans – Thomas Brown, Kurt Johnson and Chris Shuron. Brown, who is
the clutch assistant and oversees tires on Hagan’s Funny Car, was a
sergeant and squad leader in the Army. Johnson, TSR’s track
specialist, spent six years as a United States Marine Aircraft Fire
Fighter during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Shuron, an
engine builder on Stewart’s Top Fuel dragster, served in the Marines
where he was a lance corporal.
* DYK? Stewart is the all-time winningest NASCAR Cup Series driver at
Chicagoland Speedway, which is just three miles from Route 66 Raceway.
In 15 starts at Chicago, he earned three career wins (2004, 2007, 2011).
In 2011, it marked the 40th win of Stewart’s NASCAR Cup Series career.
That same year, he went on to win the following weekend in New
Hampshire, which made him just the second driver in the eight-year
history of the playoffs to open the playoffs with consecutive wins.
TONY STEWART, DRIVER OF THE RINNAI DODGE//SRT TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
You’re currently the only driver that will be attempting the trifecta
at Chicago – the oval track, dirt track and dragstrip. You’re also
the all-time winningest NASCAR Cup Series Driver at Chicagoland
Speedway. After becoming the only driver to recently win in all forms of
motorsports at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway property, how special is it
having the opportunity to continue to break records in the racing
industry?
“Honestly, you don’t think about the records. You just concentrate
on the race you’re trying to win that weekend. I think once you
accomplish milestones like that, then you think about it and reflect on
it, but you’re not thinking about it in the process. You’re just
going out and doing your job trying to win races each week.”
You joined the NHRA for a media day in Chicago a couple weeks ago to
kick-off the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Chicago is home to eight major
league sports teams. For someone in the city that’s never experienced
the NHRA, what will they find when they come to Route 66 Raceway?
“I don’t think there’s anything you can do in town with any of the
other professional sports teams like the NHRA and no disrespect to them.
They’re all amazing, but going to a drag race and seeing two
11,000-plus horsepower cars racing side-by-side is a feeling you can’t
get in in a baseball stadium, hockey arena, basketball court, or
football stadium. It just doesn’t happen there, so that’s what makes
drag racing so unique. You can watch it on TV as much as you want, but
until you go and really experience it firsthand, you don’t truly know
what you’re missing.”
MATT HAGAN, DRIVER OF THE TSR DIRECT CONNECTION DODGE//SRT HELLCAT FUNNY CAR
You’ve earned four career wins at Route 66 Raceway and you’re
looking to earn back-to-back wins at the track. How special would that
be as you continue to gain momentum with new crew chiefs Mike Knudsen
and Phil Shuler?
“Route 66 Raceway has been very kind to me throughout my career and
I’ve had a lot of success there. That track can get fast when the
weather is just right. The rain can move in and cool things off. You
never know what you’re going to get. It’s a big arena and big
atmosphere. Hopefully we can get a lot of fans to come out and fill it
up. Hopefully we can have a good weekend for Dodge and get them back in
the winner’s circle. Chicago is a track that we have a lot of data at,
so we want to be aggressive and lay it down. There will be a handful of
cars charging up front, but we need to be there too. We’ve been
qualifying mid-pack lately, which is fine. We have a new crew chief
going through a learning curve. That’s the biggest thing I have to
remember. It’s the first call Mike (Knudsen) has made on that track
we’re going to. I’m impressed with how well he’s done so far.
We’re sitting third in points, so it says a lot about him and that he
can step up to the plate and do well.”
With Dodge’s home base being just four hours from Chicago in Detroit,
Michigan, how special will it be running their Direct Connection colors
on your Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car?
“It would be great to see some of the Michigan folks come out to the
drag strip. There are a lot of people in the office behind-the-scenes
that rally behind what we do. I’ve gotten to visit their corporate
headquarters in the past, so I know there’s a lot of support there.
I’m excited to see some of them come out and it would be awesome to
pull down a win for them. I’d love to see Mark Whitney back at the
track and hopefully we can turn on some win lights.”
-TSR-