TONY STEWART and MATT HAGAN – TONY STEWART RACING PHOTO
Motorsports Legend Tony Stewart Seeks Third Top Fuel Win This Weekend at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Nitro TSR Dodge//SRT Dragster
TSR Teammate Matt Hagan Comes to his Home Track in NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals With 12,000-horsepower Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
* Racing legend Tony Stewart comes to this weekend’s (June 6-8) NHRA
Thunder Valley Nationals on a roll with two Top Fuel wins in the last
four NHRA national drag races
* Leading the NHRA Top Fuel points, Stewart brings the nitro-burning
Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT dragster seeking his third 2025
NHRA Top Fuel victory
* Stewart, a series champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC, added to his
great record by winning at the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and
Chicago’s Route 66 Nationals
* The Indiana racer has recorded five consecutive NHRA Top Fuel final
round appearances to vault him to the lead in the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel
standings after seven events
* Stewart’s TSR teammate, four-time NHRA World Funny Car champion Matt
Hagan, comes to his home track at Thunder Valley Dragway in his TSR
Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
* Hagan, the 42-year-old racer from Christiansburg, Va., looks to win
another NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals title this weekend as he ranks
fourth NHRA points standings
* Hagan seeks his first 2025 NHRA victory as he tries to add to his 52
career NHRA Funny Car wins in front of his family and friends at the
tricky racing surface in Bristol, Tenn.
* Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage.com
June 4, 2025, BRISTOL, TN – Racing legend Tony Stewart has continued to
make motorsports history after his second 2025 NHRA Mission Drag Racing
Series victory last month at the Gerber Collision NHRA Route 66
Nationals at the wheel of the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge/SRT Top
Fuel dragster and seeks a third Top Fuel win this weekend (June 6-8) at
the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
Driving the TSR Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Top Fueler this
weekend, Stewart has advanced to five consecutive final appearances and
recorded his first Top Fuel win last month at Las Vegas and then took
win No. 2 at Joliet, Ill., with a stellar performance in the final round
over Justin Ashley.
With the Las Vegas victory, Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer, became
the first driver to win pro events in four different professional racing
disciplines (NASCAR, IndyCar, USAC and NHRA), and not has to be listed
as one of the most versatile and winning drivers in auto racing history.
Stewart’s crew, led by Neal Strausbaugh and Mike Domagala, gave “Smoke”
a strong car last weekend at Epping, NH, with the nitro-burning dragster
recording the second quickest time in qualifying and take his Dodge//SRT
machine to the final round. In that final, Stewart left the starting
line over rival Brittany Force and lost by inches at the finish line.
“I’m excited with where we’re at,” said Stewart, a former NASCAR race
winner at the Bristol Speedway half mile oval. “We felt the summer in
hot conditions would be our strong suit with where our program is at.
But, after last weekend and having cooler weather in New Hampshire, it
is encouraging that we were No. 2 qualifier, and had respectable runs
all day on Sunday. I feel like we’re in a better spot than what I’ve
been giving us credit for. Like I told the guys in Chicago, it’s one
thing to get to the top, but it’s another thing to stay there.
“We have to keep our nose to the ground and keep working hard. It’s hard
after a year like we had last year because the guys were catching their
breath a little bit. It’s easy to get complacent, so we’re keeping the
pressure on the guys, and they understand why because they want success
also. We can’t ease up and have to keep our foot on the throttle. I’m
really proud of them. It’s fun showing up at the racetrack knowing we
have a good race car. We have great guys working on it and I feel like
I’m progressing a little bit as a driver with my lights. We’re all
working hard to make ourselves better and we’re all supporting each
other. It’s the ‘One Team, All Team’ philosophy, so we’re just going to
keep pushing forward.”
Stewart’s TSR Dodge//SRT teammate, four-time NHRA Funny Car World
Champion Matt Hagan, comes to one of his favorite tracks and his home
track, Thunder Valley Dragway, in search of his first 2025 NHRA national
event win with his TSR Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat
machine. The Virginia driver is a past winner at the NHRA Thunder Valley
Nationals and hopes to add to 52 career NHRA Funny Car victories.
Hagan currently ranks fourth in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points
heading to Bristol this weekend.
“Bristol is home with it being two hours down the road, so hopefully
we’ll see a lot of people wearing Matt Hagan shirts,” said Hagan. “I
think the last couple years, I’ve outsold Tony (Stewart) on shirts, so
that’s kind of cool. I’ve only won there once, and it was on Father’s
Day, so that was really special to me. We need to pull down a few wins,
so I think it’d be a great time to start this weekend.
“We have new crew chiefs (Mike Knudsen and Phil Shuler) and a great
group of guys. We almost have to take this year as ‘learning mode.’ Any
time we roll up to the starting line, it’s the first time Mike Knudsen
is making the call at that track. He’s doing a great job, and I am
extremely proud of him and also Phil Shuler. They’re making great calls.
I don’t think you could take a group like that with the new roles they
have and ask for any better results than what we’ve had. The car is
running really well, and we just have to catch a break. Sometimes, the
chips have to fall your way, and they will, hopefully this weekend at
Bristol.”
The TSR Dodge//SRT drivers will be in action at the NHRA Thunder Valley
Nationals with nitro qualifying set for Friday, June 6, at 6 p.m. and
8:30 p.m. EDT. On Saturday, June 7, nitro qualifying rounds begin at
12:35 p.m. and 3:05 p.m. EDT, with final eliminations beginning at 12
p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 8.
The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals final eliminations telecast on the Fox
Sports Network will begin on Sunday, June 8, at 3 p.m. EDT.