Built for the Fight: Hagan and Stewart Power TSR into NHRA Elite

When Tony Stewart climbed from the cockpit of his Direct Connection Dodge Top Fuel dragster at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Labor Day, he had just claimed something that would have seemed improbable just two seasons earlier: the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel Regular Season Championship. For a driver who got his first Top Fuel win just months earlier, this achievement was more than a personal victory, it proved Tony Stewart Racing had quickly become a championship-level team.

The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season was a breakthrough year for TSR. Both Stewart in Top Fuel and four-time champion Matt Hagan in Funny Car proved they could compete for championships. Their parallel journeys through the 20-race season delivered moments of triumph, heartbreak measured in inches/tenths of a second and a relentless pursuit of perfection that kept both drivers in Championship contention for the majority of 2025.

Stewart’s breakthrough came at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in mid-April during the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. In an emotional victory that saw him defeat reigning world champion Antron Brown, Jasmine Salinas and Justin Ashley in the final round with a run of 3.870 seconds at 317.42 mph, he secured his first Top Fuel win. The win was particularly meaningful because Stewart’s wife, Leah Pruett, brought their son Dominic up on stage to celebrate with him, a moment Stewart said made his heart stop.

Stewart’s consistency became his strength through the regular season. He reached five straight final rounds. At the New England Nationals in Epping, Stewart came within inches of a third win, losing to Brittany Force by just 0.0074 seconds despite posting an incredible 0.049 reaction time. This ability to consistently reach the final round built the points cushion that would eventually secure the regular-season Championship.

While Stewart was finding early success, Matt Hagan’s season took a different trajectory. The four-time Funny Car champion, now working with Mike Knudsen as crew chief, showed speed and consistency but found himself on “the backside of some really good drag races” through the season’s first half. Despite multiple strong qualifying efforts and semifinal appearances, wins eluded the Funny Car side of Tony Stewart Racing.

The breakthrough finally came in late July at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle. Hagan’s American Rebel Beer Dodge Charger SRT^® Hellcat delivered when it mattered most, running 3.904 seconds at 331.94 mph to defeat Ron Capps in the final round. The victory was emotional for both Hagan and his team, representing a shift from being on the wrong end of a “really good” race to closing the deal.

“I want to say thank you to Tony Stewart for believing in Mike and understanding that there was going to be a little bit of growing to deal with bringing a new guy in,” Hagan said in victory lane. “I just was really pushing for that, and he believed in it, and here we are.”

The 71st Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis became the pivot point for both drivers’ Championship aspirations. Stewart entered race day trailing points leader Shawn Langdon by 45 points but sitting third in the standings. When Langdon fell in Round 1 and second-place Doug Kalitta exited in Round 2, Stewart’s Round 2 victory over Kyle Wurtzel clinched the Regular Season Championship and the $150,000 bonus that came with it.

Stewart’s final round appearance – though he lost to Justin Ashley – extended his remarkable consistency. The Regular Season Championship carried historical significance: in five of the previous eight years, the Top Fuel regular season champion had gone on to win the overall title. Stewart had positioned himself perfectly for the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

Hagan also had reason for optimism in Indianapolis, earning the 2025 overall #2Fast2Tasty Championship with 16 Mission Foods points collected throughout the season. Though he exited in Round 2, Hagan sat third in Funny Car points heading into the Countdown, trailing only Austin Prock and Jack Beckman.

The Countdown to the Championship reset the points with Stewart as the top seed in Top Fuel and Hagan entering from third position in Funny Car. What followed was a wild ride of highs and lows that would test both drivers’ ability to handle Championship pressure.

At the NHRA Midwest Nationals outside St. Louis, Hagan put together his best performance of the playoffs. He crushed the competition on his way to his second win of the season, beating Jack Beckman in the final round with a 3.979-second pass at 329.34 mph. The win was his 17th in playoff races – more than any other Funny Car driver in NHRA history – and moved him up to second place in points, just 20 points behind leader Austin Prock with three races left.

Stewart’s day at St. Louis didn’t go as planned. Despite qualifying third, he was eliminated early in the event, watching his points lead slip away. The Championship fight that had seemed within reach now required perfect performances over the final three events.

At the Texas NHRA FallNationals, Hagan’s Championship dreams remained alive as he carried momentum from St. Louis to one of his favorite venues. The Texas Motorplex had been kind to Hagan over the years, with five career wins, and he had advanced to the final round in each of the previous six years at the track.

Stewart, meanwhile, battled mechanical issues that had plagued the team since a crash at Maple Grove. “Since the Maple Grove crash, I’m not sure we had the same racecar that we had the majority of the season,” Stewart would later admit. The team worked tirelessly to rediscover the combination that had carried them to the regular season title.

The second-to-last event of the season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway became must-win territory for both TSR drivers. Hagan, now trailing Prock by significant margins, needed a win to keep his Championship hopes alive. Stewart, having fallen to fourth in Top Fuel points, needed strong performances to regain momentum.

Hagan delivered one of the most clutch performances of his storied career. Qualifying third with a 3.897 at 329.75 mph, he methodically worked through the elimination ladder, defeating Cruz Pedregon, Chad Green and Daniel Wilkerson before facing Prock in the final round. When Prock smoked the tires, Hagan grabbed the opportunity, posting the weekend’s quickest Funny Car pass with a 3.877 at 327.03 for his 55th career victory and fifth Nevada Nationals title.

Stewart showed flashes of the form that had carried him to the regular-season Championship, advancing to the semifinals before falling to Brittany Force after he spun the tires around the 330′ mark. More importantly, crew chief Neal Strausbaugh felt they had rediscovered the aggressive setup that had made them contenders early in the season.

As the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series converged on In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip for the season finale, the mathematics were straightforward but daunting. Stewart sat fifth in Top Fuel points, 243 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan stood second in Funny Car, 101 points behind Prock, needing the current champion to stumble while delivering a perfect weekend himself.

Both TSR drivers had earned spots in the Countdown to the Championship – Stewart’s second time making the playoffs and Hagan’s 13th year in a row. They had shown the speed and consistency needed to win at the top level of the sport. Stewart’s two regular-season wins and regular-season Championship, combined with Hagan’s three victories, including the crucial Las Vegas win, proved that TSR had become a championship-level team.

Heavy rain and dangerous track conditions forced NHRA officials to cancel the entire In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals weekend. With no racing possible, the 2025 championships were decided by the points standings at the end of the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals event in Las Vegas at the start of November. Doug Kalitta was crowned Top Fuel champion, and Austin Prock won his second straight Funny Car title, holding off Hagan’s late-season push. Stewart finished fifth in Top Fuel points.

Beyond the numbers and championship standings, the 2025 season proved that Tony Stewart Racing had become a powerhouse in NHRA drag racing. Matt Hagan’s decision to sign a multi-year contract extension during the season showed his confidence in the team’s future and TSR’s commitment to providing championship-level equipment.

For Stewart personally, the season proved he made the right choice to keep racing in Top Fuel. His Regular Season Championship, two wins, a career-best E.T. of 3.679 seconds and a career-best speed of 335.15 mph at St. Louis showed that he remained one of the most versatile and talented drivers in American motorsports history.

Hagan’s 13-year streak of winning at least three races per season continued with his three 2025 victories. He’s the only NHRA driver in any professional category to accomplish this feat. His success working with first-year crew chief Knudsen showed the veteran champion could lift up those around him while still performing at an elite level.

The 2025 season added another chapter to Tony Stewart’s incredible multi-series racing career, while Matt Hagan continued building his legacy as one of Funny Car’s all-time greats. Together, they moved Tony Stewart Racing into the ranks of NHRA’s top teams, setting up the program for more championship runs in the years ahead.