Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
NHRA Arizona Nationals
March 21-23 | Chandler, Arizona
Event Overview
Friday, March 21 (Nitro Qualifying & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
- Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 2:30 p.m. MST/5:30 p.m. EDT
- Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 5 p.m. MST/8 p.m. EDT
Saturday, March 22 (Nitro Qualifying & Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
- Nitro qualifying session (Q3) / Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Semifinals: 11:30 a.m. MST/2:30 p.m. EDT
- Nitro qualifying session (Q4) / Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge – Finals: 2:15 p.m. MST/5:15 p.m. EDT
Sunday, March 23 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
- Round 1: 11 a.m. MST/2 p.m. EDT
- Round 2: 1 p.m. MST/4 p.m. EDT
- Semi-Finals: 2:30 p.m. MST/5:30 p.m. EDT
- Finals: 3:55 p.m. MST/6:55 p.m. EDT
TV coverage on FS1
- Friday, March 21: Qualifying show, recapping all of Friday’s action (5 p.m. MST/8 p.m. EDT)
- Sunday, March 23: Qualifying show, recapping all of Saturday’s action (9 a.m. MST/12 p.m. EDT)
- Sunday, March 23: Finals show (3:30 p.m. MST/6:30 p.m. EDT)
Notes of Interest
- The NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park is the second 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. Firebird Motorsports Park is located roughly 20 miles southeast of Phoenix.
- Coming into Phoenix, Stewart is seventh in the Top Fuel standings, 69 points behind leader Antron Brown. Hagan is currently fourth in the Funny Car standings, 39 points behind leader Chad Green.
- Stewart and Hagan enter Phoenix representing Direct Connection and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage respectively.
- Direct Connection is the primary partner of Stewart this weekend in Phoenix. 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.
- Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG) is the primary partner of Hagan this weekend in Phoenix. JHG was formed in 2021 and brings a passion and flare to the automotive world. They aim to inspire, drive and celebrate progress. JHG spans across Jason Johnson’s car collection featuring more than 200 sought after vehicles from classics, to hot rods and supercars. Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage’s mission is to preserve and showcase the automotive industry. The vehicles are driven to and displayed at events by Johnson and his team with the goal of growing interest and keeping car culture thriving. Johnson’s history in the industry began with Mather Auto Dismantler, Mather Mini Trucks and U-Pull It in Northern California. He later held an instrumental role in the growth and success of Copart, Inc., a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. JHG also serves as a primary sponsor of Elite Motorsports in the NHRA Pro Stock series.
- The Arizona Nationals will mark Stewart’s 22nd career Top Fuel start and his second at Phoenix. He is seeking his first No. 1 qualifier and victory at the event. In 2024, Stewart earned the No. 15 qualifying position and advanced to the Semifinals on Sunday, where his 3.885 ET at 316.45 mph lost to Justin Ashley’s 3.844 ET at 323.74 mph. Stewart earned the second of his 49 NASCAR victories in the Checker Auto Parts 500 on Nov. 7, 1999 at Phoenix Raceway.
- The Arizona Nationals will mark Hagan’s 354th career Funny Car start and his 16th at Phoenix. He’s recorded three career wins at Phoenix in 2015, 2017 and 2019. In 2015, he defeated Del Worsham with a 3.975 ET at 324.83 mph (compared to Worsham’s 4.010 ET, 318.17 mph run). In 2017, Hagan’s 3.873 ET at 330.88 mph defeated Ron Capps (3.883 ET at 330.88 mph). In 2019, Hagan defeated J.R. Todd with a 3.890 ET at 325.06 mph run (Todd’s car broke on burnout, so he didn’t record a time). He has competed in the final round at Phoenix five times in his last 11 starts (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022). Hagan has three No. 1 qualifiers at Phoenix, which came in 2015 (3.978 ET at 320.28 mph), 2020 (3.859 ET at 331.61 mph) and 2022 (3.823 ET at 333.41 mph).
- Hagan is the track record holder for time at Phoenix at 3.823-seconds, a mark he established February 26, 2022 while qualifying No. 1.
- By advancing to the Semifinals at the Gatornationals, Hagan 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 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 Chad Green in Round 1. There is a bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship on the line.
- Stewart will also be participating in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday. Steve Torrence would have faced a matchup against Antron Brown. However, Torrence will not be racing in Phoenix, which means Stewart gets to participate in the opening round of the Challenge.
- Hagan and Stewart will participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty autograph session on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. MT. The session will take place at the Mission Foods Display.
- Hagan, Pruett and Stewart will participate in a Dodge autograph session on Friday from 1:15-1:45 p.m. MT. Pruett will participate in a second session on Saturday from 10:15-10:45 a.m. MT. Both sessions will take place in the pits at the Dodge display.
Tony Stewart, Driver of the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster
Your Dodge Direct Connection crew made four strong passes down the track in Gainesville after a difficult test session in Bradenton. What confidence does that give you heading into back-to-back races out West, knowing you can continue to build on your momentum?
“It definitely gives us a lot of confidence once we left the PRO (Professional Racers Organization) event at Bradenton. I think we were all shaking our heads and were very frustrated. I’m very proud of Neal Strausbaugh (crew chief), Mike Domagala (co-crew chief), Ryan McGilvry (car chief) and the entire Dodge Direct Connection team for going back to Indianapolis to get ready to go down to Gainesville and change our package around. We were able to make four out of six successful test runs, and the car went down all four runs during the Gatornationals, even though we had a mechanical problem in the night qualifying session that cost us a better qualifying position. It definitely gives us confidence going to Phoenix and Pomona and then to Vegas to feel like we have something that we can work with and something that gives us a little bit of a wider window than what we’ve had last year and at Bradenton. I’m excited about going to Phoenix.”
With Steve Torrence not attending the NHRA Arizona Nationals, that slots you into the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday against Antron Brown. How valuable will the bonus purse and bonus points be towards the Countdown to the Championship?
“Any opportunity we have at this point to gain points is valuable for us. It’s kind of tough because it’s a qualifying round at the same time, but if our car starts out as consistent on Friday as it was at Gainesville, that gives us the opportunity on Saturday to potentially gain some big points. The extra purse helps out the crew guys and everyone on the team, so it’d be an honor to win. When you can get to the semifinals in a weekend and get yourself into the next Mission #2Fast2Tasy Challenge at the following event, it’s a great thing. We didn’t quite get to that in Gainesville, but with Steve (Torrence) not at Phoenix, it allows us the opportunity to be in it. It’s just up to us at this point to try to take advantage of that opportunity and then do the best we can with it.”
TSR announced a multi-year partnership extension with Dodge at the Gatornationals. TSR’s sprint car program had an affiliation with Mopar 25 years ago when the team started. How special is it to see that relationship come full-circle?
“It’s a big deal for TSR to be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. It started with Mopar back in the day and we helped J.J. Yeley win a lot of championships. Mopar was a huge part of our program when we started for Dan Lasoski in the World of Outlaws program and J.J. Yeley with the USAC program. It was a big deal for us to have Dodge support and without them, we would not have won our first championship. It’s great to see it come full circle now and hopefully we have a lot of years to come.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
You advanced to the Semifinals at the Gatornationals, which marked your first event with new crew chiefs Mike Knudsen and Phil Shuler. What confidence does that give you heading into back-to-back races out West?
“Going rounds in Gainesville always helps to boost confidence. It shows the guys that Mike (Knudsen – crew chief), Phil (Shuler – co-crew chief) and Alex (Conaway – car chief) are capable of doing what we need to do. We had an injured crew guy, so the rest of the team really stepped up and showed how skilled they are. They’re all experienced and it says a lot about our team, that we can move them into new positions and not miss a beat. Mike is showing that he can throw down when he needs to. I’m very excited to see what we can all accomplish together. We’ll get after it in Phoenix and I’m looking forward to it.”
By advancing to the Semifinals at the Gatornationals, you qualified to participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where you’ll face off against Chad Green. How valuable will the bonus purse and bonus points be towards the Countdown to the Championship?
“Chad Green did great in Gainesville. You have to be on your toes with those guys because they have the team and parts and pieces to throw down. They won the event, so they’ll come to Phoenix on a strong note. Every point counts, especially with qualifying. We saw that last year with (Austin) Prock getting 15 No. 1 qualifiers. I think we need to really focus on the Friday night runs and make them count. Going down during the day on Friday will give us a good baseline and then we can swing for the fences that night. The Mission #2Fast2Tasty points also really add up towards the Countdown. I’ve seen championships being won by two points before, so the little points are so important.”
-TSR-
