Drag RacingNHRA Team News

Hagan Finishes Second in Final Funny Car Standings, Stewart Fifth in Top Fuel after NHRA World Finals Weather Cancellation

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Matt Hagan
  • Mother Nature decided the NHRA In-N-Out World Finals Sunday when NHRA officials made the decision to cancel the 20th and final race of the 2025 NHRA Mission Series
  • A record rainfall in the Southern California area from Friday to Sunday kept pro racecars from taking to the racing surface and more storms were predicted for the next three days
  • After exhaustive efforts by the NHRA Safety Safari and following close consultation with safety officials, NHRA made the final decision to cancel the race weekend in Pomona
  • Four-time world champion Matt Hagan, coming off his 55th career NHRA Funny Car victory in Las Vegas, entered the finale with an outside chance for a fifth world title
  • With no on-track action, Hagan finished 101 points behind the 2025 Funny Car champion Austin Prock for another runner-up finish during his great drag racing career
  • Driving his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat, the Virginia driver scored three wins this year with victories at Seattle, St. Louis and Las Vegas with a new crew chief
  • Hagan’s TSR Dodge//SRT teammate, motorsport legend Tony Stewart, captured two 2025 Top Fuel NHRA national events at Las Vegas and Chicago and the regular season title
  • Stewart, who’ll turn the TSR Dodge//SRT dragster back over to his wife, Leah Pruett, in 2026, ended the national tour fifth in points in his second Top Fuel season
  • Stewart, a former champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC competition, will continue to compete in the Top Fuel class in 2026 with Elite Motorsports starting at the Gatornationals
  • Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage.com

By: Stellantis (Photo Courtesy Stellantis)

November 17, 2025, Auburn Hills, Mich. – Mother Nature won the final race of the 2025 NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series Sunday when constant rainstorms caused the cancellation of the In-N-Out NHRA World Finals at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. Dodge//SRT racer Matt Hagan finished second in the final Funny Car points standings and Tony Stewart took fifth in Top Fuel points.

A record rainfall in the Southern California area from Friday to Sunday restricted the professional classes from turning a wheel at the Pomona racing surface and more storms were predicted for the next three days. After exhaustive efforts by the NHRA Safety Safari and following close consultation with safety officials, NHRA made the final decision to cancel the race weekend in Pomona, Calif.

With the final event canceled, the NHRA world champions were determined from the penultimate race two weeks ago in Las Vegas at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals with Doug Kalitta securing the Top Fuel title and Austin Prock taking the Funny Car crown.

Hagan, who won his 55th career NHRA national event at Las Vegas, entered the NHRA World Finals with his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat as he had an outside chance to capture his fifth world championship, trailing Prock by 101 points. Unfortunately, Hagan never got the opportunity to start his 12,000-horsepower, nitro-burning Funny Car this weekend, let alone hit the racetrack due to the weather.

Despite the runner-up finish in the final 2025 Funny Car points, Hagan, a seven-time NHRA race winner on the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds racing surface, introduced a new crew chief (Mike Knudsen) and co-crew chief (Phil Shuler) to his TSR team and scored three NHRA wins at Seattle, St. Louis and Las Vegas. Hagan’s runner-up finish in the 2025 NHRA Mission points marked the fourth time the Virginia driver has placed second (2010, 2013, 2021) to go with his four world titles (2011, 2014, 2020, 2023).

“As a competitor, you want to run this thing out, but I think we just wanted our shot to go for the championship,” said Hagan. “We wanted to fight for the championship that we have been working towards all year long. The end result was they (Austin Prock) were three rounds ahead of us. The NHRA came to our team owner, our marketing partners, and the crew and asked what we wanted to do today. The decision was made across the board that this was the proper decision with the weather. It was best for safety with the sand trap full of water and it definitely stings.

“Mother Nature didn’t give us that chance this weekend to go for another title. It just wasn’t meant to be. But overall, for our new crew chief (Knudsen) to have to call all of the shots and at all of the races and his note pad was all new at all of the racetracks. Mike had to make those ‘gut’ decisions and to win three races and finish second in the championship was a great season. I’m super proud of all of my crew guys as they are wrenching on the car and the car was solid all year. The whole crew is coming back for 2026. I know what we just did as a first-year team and I’m very excited for the future.”  

Hagan’s TSR Dodge//SRT teammate, Tony Stewart, the motorsports Hall of Famer, drove the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster in his second Top Fuel season after replacing his wife, Leah Pruett, in 2024 and 2025, and captured two 2025 Top Fuel NHRA national events (Las Vegas and Chicago), as well as the coveted regular season points championship.

Stewart, who’ll turn the TSR Dodge//SRT dragster back over to Pruett in 2026, ended the national tour fifth in points. Stewart, a past champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC competition, will continue to compete in the Top Fuel class in 2026 with Elite Motorsports starting at the NHRA Gatornationals on March 6-8, 2026, the season opener for NHRA’s 75th Anniversary.

“There is one thing that is undefeated in this world and that’s Mother Nature,” Stewart said. “It’s unfortunate but it is the right decision. I don’t think you are going to hear anyone in the pit area get upset about this call. This is one that is out of our control, and, as racers, we always want to be in control of everything. Hey, at least Dominic (his son) had a great 1st birthday party. Every time that I want to be disappointed in how the Countdown (final six races) went, I have to remind myself of what the goal was this year. It was literally to see the needle move in the right direction with the team. At the end, we were a contender to win races, and we let a couple slip through the cracks. But we won two races and the regular season championship.

“You looked back on the season, and it could have been a little better. But you look at Matt’s (Hagan) side with the Funny Car, and to have a whole new crew chief combination with Mike (Knudsen) and Phil (Shuler). And to see those guys perform well and be in a position to win a championship. It was a long shot, but they were right there. That is literally all you can ask for. I think everyone is excited to have Leah back in the TSR Dodge//SRT Top Fuel car and I’m excited to get the opportunity to race against her next year. We are excited for the 2026 season.”