TSR Nitro Descends on Reading

The rolling hills of Pennsylvania have witnessed many championship moments over four decades of NHRA racing at Maple Grove. For Tony Stewart Racing, the 40th annual NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish delivered an instant reminder that racing with Nitro is not easy, as the Countdown to the Championship officially began.

Tony Stewart arrived at Reading carrying the momentum of capturing the 2025 NHRA Regular Season Championship just two weeks earlier at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Stewart entered eliminations third in the Top Fuel point standings behind Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta. Stewart became the Regular Season Champion following his Round 2 win over Kyle Wurtzel, due to points leader Shawn Langdon losing in Round 1 and second-place Doug Kalitta losing in Round 2.

The regular season title earned Stewart a $150,000 payday and, more importantly, positioned him as the points leader entering the six-race playoff format. With teammate Matt Hagan bringing championship experience and mastery of the Mission Foods specialty races, TSR seemed poised for a strong playoff run.

Stewart’s qualifying efforts showcased both flashes of speed and concerning inconsistency. Tony Stewart got down the track clean at 5.147/137.25 mph to beat a struggling Antron Brown (5.938/111.06) in Friday’s second qualifying session. Still, the performance fell short of the form that carried him to the regular-season championship.

Saturday brought improvement as Tony Stewart made a stronger statement with a 3.817/327.35. However, the overall qualifying performance left Stewart in the 11th spot, giving him a challenging ladder for Sunday’s eliminations.

When qualifying concluded, Top Fuel points leader Tony Stewart landed in 11th and would face eight-time champion Tony Schumacher in the opening round. The 11th qualifying position represented a significant challenge for the regular season champion, particularly with such a formidable first-round opponent.

Hagan’s qualifying weekend reflected the delicate balance required in championship-level Funny Car competition. Friday began on a positive note as Hagan brought the SRT^® Hellcat out of the hole to a respectable .896 60′ and stayed in the center of the lane with the tires hooked up until the car started to move toward the center line right at the finish light. A slight lift was needed to keep from crossing the white line, and the run ended with a 4.017 at 321.04 mph. Hagan’s .075 light and smooth 3.26 to the eighth-mile showed his team came prepared to throw down this weekend.

The four-time champion continued building momentum Friday evening, posting a clean 3.932 at 330.80 mph to outrun J.R. Todd, who made it close with a 3.911/334.24 in the tightest race of the round (.0061 MOV).

However, Saturday brought setbacks that would define the weekend. Bob Tasca III laid down a sharp 3.989/324.83 to top Matt Hagan (4.134/242.98) in Saturday’s third session, forcing the TSR team to regroup for the final qualifying round. When the qualifying times were made official, Hagan ran a 3.932, 330.80 to secure the ninth qualifying position in Funny Car.

The Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge has become a critical component of NHRA’s championship format, offering valuable bonus points that often prove decisive in tight title battles. Both TSR drivers entered Reading with significant experience in these pressure-packed specialty races.

Hagan earned the 2025 overall #2Fast2Tasty championship, having collected 16 Mission Foods points throughout the 2025 season. Those points will be added to the reset heading into the start of the Countdown to the Championship at Maple Grove Raceway. This dominance in the specialty race format provided Hagan with crucial championship currency heading into the playoffs.

Sunday’s eliminations were not kind to either of the Tony Stewart Racing entries. The anticipated Top Fuel first-round matchup between 6th-place qualifier Tony Schumacher and 11th-place qualifier Tony Stewart lived up to its billing as a clash between experience and momentum. Stewart put Schumacher on the trailer with a 3.808 to a 4.261 after Schumacher’s tires went up in smoke around the 660′ beams.

Round two of Top Fuel eliminations saw Stewart line his Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel car up against Doug Kalitta. Stewart ran a solid 3.809 at 326.71, but that was .0512 seconds slower than he needed to get by Kalitta. The loss stung a bit for Stewart, who has been incredibly consistent in making it through round 1 of eliminations in the regular season with consistent performance and strategic excellence. The early exit meant an immediate deficit in the championship chase, forcing the TSR Top Fuel operation into recovery mode with just five races remaining.

Matt Hagan’s ninth qualifying position created an uphill battle from the start of eliminations, setting up a first-round matchup against Blake Alexander.

Despite Hagan holding a 13-5 record against Alexander in prior events and gaining a slight starting line advantage, disaster struck around half-track when the engine let go with a massive explosion that split the body of his Dodge Charger. Alexander drove straight down the groove for the win, advancing to face Spencer Hyde in the next round. For a four-time champion with extensive playoff experience, the dramatic early exit represented a significant setback, as Hagan’s mastery of pressure situations and specialty race formats had been expected assets in the championship hunt.

The early loss means missing crucial Countdown points while defending Funny Car champion Austin Prock and veteran competitors like Jack Beckman advanced to round two of eliminations, building early advantages in the tight championship race.

The 40th NHRA Reading Nationals delivered a sobering reminder of the NHRA Countdown format’s unforgiving nature. The sellout crowd was NHRA’s fifth of the season, providing an electric atmosphere that elevated the stakes for every competitor.

Stewart’s journey from regular-season champion to 11th qualifier illustrated how quickly fortunes can change in professional drag racing. The team’s inability to convert their championship form into qualifying success created immediate pressure that proved insurmountable in eliminations.

Hagan’s struggles highlighted the competitive depth of the Funny Car field, where championship experience provides no guarantees against a loaded field of contenders. The gap between his Friday speed and Saturday setbacks demonstrated the narrow margins that separate success from struggle at NHRA’s highest level.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series now moves to zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals, September 20-22. The second round of Countdown competition offers immediate redemption opportunities for the whole Tony Stewart Racing team.

For Stewart, the challenge involves translating regular-season consistency into playoff performance while facing a Top Fuel field that has shown no mercy over the 2025 season. Tony Stewart’s experience in high-pressure championship formats will be tested as he seeks to recover lost ground.

Hagan faces the dual challenge of finding speed while battling a Funny Car field led by defending champion Austin Prock, who has already established early Countdown momentum. The four-time champion’s experience in championship battles becomes crucial as the window for title contention narrows with each passing round.

The foundation remains strong at Tony Stewart Racing, with championship-caliber infrastructure and the backing of the Dodge/Direct Connection program. However, Reading served as a stark reminder that championship aspirations require weekend-to-weekend execution, not just regular-season success.

As the haulers roll toward Charlotte, both Stewart and Hagan carry the knowledge that championship dreams can shift dramatically in a single weekend. The question facing TSR is whether they can channel the lessons learned from Reading’s disappointment into the performance needed to climb back into championship contention.