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.
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.
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 Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage 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 Winternationals, 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.”
Tony Stewart Racing | Photos: Tony Stewart Racing
