Stewart And Hagan Keep TSR Nitro In The Hunt

The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, gave fans a solid look at just how strong the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Nitro program is right now. Both Tony Stewart in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car fought their way through tough fields, taking their American Rebel Light Beer-backed Dodge entries into the second round of eliminations.

Stewart Keeps Pressure On Top Fuel Leader – 

Tony Stewart was locked in all weekend in his American Rebel Light Beer Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster. He opened qualifying Friday with a 3.827-second run @ 326.40 mph that put him second on the sheet, then backed it up Saturday with a 3.732-second blast @ 331.61 mph to secure the No. 5 starting spot.

On race day, Stewart advanced out of the opening round with a 3.733-second pass @ 328.54 mph to defeat Josh Hart. In Round 2, he put down another consistent 3.746-second effort but came up just short against Billy Torrence’s quicker 3.708. Stewart heads to Indianapolis sitting second in the standings, only 45 points behind Shawn Langdon, with points-and-a-half up for grabs at the U.S. Nationals.

Hagan Battles Hard In Funny Car – 

Matt Hagan’s weekend in the American Rebel Light Beer Dodge//SRT HELLCAT Funny Car had some highs and lows. After a shaky start in Friday qualifying, he rebounded with a 3.935-second pass @ 329.02 mph on Saturday, which also gave him a Round 1 Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win over Austin Prock. He later fell to Jack Beckman in the Challenge final.

On Sunday, Hagan took out Cruz Pedregon in Round 1 with a blistering 3.883-second pass @ 333.58 mph. His day ended in Round 2 after a valvetrain failure caused the car to give up mid-run, letting Prock move on. Despite the mechanical hiccup, Hagan leaves Brainerd still third in the Funny Car standings, though with ground to make up heading into Indy.

Ready For The Big Go – 

Both TSR teams plan to test in Brainerd before heading to Indianapolis, making sure they’re ready for drag racing’s biggest stage—the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, August 27 to September 1. Nitro qualifying begins Friday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. EDT, followed by two Saturday sessions at 12:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Sunday brings another qualifying round at 12:00 p.m. EDT, along with the All-Star Funny Car Callout at 12:45 p.m. Final qualifying is set for 2:45 p.m. Eliminations kick off Monday, September 1 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, with national TV coverage airing on FOX Sports 1 at noon and FOX at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

With championship implications and points-and-a-half on the line, Stewart is chasing the Top Fuel lead while Hagan looks to close the Funny Car gap. TSR Nitro is gearing up for one of the most important weekends of the season.