Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) heads to the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway with both of its Direct Connection-backed teams primed for another strong showing in the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The seventh event of the 20-race season marks Stewart’s second career start at Epping in Top Fuel and the 12th for four-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan.
Stewart, fresh off his second Top Fuel win of the season at the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, now leads the Top Fuel standings by three points over Shawn Langdon. He has appeared in four consecutive final rounds and is still chasing his first No. 1 qualifier of the year.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done up until this part of the year, especially compared to where we were a year ago,” said Stewart. “We still have a lot of work to do compared to all the teams that are in the top ten in points. They’re all working hard to try to get where we’re at, so even though we’re at the top of the points lead right now, we still have a lot of work to do as a race team to get different aspects of our program exactly where it needs to be.
“Even after the win at Chicago, we talked in our team meeting before we all left for the day about the importance of continuing to push hard and stay focused. We realize that it’s great to win the race and it’s great to have the points lead, but at the same time, we know that we still have work to do and we still have areas that we need to improve on. Our focus going into Epping is to just continue to try to improve our program to try to stay where we’re at and make ourselves even better. We’re just going to keep pushing forward and keep putting in the hard work.”
While Stewart’s Top Fuel career at Epping is just beginning, he is no stranger to New England racing success. During his NASCAR career, he earned three wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, located just 45 miles west in Loudon.
Hagan, currently third in the Funny Car standings, returns to a track where he’s enjoyed considerable success. He holds four career wins at the New England Nationals (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022), and leads all Funny Car drivers in event victories at Epping.
“Third in points is great, but they all get reset at the end of the season,” said Hagan. “The biggest thing right now is we are going rounds and making good decisions on the racetrack. We’re not smoking the tires a lot and we’re giving ourselves the opportunity to win a lot of the time.
“I think the confidence is growing with Mike Knudsen (crew chief), Phil Shuler (co-crew chief) and Alex Conaway (car chief). As a group, they’re making great decisions and there’s a lot of good chemistry. It’s exciting that Tony is coming off a win in Chicago, so that brings a lot of momentum to the table. We’re all there in striking distance. We just have to figure out these (John) Force cars. They are tough to beat. They were tough last year and they’re going to continue to be tough. I’m excited about our momentum. We just need to pull down a win and get that monkey off our back. It’s coming soon.”
Both Stewart and Hagan will also compete in this weekend’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, where semifinalists from the previous race face off during Saturday qualifying for bonus purse money and Countdown to the Championship points. Hagan won the Challenge in Chicago and is looking to add more points in Epping.
“The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge is extremely important because all those points add up in the championship hunt,” Hagan said. “It’s kind of wild that you can win all the races up until the countdown and everything resets. It pulls everyone back into the striking position, then you get these Mission points added. They are so valuable. I know we shouldn’t pedal the car to try and win $10,000, but those points add up a lot. I’ve seen championships come down to two points before. It’s nail-biting stuff and usually comes down to one round at the end of the year.
“To get the win at Chicago was really cool and it was nice to get some extra bonus money for the guys to reward all their hard work. Thank you to Mission Foods for putting that program together. We’re looking forward to being in the next challenge in Epping.”
Fans can meet Stewart and Hagan during Saturday’s Mission Foods autograph session at 9:30 a.m. EDT and at the Dodge display on Friday (4:15–4:45 p.m.) and Saturday (10:15–10:45 a.m.).
The NHRA New England Nationals take place May 31–June 2 at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.
This story was originally published on May 27, 2025. 
