Pacific Raceways will host the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, the first stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Western Swing. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Matt Hagan and Tony Stewart are planning to use this event as a catapult to push them towards the Countdown on a high note.

Tony Stewart Is Hammer Down For The Western Swing

The 2025 season has been a different experience for Stewart compared to how things went in 2024. Stewart has advanced past the first round in every event this season and has been to eight straight semifinal rounds. Even with some bumps in the road at Virginia and Norwalk, Stewart’s team is confident in its ability to perform.

“We had adversity to face during the last two races that we had to battle through to get to the Semifinals. Being able to get through the first round of every event is something that we take a lot of pride in. I think it’s a testament to where our program is at right now. No matter where we qualify, we’ve been able to get through the first round, whether the opponent was the last qualifier or towards the top of the board. I think it doesn’t matter where we qualify because whoever we race on race day in round one knows that we’re a threat and that we can produce results,” Stewart says.

The challenges from the last two events are in Stewart’s rearview mirror. Now, the plan is to execute on both short-term and long-term goals to finish the regular season strong and have a strong base for the start of the Countdown.

“I think short-term, we want to rebound from our race weekends at Norwalk and Virginia. We were able to salvage decent results during those two races, but we had major struggles that went along with it. Virginia was a battle in the heat, and then having three explosions at Norwalk definitely didn’t help us. Going to Seattle and Sonoma, I feel like we’re going to two tracks that have pretty good grip and won’t be as hot as what we dealt with in Virginia and Ohio. We’ll get an opportunity to go fast again, so I’m looking to rebound from two tough races that still produced great results but had struggles to get there,” Stewart explains.

Matt Hagan And His Team Are Ready To Dominate Out West

There is nothing subtle about the Matt Hagan Funny Car team. They do aggressive burnouts, they don’t throw lazy tune-ups at the track, and they’re ready to have a big run in the second part of the season. Making it to the finals at Norwalk was exactly what Hagan and his team needed to set up a successful Western Swing.

“It was a big shot in the arm to go to the Finals at the last race in Norwalk. We had some first-round losses lately, but we were also trying some things out in the R&D (research and development) program, so we knew things may not go the way we wanted them to. We switched things back to the way we had started the season, and sure enough, the win lights kept turning back on, so I’m excited about that. Obviously, we would have liked to have beaten (Austin) Prock. He’s extremely tough, but that’s how it is out there. There are no easy rounds,” Hagan says.

The new leadership team of Mike Knudsen, Phil Shuler, and Alex Conaway has started to come together. Hagan believes they’ve done a great job stepping up, and are on the cusp of scoring their first victory of 2025. Right now, the goal is to really push hard towards the Countdown.

“I can’t believe we have four regular-season races left until the Countdown starts. The Western Swing doesn’t feel right without Denver on the schedule, so I’m really excited to see they purchased land for a new track. I’d like to get the broomstick to be able to sweep the Swing one day. We have a lot of momentum going, and we have a lot of close drag races we haven’t been on the right side of. It’s been a productive season, but we just have to keep pushing and working hard. As long as I do my job on the tree, things will keep going the way they need to. I’m looking forward to the second half of the season,” Hagan says.

Clearly, the TSR teams understand the importance of the Western Swing. While Stewart and Hagan are in two different situations right now in the points standings, both are ready to use the Northwest Nationals as a way to find another gear in their 2025 championship runs.