Tony Stewart has hoisted just about every trophy imaginable in motorsports, but his latest milestone is one no one had ever accomplished before. With his Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel dragster, Stewart became the first driver in NHRA history to clinch a Mission Foods Regular Season Championship. Now, as the six-race Countdown to the Championship begins this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway, Stewart is focused on turning that regular season success into the world title he came here for.
“This is a very different picture than a year ago,” Stewart admitted during NHRA’s Countdown press availability. “Last year we were ninth at the end of the season and really struggled the entire year with the car. To see where we’ve turned the program around this year, that’s not because of us as drivers. It’s Neil Strausbaugh, Mike Domagala, Phil Shuler – good people that worked their tails off in the offseason to get us back on track. Instead of rolling into the racetrack last year hoping it would just go down the track, now we roll in every week knowing we’re racing. That’s a nice mindset to be in as a driver.”
Stewart’s turnaround season carried him to the top of the points by the U.S. Nationals, where he locked up the first-ever NHRA regular season crown. That accomplishment, he says, is only a stepping stone.
“We were able to do something last weekend that’s never been done in motorsports,” Stewart said. “Granted it’s just a regular season championship, not a world championship, but to add that to the resume was really big. The only thing that can make it bigger is to add a world championship at the end of the season. We’re going to buckle down and fight as hard as we can to try to accomplish that goal.”
The Countdown format is familiar territory for Stewart, who cut his teeth in NASCAR’s playoff system, but he’s quick to point out the difference in drag racing: there are no second chances.
“In drag racing you don’t get that next lap or pit stop,” he explained. “Every time you tow that car to the line, it matters. Whether it’s qualifying or eliminations, you have to treat every run like it’s for a championship. That’s where your focus has to be – attention to detail. Crew guys double-checking each other’s work, crew chiefs reminding us of spots on the racetrack, drivers protecting parts. This is where all those little things matter the most.”
He also knows how quickly fortunes can swing in this six-race dash.
“We watched it two years ago with Doug [Kalitta],” Stewart said. “They didn’t necessarily struggle through the regular season, but Maple Grove literally changed the tone of the championship for them. It’s a reminder you can’t take anybody for granted. Teams further back than us three here are capable of making a run. You can’t overlook anything. You can’t take anybody for granted. What we can control is what we do with our own program.”
Asked whether he prefers being the hunter or the hunted, Stewart didn’t hesitate.
“I’ve been both in my career,” he said. “But I always feel like it’s a better situation if you can start on top. If they’re focusing on you and trying to catch you, that’s better than being the guy chasing. But you can’t get spun up if you leave Maple Grove and you’re fifth in points. You can’t lose your mind and think you’re out of it. We’ve all seen how things can shift literally from one race to the next. At the end of the day you don’t care how you get there, you just care that at Pomona they’re giving you the big check and the big trophy.”
For Stewart, Maple Grove is a chance to keep momentum rolling. It will be his 35th career Top Fuel start and his second at the Pennsylvania facility, where he won in Top Alcohol Dragster in 2023. He enters as the Countdown’s No. 1 seed, 16 points ahead of Shawn Langdon, with Doug Kalitta close behind. The intensity is not lost on the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
“The sense of urgency goes up now,” Stewart said. “Every round of qualifying, every round of eliminations, that intensity ratchets up. Hopefully by the time we get to Pomona, we’re in a position to be fighting for this thing at the end.”
He balances that urgency with the perspective of a driver who has seen it all across multiple disciplines.
“You see some of the wildest things happen in championship chases,” he said. “What I try to emphasize to our team is just stay focused. Don’t change routines. Don’t let anything be overlooked. We’ve worked too hard to get here.”
This weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove is the 40th edition of the event, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Stewart’s Tony Stewart Racing teammate Matt Hagan enters the Funny Car Countdown ranked third, chasing Austin Prock and Jack Beckman. Direct Connection backs both TSR entries, putting muscle car heritage and modern horsepower front and center in Reading. Stewart, meanwhile, knows he has history within reach.
“It’s been a unique opportunity, one that was never even on the radar for me,” Stewart said. “But here we are, leading the points heading into the Countdown. We’ve got a car and a team that I feel like are on top of their game right now. I don’t know that you could ask for more than that.”
This story was originally published on September 8, 2025. 
The post Tony Stewart Opens Up on First NHRA Regular Season Championship, Countdown & More first appeared on Drag Illustrated.