Former NASCAR champion Stewart heads to Norwalk atop NHRA standings

NORWALK — Former four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will arrive to the Maple City this weekend in position to do the same thing in the NHRA Drag Racing Series. Stewart is leading the Top Fuel points standings and has two wins this year entering the 19th annual Summit Racing Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. It marks the 10th event on the NHRA's 20-race calendar in 2025. Stewart is 51 points ahead of Shawn Langdon. This weekend's race will serve as Stewart's 30th career Top Fuel start, and his second at Norwalk. He is eyeing his first victory in Norwalk, as well as his first No. 1 qualifier. In 2024, Stewart secured the No. 5 qualifying position and ran a 3.769 ET at 324.75 MPH in Round 1 of eliminations, which lost to Jasmine Salinas' 3.750 ET at 329.34 MPH. Stewart is the only driver to have avoided a first-round loss so far this season, a streak he extended at Richmond with a win over No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force. By advancing to the semifinals at the Virginia NHRA Nationals on June 22, Stewart qualified to participate in the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this weekend, where he will face a rematch against Shawn Langdon. Also of note for Stewart, and fellow team member Matt Hagan in Funny Car, is Dodge's headquarters are located 150 miles north of Norwalk in Auburn Hills, Mich. "Honestly, they were the ones that really were the first piece of the process of building an NHRA team," Stewart said. "Anytime we get to spend time with them, we appreciate that and all the support they give us. Having them at the races is a big deal for us. "I'm going to show up to Norwalk ready to rip and have a high level of focus and determination to do well. It doesn't add extra pressure, but it adds extra drive for wanting to have a good weekend for both ourselves and our partners." Stewart's team will be hosting Converge Technology Solutions at Norwalk. He's hoping that helps produce results this weekend. "The data analytics are a category that is way above my pay scale and intelligence," Stewart said. "My wife Leah (Pruett) has been the kingpin as far as the TSR side and working with Converge. What we've been able to accomplish with them is great. It's been fun to sit in meetings with them and be a fly on the wall. "It's been very valuable to our program and we see the results this year," he added. "We couldn't get the car to go down the racetrack last year. We're seeing the fruit of our labor this year with the team's work with Converge. All of the crew chiefs have been digging in on this project." For Hagan, this will be his 362nd career Funny Car start and his 16th at Norwalk. He has one career win at Norwalk in 2018 (4.094 ET at 288.21 MPH) when he defeated Courtney Force (4.220 ET at 227.54 MPH). Hagan has two No. 1 qualifiers at the event, which came in 2015 and 2017. In 2024, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won Wally trophies in Norwalk. NHRA pro qualifying will feature two rounds at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Friday, and the final two rounds of qualifying at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday. The first round of the All-Star Callout takes place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with the semifinals at 1:20 p.m. and the finals at 3:50 p.m. Television coverage includes qualifying action at 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Sunday on FS1, leading into eliminations on FOX at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Callout will be broadcast at 3 p.m. Saturday on FS1.