The Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance near Chicago, Illinois, is the sixth event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar in 2024. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two full-time entries – one in Top Fuel for Top Fuel rookie Tony Stewart and one in Funny Car for 50-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan.
Matt Hagan delivered TSR’s first victory of the season in the prior event at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina, driving his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car to his 50th career victory in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.
Tony Stewart, Driver of TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster
You’re currently the only driver that will be attempting the trifecta at Chicago – the oval track, dirt track and dragstrip. You’re also the all-time winningest NASCAR Cup Series Driver at Chicagoland Speedway. While you’ll be making your first passes on the Chicago dragstrip, how special will it be returning to the site of so many memories in other forms of racing?
“It’s honestly a lot of fun for me to be racing in a totally different discipline than I have in the past, but still going to properties and facilities that I’ve raced at in the past in NASCAR and dirt track racing. So anytime we go to a place that is somewhat familiar to me, I enjoy the opportunity to do something different there and try to rewrite the record books.”
You and wife Leah Pruett joined the NHRA for a media day in Chicago a couple weeks ago to kick-off the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Chicago is home to eight major league sports teams. For someone in the city that’s never experienced the NHRA, what will they find when they come to Route 66 Raceway?
“I really believe no matter what form of sports they follow there’s just not an experience like what you get at a NHRA race to see cars with over 11,000 horsepower that run 300 miles per hour. It’s not something you’re going to see in downtown Chicago whether you’re at the NASCAR race or you go to a baseball game, hockey game, or football game. It’s just not the same experience. Having the opportunity once a year to go to Joliet and for people to sneak out to the edge of town and see something that they’ve never seen before is a great opportunity.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
You’re coming off a win at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. It marked your 50th career victory and put you in elite company with John Force, Robert Hight and Ron Capps as the only Funny Car drivers to reach that plateau. How special was that win, especially since it came at one of your home tracks?
“It’s a great group of people to be included with when you think about the history of the sport. There have been so many great drivers and teams out there that haven’t accomplished what we’ve accomplished already in such a short amount of time, which is unreal. It’s just a testament to how important it is to keep your people together for 15 years and really work on your craft. Show up and show out and capitalize on the opportunities in front of you. It also takes good sponsors. We’ve had a relationship with Dodge for a long time now and I’ve been able to carry the banner for them. I pride myself in being a workhorse for them. I’m not pretty like Leah (Pruett) or popular like Tony (Stewart), but I am a workhorse. We get things done and we turn on win lights to win championships. We do what it takes to go out there and stay alive in the hunt. We’ve been in a position to try and win a championship almost every year of my career, which is really hard to do, given how hard it is to win just one race, much less a championship. Overall, I’m just really proud of the team that we have and the individuals working really hard to make it happen, myself included. I think it’s learning to deal with pressure, which isn’t easy. You have to turn it into a positive and rise to the occasion. We’ll take the win from Charlotte and build on it. We’re moving in the right direction and I feel really confident rolling into Chicago having won there a few times. It’s a great facility.”
With Dodge’s home base being just four hours from Chicago in Detroit, Michigan, Dodge will have a large presence at the Route 66 Nationals. How special will it be running their Direct Connection colors on your Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car?
“Michigan is a place we consider home given Dodge being headquartered there and how involved we are in a lot of activities with them there. They have done a huge amount as far as backing us for so many years. We can’t say thank you enough to those guys and gals that continue to build upon the relationship and everything we’re doing on the track. We appreciate their support and deciding to put their marketing dollars towards our racing efforts. I’m excited to see what the future holds with them. Dodge is always known for muscle and horsepower and there’s nothing better than a nitro-fueled car to bring that to light. I’m very proud to have them with us in Chicago and excited to see some familiar faces. We’re going to put on a show for them no matter what.”
Tony Stewart Racing
