Tony Stewart, Driver of Rinnai Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster
What is your main strategy going into New Hampshire?
“Epping is a new track to me so I’m going to have to just learn the facility first. Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) and Mike (Domagala – co-crew chief) and the team have been there multiple times, so it’s just me getting caught up to the racetrack and learning the nuances of it that are different than any of the other tracks we go to.”
How valuable will the addition of a fourth qualifying session be?
“I think having a fourth qualifying run will definitely be a much larger deal for me as a driver. There’s a lot of pressure when there’s only three sessions to get that solid running. I’m looking forward to getting to Epping and representing Rinnai for their first race of the season.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the Rush Truck Centers Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
What is your main strategy going into New Hampshire coming off of back-to-back wins?
“Coming off of back-to-back wins is big momentum for Epping. Every race is so different though when it comes to track conditions and weather. What’s nice is that I’ve been with Dickie (Venables – crew chief) for so long now, I think we’re coming up on 15 years. Epping has been very kind to me, having won four races there. I think I’ll grow the handlebar mustache again and try to bring that juju back. It’s so tough to win one race in a nitro Funny Car. To win back-to-back races is a massive feat, so to be able to win three in a row would be pretty awesome. We’re rolling into the weekend with a lot of data to go off of and positive vibes.”
How valuable will the addition of a fourth qualifying session be?
“Having four qualifying sessions is always good. Anytime we only have three, it’s always tricky because sometimes weather plays a part in it and you end up only getting two sessions. There have been some races where we weren’t able to get any qualifying runs in and the ladder was set off of points. Four sessions make it nice to gather more data and have more information to go off of. As the season gets into the summer months, we’ll be racing on warmer tracks. I think Dickie did a great job last weekend in Chicago, since he was able to get a handle on a hot-weather racetrack in a lane we didn’t have the most competitive advantage in. We had to dig out of a hole a little bit last weekend. So, the confidence is big. Dickie is a great racer on Sunday. I’m excited anytime we get more runs. I like getting to play in my racecar and burn nitro, but the biggest thing is more data acquisition. There are a lot of heavy-hitters in the class, so every race is very competitive. We have to stay aggressive. It’s nice to have the points lead right now, but as fast as that comes, it can go. We have to stay on top of things.”
Tony Stewart Racing
