The NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington, marks the first stop of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ two-week long Western Swing. The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway will follow Seattle July 26-28. The NHRA Northwest Nationals is the 11th event on the NHRA’s 20-race calendar.
Tony Stewart, Driver of the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster
Seattle is the first race of the two-race Western Swing and starts the second half of the season. Going into this race what are the short-term and long-term goals with four races remaining in the regular season until the Countdown?
“We’re just trying to keep building off the momentum that we’ve had the last couple weekends, even though we don’t have the results to show for it. It’s a work in progress and I’m still learning as a driver. Our team is still trying to figure out how to work around the variables that we seem to be fighting this year, so it’s just a work in progress. We don’t have a lot of time left before the playoffs to get where we need to be, so we’re pushing really hard. We tested to try to work on some things, so we’ve been working really hard.”
The NHRA has added a Friday night qualifying session for the fans, which will be the first night run under the lights at Pacific Raceways. Talk about the special atmosphere that creates for the fans.
“I’m excited for the West Coast swing. I haven’t even been to Seattle yet, which I’m looking forward to. I’m excited that the promoters were willing to do a fourth run and do a night session on Friday for the fans, so I’m really proud and happy to be a part of that. Going to Sonoma after Seattle will be great. It’s a place that I’ve had a lot of success and is one of my favorite racetracks. It will be a pretty neat weekend having had the opportunity run the road course in the past and now the dragstrip, so I’m excited for it.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Seattle is the first race of the two-race Western Swing and starts the second half of the season. Going into this race what are the short-term and long-term goals with four races remaining in the regular season until the Countdown?
“I think we need to use these next four races to really get our car dialed in and develop a bit more consistency. I’m confident we can do that before the Countdown starts. Once the Countdown gets here, I think you need to win two or three of those six races to be a contender for the championship again. We won two races last year in the Countdown and it still came down to the very last race for all three of us. I think these next couple races are super important to keep us on the path we want to be on. There are still a couple things we’re trying to work through, so hopefully the testing we have coming up will help with that also.”
The NHRA has added a Friday night qualifying session for the fans, which will be the first night run under the lights at Pacific Raceways. Talk about the special atmosphere that creates for the fans.
“It’s always awesome whenever we get to run under the lights. I wish we had more races at night because it makes for great conditions and it’s an awesome show for our fans. Any time fans get to see six foot flames coming out of the car at 300 miles per hour, it’s a really neat show.”
Tony Stewart Racing
