AUBURN HILLS, Mich.,
June 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ --
- Dodge brand announces partnership extension with Tony Stewart
Racing (TSR) Nitro Top Fuel and Funny Car entries in NHRA Mission
Drag Racing Series
- Dodge//SRT began partnership with TSR in 2022 with drivers
Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) and
Matt Hagan (Funny Car) driving Nitro
cars in Direct Connection livery
- Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver, replaced wife Pruett
this year as the driver of TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top
Fuel car for the 2024 NHRA season
- Hagan drove his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny
Car to the 2023 NHRA Mission World Championship after scoring six
national events
- Hagan is competing in a Dodge Funny Car for the 16th
consecutive season
- Dodge//SRT TSR teams have recorded 15 NHRA national event
victories and one World Championship
- Pruett finished third in the 2023 NHRA campaign with TSR before
stepping away from the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT
dragster this year to start a family with team owner Stewart
- Follow Dodge in NHRA action at DodgeGarage
The Dodge brand today announced a partnership extension with the
Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Nitro organization to continue fielding
two nitro-burning entries (Top Fuel and Funny Car) in the National
Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mission Drag Racing Series.
The Dodge brand's partnership with TSR, started in 2022, has
resulted in 15 NHRA national events wins to date as well as the
2023 NHRA Mission World Funny Car Championship, captured by Direct
Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat driver Matt
Hagan. In 2024, Stewart announced he was assuming the seat
of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel car in place of
his wife, Leah Pruett, who stepped
away from the driver's seat this year to start a family with team
owner and husband Stewart.
"The Dodge brand is excited to extend our partnership with an
elite, winning organization like Tony Stewart Racing," said
Matt McAlear, Dodge brand CEO –
Stellantis. "Dodge owns a historic legacy in NHRA competition, and
racing icon and legend Tony Stewart,
four-time NHRA world champion Matt
Hagan and 18-time NHRA event winner Leah Pruett are the perfect ambassadors to
represent our brand and our Direct Connection performance parts
line. Along with our Dodge Brotherhood of Muscle, I look forward to
continuing to cheer on Tony, Matt, Leah and the entire TSR
organization."
Hagan (12) and Pruett (3) have combined for 15 NHRA national
events wins since Dodge partnered with TSR in 2022, with Hagan
capturing six wins on his way to the 2023 Funny Car crown. Pruett
placed third in the 2023 Top Fuel points with two wins in the TSR
Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster.
Stewart, the former NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC series champion, is
a NASCAR Hall of Famer who shocked the motorsports community in
2023 by entering a fourth racing discipline, drag racing, and now
competes full-time at the highest level in NHRA Top Fuel
competition. Stewart, who placed second in the Top Alcohol Dragster
class national points in 2023, continues to gain experience in his
rookie season in the seat of the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT
dragster as the legendary racer seeks his first-ever Top Fuel
win.
Stewart's two-car operation has been one of the NHRA's leading
professional operations since entering the sport in 2022 with the
Dodge brand and continues to be a front runner throughout the
20-race NHRA national tour. The man known as "Smoke" in the racing
world has been one of the most popular competitors in the NHRA this
year with long lines at the TSR pit area for Stewart's autographs
and photos.
"Having strong OEM support is crucial in all forms of
motorsports," said Stewart. "To have Dodge re-sign with TSR is
great. We are all excited about where the program has been up until
this point, and we are all excited about where it's going. It's
been a big change on the dragster side with Leah (Pruett) driving in the past, as far as the
specs we had to change in the offseason. It's been more of a
challenge for the crew chiefs, but Dodge has been very supportive
from the time we had the first discussion about creating TSR Nitro.
I'm very appreciative of their support and looking forward to an
awesome future with them."
Hagan, the reigning NHRA Mission World Funny Car Champion, has
been associated with the Dodge brand for 16 seasons, dating back to
2009. Hagan has made drag racing history with four historic marks,
including becoming the first Funny Car driver to break the
four-second barrier (3.995 in 2011) and 3.80 seconds (3.799 in
2015) and to reach 330 mph (2015) and 335 mph (2016) at 1,000
feet.
The Virginia racer is a
four-time NHRA World Funny Car champion, all in Dodge-bodied and
Mopar HEMI®-powered cars, and joined legends Don "the
Snake" Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein
with four Funny Car crowns in NHRA competition. Hagan has recorded
51 NHRA national event victories, fourth on the all-time Funny Car
win list.
"It's really awesome to hear Dodge is extending their
relationship with TSR," said Hagan. "I have had such a long career
with Dodge. I've been able to carry the Dodge banner for close to
16 years and I've been able to win four championships and 51 races
with the brand. The parts and pieces and support they give us is
amazing and allows us to be the best on the racetrack. It's great
to have such a long partnership. We've been able to build a
championship team and I am honored to be a part of that. Dodge has
a great relationship with TSR and Tony
(Stewart). It's been awesome watching him grow."
Pruett, whose relationship with Dodge and Mopar first began in
2016, continues to travel to races and is actively involved in the
TSR organization and team strategies.
"This extension represents many aspects of our partnership — not
only our enthusiasm to continue on-track success for the Dodge
brand with our team and loyal fans, but also as a pathway for
Direct Connection to continue to connect with their customers
through an established partnership," said Pruett. "I hold Dodge and
Direct Connection close to my heart and I am thrilled to continue
our partnership."
The TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT machines have competed in
eight 2024 NHRA Mission events this year, with Hagan scoring two
Funny Car wins and currently ranked fourth in the class points,
while Stewart currently holds the ninth spot in the Top Fuel
standings. Two more NHRA Mission events are scheduled in June, the
NHRA Virginia Nationals on June 21-23
in Dinwiddie, Virginia, and NHRA
Summit Racing Nationals on June 28-30
in Norwalk, Ohio.
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share
content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can
see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA
Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory
Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional
motorsports series.
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit
of brothers John and Horace Dodge.
Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with
a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the
segments in which the brand competes while moving forward to a
future that includes electrified muscle in the form of the
next-generation, all-new Dodge Charger.
The next-generation Dodge Charger electrifies a legend, with the
Charger retaining its title as the world's quickest and most
powerful muscle car led by the all-new, all-electric 2024 Dodge
Charger Daytona Scat Pack. The all-new Dodge Charger will also
offer performance choices via multi-energy powertrain options,
including the 550-horsepower Dodge Charger SIXPACK H.O., powered by
the 3.0L Twin Turbo Hurricane High Output engine.
Dodge also keeps its foot on the gas as a pure performance brand
with the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most
powerful SUV ever, and best-in-class standard performance in the
compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet.
In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL
Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do
so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the "#1 Brand in
Initial Quality," making it the first domestic brand ever to rank
No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage,
the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news,
including daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news,
events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. Dodge is
part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker
and mobility provider Stellantis (NYSE: STLA).
Mopar
Mopar is the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic
accessories.
A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers
exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the
name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over more
than 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic
performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.
Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with
performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road
and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service
and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and
customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer
support worldwide.
Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and
the newly redesigned Mopar blog at www.blog.mopar.com.
Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video
on:
Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Dodge brand: www.dodge.com
DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge and www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: @DodgeMoparMotorsports, @DodgeOfficial and
@OfficialMopar
Twitter: @Dodge, @OfficialMopar and @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge, www.youtube.com/c/mopar and
www.youtube.com/StellantisNA
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SOURCE Stellantis