Tony Stewart Racing Dodge//SRT Drag Racing Duo Pruett and Hagan Ready for Return to Track in Special PRO Superstar Shootout

February 7, 2024 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  With Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Top Fuel and Funny Car squads returning to the track for the team’s 2024 debut, drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan have the coveted $250,000 top prize in their minds for the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Super Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage this week (Feb. 8-10) in Bradenton, Fla.

The new season-opening event brings together the top professional drag racers for the largest single pro race payout in drag racing history and Pruett and Hagan come back to the drag strip after finishing the 2023 national tour in impressive fashion. Hagan captured his fourth NHRA World Funny Car championship in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT® Hellcat, and Pruett came within one round of winning the prestigious NHRA Top Fuel title in her TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection dragster.

For Pruett, the PRO Superstar Shootout will be her lone Top Fuel appearance in 2024 as she and husband TonyStewart plan to start a family this year. Pruett will continue to be an important element to the TSR operation, serving as driving coach and strategist throughout the drag racing season.

“We showed we have what it takes to perform at the highest level last year,” said Pruett. “That confidence is used as building blocks moving forward. I want to experience it all at the PRO event – being with the team, working on new projects, dusting driving cobwebs off, all while engaging with fans that feel it’s their last time to see me racing. But it’s not as if I won’t be around the track all year. It’s just going to be a lot to take in this week.”

With Pruett stepping away from the cockpit of the TSR Dodge//SRT Top Fueler, Stewart will move into Pruett’s machine and begin his Top Fuel career in the NHRA Mission Foods Pro Series season opener on March 7-10 in the TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection dragster in the Amalie Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. But Pruett is focused on winning this week’s special “All-Star” event and collecting the $250,000 top prize.

“I feel like a bear coming out of hibernation that has been surviving without a meal for months and is ready to eat,” Pruett said. “We’re hungry and a win this early in the season is great for our organization and the crew members. PRO is putting up big money and we want to capitalize on it this week.”

Stewart, a former NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC driving champion, admits he wasn’t sure if Leah and crew chief Neal Strausbaugh would want him to take over the driving chores for 2024, but they had confidence in his abilities earned in the Alcohol Dragster class, where he finished second in 2023 NHRA national points.

“To make a decision like this must be extremely hard for Leah,” said Stewart, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. “I’m very proud of her. We had discussed starting a family and this was her decision. I was very supportive as to whether she wanted to do it now or years from now. I’m very humbled that Leah and Neal felt I was the driver to fill in for her. I feel honored that I can drive the Top Fuel dragster for my wife and this team."

Hagan is confident entering the PRO Superstar Shootout with his JHG Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car after a sensational NHRA championship run in 2023. Hagan’s TSR crew is intact and back for the 2024 campaign with another title on their mind as well as the $250,000 first place cash this weekend.

“I’m moving into the new season as a defending champion, but at the end of the day, that was last year and this is this year, 2024,” Hagan explained. “We have to start fresh, and we plan to bring the package that was strong at the end of the year. We’ve never raced on this Bradenton facility, and everyone is gunning for you now after winning the championship.

“To race for $250,000 for each pro class is massive. Money motivates everyone and people want to see big-money races. It’s a new race structure to look at and an opportunity to do something big right out of the box. We still have to buckle down and work hard during this whole season to defend what we know we just accomplished in the past. Plus, this is Leah’s last race for awhile and I want to TSR score another ‘Double Up.’”

Action gets underway this Thursday (Feb. 8) at Bradenton Motorsports Park with testing at 10 a.m. EST and Pro qualifying at 6:15 p.m. Pro qualifying on Friday (Feb. 9) is scheduled for 12 p.m. EST and 3:15 p.m. Saturday’s events begin at 1 p.m. with opening ceremonies followed by the first round of Pro eliminations set for 2 p.m.
 
@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 Mission 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 110 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge, America’s performance brand, 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.

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:

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