The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway marks the culmination of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ two-week long Western Swing. The previous event of the Western Swing was the NHRA Northwest Nationals July 19-21 at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals is the 12th event on the NHRA’s 20-race calendar.
Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) will be represented in Top Fuel by Top Fuel Rookie Tony Stewart and in Funny Car by 51-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion Matt Hagan. Stewart and Hagan enter Sonoma representing Rinnai and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, respectively.
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Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG) is the primary partner of Hagan and Stewart this weekend in Bristol. JHG was formed in 2021 and brings a passion and flare to the automotive world. They aim to inspire, drive and celebrate progress. JHG spans across Jason Johnson’s car collection featuring more than 200 sought after vehicles from classics, to hot rods and supercars. Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage’s mission is to preserve and showcase the automotive industry. The vehicles are driven to and displayed at events by Johnson and his team with the goal of growing interest and keeping car culture thriving. Johnson’s history in the industry began with Mather Auto Dismantler, Mather Mini Trucks and U-Pull It in Northern California. He later held an instrumental role in the growth and success of Copart, Inc., a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. JHG also serves as a primary sponsor of Elite Motorsports in the NHRA Pro Stock series.
Coming into Sonoma, Stewart is currently ninth in the Top Fuel standings, 407 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan is currently tied with Tasca III in second in the Funny Car standings, 256 points behind leader Austin Prock.
The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals will serve as Stewart’s 12th career Top Fuel start and his first at Sonoma. For Hagan, this will be his 344th career Funny Car start and his 15th at Sonoma.
Stewart is eyeing his first victory in the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, as well as his first No. 1 qualifier at the event. Stewart’s wife Leah Pruett has two No. 1 qualifiers at the event, which came in 2017 (3.669 ET at 328.38 mph – set a new track record for the 1,000-foot long dragstrip) and 2022 (3.689 ET at 327.59 mph).
Stewart made 18 starts on the Sonoma Raceway road course while in NASCAR. He’s a three-time winner there (2001, 2005 and 2016), with his last career NASCAR Cup Series win coming at Sonoma. His victory in 2016 was his 49th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory as Stewart retired from NASCAR racing at the conclusion of the season. He’s looking to become the first driver to conquer both the Sonoma road course and the drag strip.
Hagan is also seeking his first victory in the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals. He has advanced to the finals three times – 2012 (5.462 ET at 146.67 mph, lost to Johnny Gray: 4.142 ET at 305.15 mph), 2019 (4.030 ET at 316.60 mph, lost to Robert Hight: 3.973 ET at 325.45 mph) and 2021 (3.991 ET at 324.44 mph, lost to Hight: 3.871 ET at 322.50 mph). Hagan has two No. 1 qualifiers at the event, which came in 2009 (4.068 ET at 307.51 mph) and 2013 (3.986 ET at 320.51 mph).
Hagan and Stewart will participate in a Sonoma kids autograph session on Friday at 3 p.m. PDT. The autograph session will take place under the grandstands.
Hagan, Pruett and Stewart will participate in a Heat Wave Visual autograph session on Friday between Q1 and Q2. The session will take place at the Heat Wave Visual Display.
On Friday at Sonoma, Pruett will present the Juggers Annual Scholarship to Tyler Ward from Coverdale, California. He is a recent graduate of Analy High School and a drag racer at Sonoma Raceway. Ward has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship by the Juggers Racing Team. When Ward entered high school, he was looking forward to an athletic program and the competition. However, he got Covid very early in its development and was very ill with lung infections. It put an end to his athletic aspirations, so his father recommended that he come to the track and race. Racing changed Ward’s life. He then formed a car club at his high school and decided to become an automotive engineer. He plans on attending California State University, Chico, majoring in Automotive and Mechanical Engineering.
Sonoma marks a home race for Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, with Jason Johnson originally from the Vacaville, California area, just 35 miles from Sonoma Raceway.
Tony Stewart, Driver of the Rinnai Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster
After having a couple weeks off prior to Seattle, what benefit will it be having back-to-back races while on the Western Swing?
“It’s always nice when we can race back-to-back to stay in the groove of things. We obviously didn’t have the weekend we were hoping for in Seattle, so we’re going to re-group for Sonoma and hopefully we can go some rounds on Sunday.”
You made 18 starts on the Sonoma Raceway road course while in NASCAR and collected three wins, including your last career NASCAR Cup Series win in 2016. You’re looking to become the first driver to conquer both the Sonoma road course and the drag strip. How special would that feat be?
“Sonoma is one of my favorite tracks. I made a lot of starts there in NASCAR and was able to collect a few wins. It would be really neat to be able to win on both the road course and the drag strip.”
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