Few tracks on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule carry as much personal history for Tony Schumacher and Clay Millican as Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. As the NHRA Route 66 Nationals returns to Chicagoland this weekend, the two Rick Ware Racing teammates arrive with seven combined Top Fuel victories at one of drag racing’s most iconic stadium-style venues.
For Schumacher, the connection to Route 66 Raceway started before a single race car ever made a pass down the quarter-mile. For Millican, the facility marked the beginning of his NHRA Top Fuel journey. Today, both drivers are chasing another victory at a track that has helped define their careers.
Tony Schumacher’s Hometown Track Still Raises The Stakes
Tony Schumacher’s success at Route 66 Raceway is difficult to match. The eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion has earned five victories at the facility, winning in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013, and 2015.
But for Schumacher, racing in Chicago has always meant more than just another stop on the NHRA schedule.
“Five times, Chicago was really good. The other 25 weren’t as good. What makes winning there super special, being home around your family, makes it devastating when you don’t win. So let’s just call it a pressure cooker,” said Schumacher, driver of the No. 15 Aloha Beauty Lounge Top Fuel dragster. “That being said, I’ve always felt like we perform better under pressure. Most of the drivers do. When it’s a special moment, or a special place like Chicago is to me, I always sit up in the seat and do my job.”
Schumacher’s relationship with the track goes even deeper than race-day memories. As a Chicago native, he was there when Route 66 Raceway was first being built in 1997.
“I was there when they built it, and to have a big, new track like that being built, watching it going up was awesome,” Schumacher said. “When it was done, I remember pulling into that stadium, looking around, and I thought, ‘This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.’ It’s a big horseshoe, and it creates a massive echo when the cars leave the line. It’s insane.”
Clay Millican’s Route 66 Story Comes Full Circle
Clay Millican’s history at Route 66 Raceway is equally unique. When the track hosted its first NHRA national event in 1998, Millican became the first Top Fuel driver to make a pass down the freshly-prepared racing surface.
“My first-ever NHRA Top Fuel race was at Route 66 Raceway, and I drove the first Top Fuel car down that track,” Millican said. “It was June of 1998. I had just gotten my NHRA license to drive a Top Fuel car the week before Chicago, and it was the opening weekend for the track. I didn’t do anything spectacular, but it was my first race. Then, 20 years later in 2018, I won.”
Millican’s victories at Route 66 Raceway came in 2018 and 2023, but the 2023 triumph carried even more significance. It marked the first NHRA victory for Rick Ware Racing’s drag racing program.
“To be able to get Rick his first national win was incredible,” said Millican, driver of the No. 51 Parts Plus Top Fuel dragster. “Rick was so freaking pumped and excited, and I was too, but he was at a different level. He took a chance on going drag racing and it paid off relatively quickly. Rick is a racer through and through, so when you can hand him a Wally after a weekend, it’s a pretty dang good feeling.”
Millican’s Chicago wins also align perfectly with major milestones in his career.
“It was the 20th anniversary of the racetrack and my 20th anniversary of being a Top Fuel guy. And following that up five years later, it was the 25th anniversary of the track and it was 25 years of me driving Top Fuel cars,” Millican said. “Now, it’s pretty cool that I won the 20th and 25th anniversaries there, but I don’t want them all to be five years apart. We’re there to win every time we go there.”
Rick Ware Racing Searching For Consistency In 2026
Five races into the 2026 NHRA season, both Schumacher and Millican believe their Rick Ware Racing teams are moving in the right direction.
Millican has already shown flashes of strong performance this season, including a final-round appearance in the NHRA All-Star Callout at Gainesville, a Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory in Charlotte, and a semifinal finish at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
“We’ve been like a yo-yo so far this year, up and down, up and down. We need to find a little more consistency, but we know we’re getting there,” Millican said. “In the specialty races, we’ve done very well, with a final-round appearance in the All-Star Callout at Gainesville, and then winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at Charlotte. And we just had a semifinal finish at South Georgia. So, I feel we’re headed in the right direction.
“Every change you make affects something else, and it’s so minute what can make the car go down the track or not. But when you find one little thing, you’re ripping off wins again.”
Schumacher shares that optimism as the team continues refining its combination.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and you have to recognize the differences in each season, and this one here, I recognize that we’ve made some great moves,” Schumacher said. “So as we go into Chicago and get a few more runs under our belt with the team we’ve assembled, we’re going to do great.”
With seven combined victories at Route 66 Raceway, Schumacher and Millican understand exactly what it takes to win in Joliet. That experience could prove critical as the NHRA season enters an important stretch. For Schumacher, another hometown victory would add to an already legendary career. For Millican, it would continue the momentum Rick Ware Racing has been building throughout the season.
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