The Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK is the sixth stop on the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods drag racing series, and teams are working towards locking down their Countdown spots. Chicago has been good to both Tony Stewart and Matt Hagan, and they’re ready to have a big weekend at Route 66 Raceway.

Stewart and Hagan are rolling into Route 66 Raceway with some serious momentum. Stewart notched his first professional drag racing win in Las Vegas, and sits second in the Top Fuel points standings. Hagan’s 2025 has been strong as well, and he is currently third in the Funny Car standings.

It’s almost easier to list the types of motorsports that Stewart hasn’t won in versus the ones he has. Stewart’s win at The Strip made him the only driver to win in all forms of motorsports at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He now has the chance to do the same at all of the Chicago race tracks, but that’s not what he’s worried about this weekend.

“Honestly, you don’t think about the records. You just concentrate on the race you’re trying to win that weekend. I think once you accomplish milestones like that, then you think about it and reflect on it, but you’re not thinking about it in the process. You’re just going out and doing your job trying to win races each week,” Stewart says.

Route 66 Raceway has been good to Hagan. In his 14 career events at the track, Hagan has earned four wins. Hagan won this event in 2024, but this year he has a new brain trust tuning his Funny Car with Mike Knudesn and Phil Shuler. Hagan is excited about this new combo of crew chiefs for this event.

“Route 66 Raceway has been very kind to me throughout my career and I’ve had a lot of success there. That track can get fast when the weather is just right. The rain can move in and cool things off. You never know what you’re going to get. It’s a big arena and big atmosphere. Hopefully we can get a lot of fans to come out and fill it up. Hopefully we can have a good weekend for Dodge and get them back in the winner’s circle. Chicago is a track that we have a lot of data at, so we want to be aggressive and lay it down. There will be a handful of cars charging up front, but we need to be there too. We’ve been qualifying mid-pack lately, which is fine. We have a new crew chief going through a learning curve. That’s the biggest thing I have to remember. It’s the first call Mike (Knudsen) has made on that track we’re going to. I’m impressed with how well he’s done so far. We’re sitting third in points, so it says a lot about him and that he can step up to the plate and do well,” Hagan says.

This weekend could be a huge turning point for both of the Tony Stewart Racing nitro teams. If things play out in their favor, both teams could walk out of Chicago firmly in the hunt for NHRA world titles.