Michigan hasn’t hosted an NHRA national event since 1960. Tony Stewart Racing intends to make the return count. On Sept. 15, Stewart joined drivers Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett at the Chrysler Technology Center in Auburn Hills to reveal the new Super Bee and Purple Haze liveries that will dress their nitro machines at the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by Mopar, set for Sept. 18–20 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
The livery reveal ties two threads together: Dodge’s 60th-anniversary celebration of the Charger nameplate, and the brand’s push to put the recently announced 2027 Dodge Charger Super Bee Launch Edition in front of drag racing fans. The 600-hp, SIXPACK-powered production car will sit in the Dodge display on Manufacturers Midway throughout the weekend, giving spectators a look at what Dodge is calling the quickest, fastest, and most powerful SIXPACK Charger yet. On the track, Hagan’s 12,000-hp Funny Car and Pruett’s Top Fuel dragster will carry the same Super Bee logo and Purple Haze paint scheme that the street car has been generating attention with since its August reveal at Roadkill Nights in Metro Detroit.
Purple Haze joined the 2027 Charger color palette in June. It is a high-gloss clearcoat that shifts appearance in bright sunlight and deepens to a rich purple in shade. Dodge prices the option at $795 and has it open for orders now.
Hagan arrives in Michigan on a strong run. His win at Brainerd was his third of the 2026 season, following earlier victories at Pomona and Bristol, and it pushed him to the top of the Funny Car standings entering the six-race Countdown to the Championship. The four-time world champion has 58 career NHRA wins, every one of them in a Dodge Funny Car. A fifth championship would tie the all-time Funny Car record.
Pruett’s season has been building steadily. She reached the final round at the New England Nationals, a result she referenced directly when discussing what the new livery means to her. She has 13 career Top Fuel national event wins and is chasing her first of the 2026 season heading into Michigan. The Great Lakes state has been waiting 66 years for this race; Pruett is waiting for a result that matches.
For those who want to make the trip by car rather than just watch it, Dodge and the NHRA are running a Tour de Michigan cruise on Sept. 17. Participants leave the Stellantis North America headquarters in Auburn Hills at 7:30 a.m. and follow a suggested route, with a stop in Hell, Michigan, before arriving at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. The tour is open to Dodge owners and enthusiasts driving any make or model.
On-track action begins Friday, Sept. 18, with qualifying rounds at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. EDT. Saturday qualifying runs at noon and 2:30 p.m. EDT. Final eliminations are Sunday, Sept. 20, at 10:30 a.m. EDT, with Fox Sports 1 broadcasting at 2 p.m. EDT.
TSR has been carrying Dodge’s motorsports presence through a 2026 season that has included some close finishes alongside the wins. At Pacific Raceways in July, Pruett lost the Top Fuel final by 0.012 seconds, and Hagan dropped a Funny Car semifinal by 0.0022 seconds. That kind of margin sharpens focus heading into a Countdown. With Hagan already at the top of the points standings and a championship-caliber season behind both drivers, Michigan gives TSR a chance to open the playoff on home soil for Dodge, whose headquarters sits 150 miles northeast of the track. For a brand built on performance and a region built on cars, the timing fits.
Source: Dodge. Images courtesy of Dodge.
