Dodge Nitro Cars Go Purple Haze for Michigan's First NHRA National in 66 Years
Leah Pruett's Top Fuel dragster and Matt Hagan's Funny Car will wear Charger Super Bee graphics and color-shifting Purple Haze paint at the first NHRA national event in Michigan since 1960.
Dodge and Tony Stewart Racing have unveiled new Charger Super Bee and Purple Haze liveries for the team's two nitro cars ahead of this weekend's Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals — the first NHRA national event held in Michigan since 1960.
Leah Pruett's Top Fuel dragster and Matt Hagan's Funny Car will both wear the purple-and-black scheme at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, on September 18-20. Team owner Tony Stewart and both drivers revealed the graphics on September 15 at the Chrysler Technology Center campus in Auburn Hills, according to Stellantis.
The livery doubles as a rolling ad for two of Dodge's newest products. The Super Bee logo on each car points to the 2027 Charger Super Bee Launch Edition, the 600-hp muscle car Dodge revealed at Roadkill Nights in August, while the paint mirrors Purple Haze, a limited-run $795 color-shifting option now open for orders across the 2027 Charger lineup. The Super Bee itself will sit in the Dodge display at the track all weekend.
A 66-year wait, with playoff stakes
The last NHRA national event in Michigan ran at Detroit Dragway in 1960. The Great Lakes Nationals doesn't just end that drought — it also opens the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs in NHRA's 75th anniversary season, so both TSR cars arrive with titles on the line.
Hagan, a four-time Funny Car world champion, enters as the 2026 regular-season champion with three wins this year and all 58 of his career victories scored in a Dodge. Pruett came back to Top Fuel this season after two years away to start a family; Stewart drove the car in the interim, won the 2025 regular-season title, and now races a rival Elite Motorsports entry — which means husband and wife can line up against each other in Martin. Pruett has already won once since her return, taking the New England Nationals for her 13th career victory.
As for the car the livery is selling: the Super Bee Launch Edition pushes the 3.0-liter twin-turbo SIXPACK inline-six to 600 hp — 200 hp per liter — and Dodge quotes a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds. The company hasn't announced pricing for the limited-run model yet.
The road there goes through Hell
Dodge and NHRA are also staging a "Tour de Michigan" cruise on September 17, open to enthusiasts of any brand. The route runs from Stellantis headquarters in Auburn Hills to the track in Martin, with a suggested stop in Hell, Michigan, along the way.
Qualifying runs Friday and Saturday, with final eliminations on Sunday, September 20, at 10:30 a.m. ET. Fox Sports 1 airs the eliminations broadcast at 2 p.m. ET.
