NHRA teams Tony Stewart Racing and Elite Motorsports have entered into a partnership, which involves pooling their assets from all classes to offer their partners and potential partners more than what has been possible previously.
The idea was suggested by Elite’s owner, Richard Freeman, which impressed Stewart, leading to the start of a new chapter for both teams in NHRA. Stewart admitted that both teams are already experiencing the benefits of the new partnership.
Freeman revealed that the purpose of the collaboration with TSR was “taking care of the brands and people we have and being able to offer opportunities for those relationships to grow while having the capacity to bring more into the fold.”
Stewart elaborated on the new agreement, which is “taking all of our assets that we have with TSR and Elite Motorsports with the Pro Stock, Mountain Motor Pro Stock, Competition Eliminator, and Pro Mod teams and creating a situation where we have a lot to offer partners and potential partners down the road. We will be pooling our assets together and working together to try to fund these race cars.
“This is a unique strategy that Richard came up with, but I really buy into the concept of it. And I think it’s already beneficial in the short amount of time that we’ve already started working together. We see the benefits of this, and it can continue to make both of our organizations bigger and stronger down the road.”
Stewart highlighted that partnering with Freeman’s team will form a strong alliance in the NHRA. He added:
“Richard and I have a great friendship, and I think that’s what great partnerships start out as. He has a great organization with great people, and I feel like putting our two teams with our great people together is just going to make for a very strong alliance and a partnership that will be beneficial to both organizations.”
Opening up about his friendship with Stewart, Freeman said:
“We’ve realized that we’re a lot alike. We have similar visions and share a desire to build basically a super team that can offer our partners the most and best options. Being able to offer the most to our partners, that’s really what it’s about.”
The big announcement comes amid Leah Pruett’s admission that she will return behind the wheel of the Tony Stewart Racing Dodge/SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel dragster for the 2026 NHRA season. She stepped away from her drag racing career last year to start a family with her husband, Stewart.
Now though, with Pruett taking the wheel back from her husband, Stewart’s next step in NHRA remains to be seen.
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