Crew chief roulette in all forms of racing is always intriguing, because no matter how good a driver might be, they still need a compatible crew chief to win. The synergy’s got to be there or things just don’t work. That’s why off-season moves are always intriguing, especially this particular change in NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ Funny Car class.
Dickie Venables, who’s tuned Matt Hagan to three of his four championships, is leaving Tony Stewart Racing Nitro (TSR Nitro) to be J.R. Todd’s crew chief at Kalitta Motorsports. Venables joins assistant crew chief Jon Oberhofer after Todd Smith left the team in late November. Smith tuned Jack Beckman to his 2012 title at Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). This shuffling allowed TSR Nitro assistant crew chief Mike Knudsen to take over the tuning duties for Hagan this year, with Phil Shuler joining the team to assist.
All of these movements have the usual rationale: “We didn’t win enough races last year.” Sometimes it’s necessary to make large-scale changes in order to effect synergy; that seems to be the case here. Venables, now 60, is well-traveled and has one more than Hagan’s three titles on his crew chief resume. He was former racer Tony Pedregon’s crew chief when that driver secured the 2007 NHRA Funny Car championship, as well as being assistant crew chief for Pedregon when he earned his initial 2003 title with John Force Racing.
The bulk of Venables’ crew chief successes have come at both Don Schumacher Racing and Tony Stewart Racing; Hagan’s fourth title came in the latter team’s second season and is pretty much an anomaly for a new squad. “I’m super excited about the next phase of my career,” Venables said as he discussed his future. “I’m really happy to be in Michigan getting comfortable with everybody and meeting people I didn’t know before. Kalitta Motorsports obviously has a lot of resources and great teams, so I’m really happy to be part of it.”
Venables’ father worked in the field and he was a natural from the start of his career. Still, the crew chief realizes the nature of racing: “There is no magic wand you can wave over one of these cars,” he said. “It’s something we have to take one step at a time. As long as we make progress with the changes we’re thinking about making, I think we’ll eventually get to our goal. The biggest thing about that is, you have to have good people, and the whole Kalitta organization is well represented out there.”
In their compressed pit locations at most races, crew chiefs can see what’s going on at other tents and Venables saw the grit at Kalitta’s team when they had to come back from mishaps that could have ruined an entire season. As it was, Hagan finished the 2024 campaign in third place while Todd ended up tenth. Venables is looking to change that in 2025. “Those guys never gave up” when mishaps occurred for Todd and necessitated quick work to turn the car around. “They got the chassis fixed and go the cars back on the race track – that’s the definition of teamwork. I’m excited and looking forward to getting the season started.”
Mike Knudsen worked with Hagan and Venables since 2013 at DSR; he transitioned to Stewart’s team – along with the balance of that squad – in 2022 and helped Hagan to his fourth title in 2023. Prior to joining DSR and then TSR, Knudsen worked with Jim Head Racing. “I’m really excited to take the next step in my career,” he said. “Thank you to Dickie’s mentorship. I feel very prepared to step into the crew chief role. I couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Knudsen stated. “Tony [Stewart] is the best owner in the NHRA and we have a championship-winning team that’s led by [car chief] Alex Conaway, also with Matt being a four-time championship winning driver.”
Knudsen also expressed his pleasure about having Shuler on-board as his co-crew chief. “He and I have multiple years of experience working together at DSR. I feel we will really complement each other as co-crew chiefs. We’re excited to get the 2025 season underway and hunt down that fifth championship for Matt.” Shuler comes to TSR Nitro from JCM Racing, where he was an advisor for Tony Schumacher’s Top Fuel rail. “I’m really excited to get the opportunity to work with Tony Stewart Racing,” Shuler said. “There are a lot of people there that I’ve worked with and have a good relationship with. I’ve worked with Mike Knudsen a lot. This is a well-deserved opportunity for him and I’m excited to help him wherever I can.”
The Funny Car Tony Stewart Racing squad has brought home 13 of the team’s 16 wins to date. Todd is NHRA’s 2018 Funny Car champion.
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