Veteran nitro Funny Car driver Phil Burkart Jr. is returning to NHRA’s national circuit.

Burkart will be driving for team owners Robert and Lisa Schwab at the season-opening Winternationals Feb. 9-12 in Pomona, Calif.

The Winternationals is one of a handful of national-event races Burkart Jr. is slated to drive for the Schwabs in 2017.

Burkart Jr., most recently drove the Schwab nitro Funny Car – a Dodge Charger – at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas and failed to make the 16-car field, but he’s upbeat about the new opportunity.

“I'm honored Robert and Lisa trust me with their car,” Burkart Jr. said in a press release. "It's certainly fun to be back out there racing again, knowing we have at least a partial schedule of events to run. Robert's a really good guy trying to make a go of it and he has good equipment. We all got along really well in Vegas, which we kind of treated like a test session, and we were all encouraged by the results. I think we can really make a go of it in Pomona and the other races we have planned."

Currently the team plans to enter national events in Pomona, Phoenix (Feb. 24-26), Las Vegas (March 31-April 2), Topeka, Kan. (May 19-21) Epping, N.H., (June 2-4), and Englishtown, N.J., (June 9-11) with additional sponsorship from Burkart Automotive.

"Of course we are searching for sponsors to help us expand the schedule," Burkart said in the release. "We believe we have a great package to offer a company that wants to reach this market and with the incredible up-tick in ratings NHRA had last year with FOX, the timing seems great. But we know it's very hard to lockdown sponsors. If we come out and show our level of professionalism and our desire on the national stage, it will only help in our search. We're very optimistic."

Burkart is certainly no stranger to driving and winning in the nitro Funny Car ranks. He has driven for numerous teams over the years, highlighted by stints with John Force Racing and Del Worsham Racing. He has four Funny Car victories in nine final-round appearances. Burkhart Jr. filled in for John Force after Force was injured Sept. 23, 2007 at the Fall Nationals in Dallas. Burkart Jr. drove for Force the remainder of the 2007 season.

“It was awesome,” Burkart Jr. said about the experience of driving for John Force Racing. “I mean, obviously I had driven a lot before that. But, you know, driving over there with no expense spared and all the dream team of crew chiefs there, including Austin Coil, I mean you can’t get or ask for a better memory or experience than driving John Force’s car and having Austin Coil out the windshield bringing you to the staging lights.”

This past season, Burkart Jr. drove an Alcohol Funny Car, which is something he had not done in almost two decades.

“Good,” said Burkart Jr. when asked about the experience of driving the alcohol Funny Car. “I hadn’t driven an Alcohol car actually in about 18 years before last year. It was a little bit to get it back to. I drove my own Alcohol car from ’91-’98 before I turned to Nitro Funny Cars. So, I had some experience but it had been quite a while. Obviously there’s a lot of different procedures that you do in an Alcohol Funny Car. I guess once you hit the gas and you’re on the race track, you go through the motions and your procedures that you have practiced, I guess, for that class and hopefully it becomes second nature.”

Burkart Jr. doesn’t believe he will be driving an alcohol Funny Car and nitro Funny Car at the same events this season.

“Right now it doesn’t look like any of the events that we’re going to run with the Fuel Car line up with any of the Alcohol Car races,” he said. “So, no, I guess not.”

Although Burkart’s racing career has had its highs and lows, he has kept things in perspective with the ways things have turned out for him.

“You know, when I first started driving Top Alcohol Funny Car in the early ’90s, I would have never expected it to go where it went,” Burkart said. “You know, I think I’m very fortunate to have it gone where it did, had the opportunity to drive for a lot of really good teams, and meet a lot of really good people, and be around a lot of really good people. You know, would I have liked it to last longer on a full-time basis? Yes. But, you know, in this day and age, sponsorship money kind of dictates what happens with teams. It fell short from what I’d like to, but I think every driver would like to drive forever.”