A recent switch to drag racing has once again taken Tony Stewart, nearest, out of his comfort zone
Tony Stewart is a legendary figure in his homeland, the only man to have won championships in both IndyCar and NASCAR. Nicknamed ‘Smoke’, he’s also won championships in midgets, sprints and USAC Silver Crown cars during a career that began in karts in 1980.
The statistics are phenomenal, a roll call of races and titles won in almost every category in the history of motor sport in North America. This year, despite saying he’s “semi-retired”, he’s on the NHRA dragstrips where he’s already collected more silverware. The veteran racer is also a philanthropist, the Tony Stewart Foundation supporting the plight of sick children among other causes.
There’s a dark side to Stewart’s career too, most notably the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr, hit by the guesting NASCAR star at the Canandaigu dirt track in 2014 when the 20-year-old had left his crashed car to remonstrate over a collision. Stewart was never charged or officially blamed for the incident.
The 53-year-old is known for his reluctance to put himself in the media spotlight, preferring to let the driving do the talking. From his ranch in Indiana, however, he speaks about his career as both driver and team owner, decades that have put him firmly in America’s Hall of Fame.
Motor Sport: Let’s start in the present and work our way back. This year you’re doing NHRA top fuel dragsters. Why?
TS: Why not do something different? It’s a new challenge. It was never part of the plan, never a goal, but my career path over the last 47 years is unique, especially in this day and age of motor sport in America. I used to watch drag racing on TV in the evenings at sprint car races while we were waiting for the racing to start. When I met my wife Leah [Pruett] she was racing top fuel for Don Schumacher. When I got up close and personal with the sport in 2020 I realised how cool it was. As a driver I reckoned I knew what it would feel like but sitting in a debrief with her crew chief I was just the ‘trophy wife’ trying not to get in the way. Long story short, next step I was going to Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and by the end of the second day in a top alcohol dragster I realised how much is involved in the procedures.
I thought it was just a matter of firing up the engine, the engine tunerruns in a top fuel car, that’s 300mph, whole different thing, it’s insane, but Leah thought I was ready and she wouldn’t have let me go ahead if she had any doubts. I thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever done, a ridiculous decision, but fast-forward three years and here I am ready to race.
