If there was one NASCAR driver, who could make his way to Formula 1, it would be none other than Tony Stewart. Over the years, Smoke has adapted to different styles of racing. He not only participated in specific disciplines of auto racing, but he also won championships. Talking about his experience in open-wheel racing, the 53-year-old won the NTT IndyCar Series in 1997.

So he could’ve easily transitioned into Formula 1 racing if he had put his mind to it. Despite his extensive experience in stock car racing, the idea of switching to open-wheel racing was not attractive to him. In an interview, Stewart laid the technical reasoning for snubbing a switch to F1 racing.

Stewart wasn’t a fan of the braking zones in Formula 1 racing

Although there are always debates and comparisons surrounding NASCAR and Formula 1 racing. Both auto-racing series have their fair share of technical racecraft that sets them apart. And Formula 1 racing’s peculiar nature of extreme braking on the corners was just too much for Stewart to adapt to.

“I would not like Formula 1. I watch it on TV though, and the braking zones are so damn short, maybe that’s why they crash while trying to overtake … In NASCAR the braking zones, with heavier cars and smaller tires, are a lot longer. An F1 car is just as long as a stock car, but the braking zone is less than half what we have, so you have to make that distance up in half the time,” Tony Stewart said in an interview with Motor Sport Magazine.

He did reveal that racing in Formula 1 could’ve been possible during his prime years of racing, but that would be a long-shot move as he was associated with NASCAR. “I would not enjoy F1 racing like I do in the types of racing we have over here. In the prime of my career, maybe I would have jumped at the opportunity; I may have loved it, I don’t know. Where I’m at now, I’m a fan, and yeah, I would have enjoyed driving the cars, but not the racing part of it.”

However, despite his reservations regarding competing in F1 racing, he just couldn’t refuse the opportunity to drive an F1 race car back in 2011.

Lewis Hamilton and Tony Stewart switched their rides at Watkins Glen

While Smoke may have missed the opportunity to see F1 racing, he certainly got a valuable insight into the sensation of driving a race car from the renowned open-wheel racing series. The event named Mobil 1 Car Swap saw Hamilton take the wheel behind the No. 41 Chevrolet, while Stewart got in the seat of McLaren. Interestingly, both drivers managed to beat each other’s best-timed lap at Watkins Glen.

“To do this with Lewis Hamilton was amazing. He is absolutely an amazing person,” he mentioned.

He continued, “His racing record speaks for itself, but to talk to him without media, without cameras, was such a great opportunity … Lewis went five seconds faster than me in my car, and I went eight seconds faster than him in his car. But, hey, he had nothing to prove, and we laughed about it later. The conditions obviously played a part. It was such a cool day, some of the coolest laps I ever had in my life,” Stewart recalled.

Given that Tony Stewart has a proven track record of acing every discipline of auto racing he has competed in, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he’d have a successful stint in F1 racing.