“Don’t Mean Any Disrespect…”: Tony Stewart Was Brutally Honest in Rating His NASCAR HoF Induction Alongside His Sprint Car One

Tony Stewart is an icon in the NASCAR world. The three-time Cup Series champion, NASCAR Hall of Famer, and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing is inseparable from the sport. But he recently confessed that there’s another accolade that matters to him more than being a NASCAR Hall of Famer! That is something bound to drop a lot of jaws.

Earlier in 2022, Stewart was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. It’s an incredible feat for the driver who has been racing sprint cars since before he raced in NASCAR. The legend was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020, which is also a well-deserved award. But in a 2022 interview with The Skinny Racing Podcast, he gave a shocking revelation.

The three-time cup series champ confessed that induction to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame means more to him than to the NASCAR HoF.

Stewart explained, “It was something really, really cool when I got the news for that. And I don’t mean any disrespect on the NASCAR side, but this means every bit as much, if not more than the NASCAR Hall of Fame to me, because I’ve been around sprint car racing my entire life.” 

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It is a shocker for sure, seeing the driver have more regard for sprint car racing than NASCAR. But it makes sense because sprint car racing has been an important part of his growth trajectory. In a sense, by inducting Stewart, the National Sprint Car HoF also acknowledged his journey to the top tier of Stock Car Racing.

Tony Stewart had a humble response to being inducted into the National Sprint Car HoF

Stewart is a legend and an icon in the racing world and had already been inducted into the NASCAR HoF in 2020. So, it did not come as a surprise when he was inducted into the National Sprint Car HoF. And the driver was surprisingly humble about it.

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum tweeted about the driver being inducted into the HoF.

He responded to the Tweet by replying, “To have my name among the who’s who of sprint car racing is incredibly humbling. Truly honored.”

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Still, it does come as a surprise that Stewart considers the National Sprint Car HoF as a higher honor than the NASCAR one. Did you find it surprising too? Let us know in the comments.