Tony Stewart Snubs Lewis Hamilton and NASCAR to Hail New-Found Love in NHRA

Alongside Mobil 1 motor oils, Tony Stewart has almost accomplished it all. From winning his third NASCAR championship in 2011 with SHR to driving Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 championship-winning McLaren MP4-23 at Watkins Glen, few partnerships have been as iconic as the one between Smoke and the synthetic engine oil brand steeped in motorsports history. 

Therefore, it can only be deemed destiny that on Mobil 1’s 50th anniversary, Tony Stewart gets another chance to be a rookie again, albeit in an 11,000cc Top Fuel dragster. And if promos could mean anything, this new rush for speed has caught Smoke in disbelief over how much faster drag racing truly is, compared to the death-defying speeds of NASCAR and even the high-speed hijinks of Formula One.

Tony Stewart calls NHRA drag racing a different island

After Stewart’s Top Fuel round wins against Brittany Force and Steve Torrence in last week’s Arizona Nationals, he has officially kicked off his 2024 season with some positive advances. But a Top Fuel race win is still left for the waiting, and Smoke can only do better. That has been a constant in his extensive racing career, considering a resume filled with championships in multiple disciplines and Hall of Fame inductions.

But a win does not come easy in NHRA, and the man who has done it all, from the asphalts of IndyCars to the dirt tracks of USAC, had some interesting words in Mobil 1’s latest promotional featuring NHRA and Tony Stewart Racing. In a video posted on Twitter by Mobil 1 The Grid’s official handle, Stewart declares, “There’s no form of motorsports that has the acceleration that drag racing has.” He goes one step further with his next statement. “Everything we’ve done in motorsports, like driving Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car, Being in NASCAR, IndyCar, Sportscars, and Sprint Cars on Dirt. Drag racing is off on its own island, separate from other stuff that goes on,” said one of NACAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.

Tony Stewart is a legend in NASCAR, and he’s just starting in drag racing. But many fans might forget an incredible moment that took place courtesy of his current Top Fuel sponsors in 2011, when a young Lewis Hamilton, waiting for the second of his nine world championships, visited Watkins Glen on a rainy afternoon for a Mobil 1 event. 

The Brit also brought his high-performance single-seater Vodafone McLaren beast, and this was when Tony Stewart got a chance to drive it. This experience definitely gives him bragging rights when he talks about F1 cars or any cars, for that matter of fact. But it also ignites the question: Could Lewis Hamilton do it better than Smoke in these 11,000-cc abominations?

Lewis Hamilton, behind the 11,000-cc monster

Stepping aside from the high-speed ballet and technical aspects of open-wheel Formula One racing, Lewis Hamilton had wheeled Stewart’s #14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for 6 laps at the time. His displays in front of the 10,000-large crowd were impressive, to say the least, as rumors even swirled of a potential NASCAR debut at the Glen in 2011. Nevertheless, that did not come to pass, and most of Lewis Hamilton’s greatness has only been on display in the varying circuits of Formula One.

Drag racing, on the other hand, is truly nothing that any driver can ever completely prepare for. Tony Stewart broke it down perfectly in the aforementioned promotional when he said, “The 60-feet mark the car is already going 100 miles an hour. So it’s just an experience that, it’s really hard to explain to people.”  Nevertheless, he does not hold back from explaining that “the hardest part with this is literally getting your body and brain trained to keep up with how fast the car and the information that your eyes are bringing in.

Tony Stewart lays out an amazing conclusion. “When you haven’t driven cars that run 300 miles an hour, your brain is not used to that. So that is literally the hardest thing you have to translate and get your body to catch up with.” Although either legend swapping their respective seats seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, with Mobil 1 and the widespread acclaim of both drivers blowing through the roof in 2024, fans should always brace for the unpredictable.