“It’s Way Outside the Box of Anything I’ve Ever Done”: Tony Stewart Explains Why He Loves His New Venture More Than NASCAR

Everyone’s heard the phrase “Jack of all, Master of none.” But that phrase has been comprehensively outlawed by Tony Stewart since he joined the racing industry. The NASCAR legend has been a Jack of all AND a Master of all, too.

Smoke began competitive racing in 1979. Since then he has just not stopped challenging himself. He has always found something new to experiment with. He excelled in the Cup Series (and in most formats, he took part in) as a driver, and as an owner too.

Tony Stewart will always challenge himself

Since he retired from full-time racing, he has dabbled in other things such as starting a new series of his own. He also bought and took over the historic Eldora Speedway, among a million other different things. The NHRA is just one more addition to his long list of experiments.

On The Skinny Racing Podcast, he was asked about his new project in the NHRA. Stewart said, “Yeah, that was a great idea [to start an NHRA team], by the way. It has been. I mean I’ll be honest it’s one of the best things I feel I’ve done for myself and my career.” 

“It’s definitely a new challenge. But I think the one thing I’ve really enjoyed about the sport is just the fact that it’s so different. It’s way outside the box of anything I’ve ever done before. It’s stimulated my brain to start thinking and getting excited about things that are new and different again.”

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It’s definitely great for the sport when a legend like Stewart enters the fray. From the experience he shared with the podcasters, he’s been enjoying his time there.

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For those who follow NASCAR, the NHRA is a completely alien beast. It probably was the same way for Stewart too. However, he made the leap and got into team ownership in the drag races.

Starting his own team with his wife, Leah Pruett has been a fulfilling experience. But apart from the personal aspect, he feels the NHRA offers much more to fans – more bang for the buck, in simple terms.

He told Ken Stout and Rico Elmore on the podcast, “You need to be at an NHRA drag race and see what it’s like. To be able to go down into the pit area … to buy a ticket, be in the stands, and walk down to the pit area and watch them between runs, tearing the cars apart.”

“You don’t have to buy a pit pass like you do at a dirt race or a NASCAR race that you can’t buy a pit pass to. You buy a ticket to the grandstand, that same ticket lets you down in the pit area…,” he added.

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Drag races are still fairly unexplored, at least among ‘newer’ NASCAR fans. A booming recommendation from someone of Stewart’s stature helps its case.