Can someone be riding the high horse all the time? The answer is a simple ‘no’. Nor can Tony Stewart, who clearly loathes the idea of losing. He is absolutely ruthless when it comes to racing and is ready to take the extra mile in order to secure a podium finish. However, there was one instance back from his rookie days in drag racing when he was smoked, just an inch short of victory!   

The four-time Cup Series winner had to taste the bitter medicine of losing. And that to a 19-year-old!

Tony Stewart accepts his defeat in drag racing

The co-owner of Stewart-Haas revealed this shocker when he appeared in the Dale Jr. Download podcast. Therein, the Smoke unfolded his experience while participating in the Top Alcohol Dragster racing. Speaking to Dale Jr and his co-host Mike Davis, Stewart revealed, “The race was awesome out there. We were second quick at the qualifier. And that’s the car and not me. My reaction time was good and through the race weekends, we make it to the finals. I lined up against a 19-year-old girl. Her family has a big history of drag racing.” 

Stewart also stated the fact that “So, here we go, two rookies, you know, first time for her national finals. I’m in the finals, that’s my first time. Man, this is awesome. I got to run all the runs through the weekend. And going to the finals suddenly and didn’t care if I lost in the race. I was there to get the experience. But I lost by 1 inch. There are 15 thousand 8 hundred and 4 inches in a quarter mile. And I lost by 1 inch. 2/10,000’s of a second.”

However, the climactic part of the race lay in the fact, “I saw it wasn’t us. I looked at Maddison (the 19-year-old) and she got down the car and how excited she was. That’s when I thought it was really cool. This is the perfect scenario.”  

Furthermore, the 51-year-old graciously ate the humble pie and was awestruck by the young racer. “And listening to that 19-year-old girl talk, the composure she had. As in, her mindset. She is a budding mind. I think she’s an awesome racer. And to me, there is no shame in saying that I got beat by a 19-year-old girl.”

Tony Stewart has more than one reason to be a drag racing fan

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The Hall of Famer does admit the fact that drag racing is “not easy.” But that does not stop him from falling in love with it. And why not? It was in the tracks of drag racing that he found his ideal one. Tony Stewart’s wife Leah Pruett is NHRA Top Fuel dragster.

In an interview with NBC Sports, Stewart exclaimed that “I’m just trying to be an average husband; I’m not even trying to set the bar too high. I just want to do the right things and have fun with my wife. If Leah retired tomorrow, I would still be involved in the same capacity than I am right now. It has nothing to do with our relationship. She just helped set the hook on getting me addicted to an NHRA.”

Despite the fact that he lost to Madison, Stewart has been making strides in the drag racing arena. With his most recent win in Top Alcohol Dragster Wally at Four-Wide Nationals in Vegas, the rookie loss seems to be just a phase only to get a taste of success later. 

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