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via Getty

Tony Stewart and his passion for motorsport racing has often known no bounds. While he has now been seen as a regular in drag racing, his desire to experiment remains as lively as before. After a thrilling experience at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Smoke couldn’t control his excitement.

Last week, Stewart participated in the Indy 800. Being his competitive self, the 52-year-old almost cruised to an emphatic victory had it not been for a last-lap horror.

Tony Stewart looks forward to a return to the Indianapolis Raceway Park

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The Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park hosted the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster on the weekend. If that wasn’t thrilling enough for Tony Stewart, the NASCAR Cup Series legend announced his wild-card entry into the Indy 800 in the dying hours.

While YouTube sensation Cleetus McFarland took pride in kicking off the 2024 edition of the Indy 8oo, his excitement knew no bounds upon Tony Stewart’s participation. Stewart raced on the historic IRP oval to battle it out against 19 other Crown Vics for the win.

 

Unsurprisingly, Stewart had a wonderful time in the race. With a tight finish bound to take place in the final lap, Smoke was guilty of going too aggressive and eventually ended up wrecking himself. While he didn’t look bummed about it after the race, he surely had a great time during the race.

Speaking about his tires after the race, Stewart said, “You could feel if it was really aggressive, if it was happy and it’s like once I figured out the places it was unhappy, the places it was happy and what to do to work around it. That’s the most fun I have had racing in a long time.”

While that certainly means a lot coming from Stewart’s mouth. After all, it increased the charm of the Indy 800 significantly. What made it even more special was Smoke expressing his intention to return to the race. Stewart said, “Thanks for the invite and save me a car, I want to come back.”

Most certainly, a return back to Indianapolis is on the cards for Stewart. However, what lies next in his schedule is equally interesting.

Tony Stewart faces a litmus test of his ability in Chicago

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Chicago has always been of high-value importance in Tony Stewart and his motorsports career. While victories in Chicago have been a regular theme for him, he would be desperately relying upon the venue to turn his fortunes around in the NHRA Route 66 Nationals.

With the Chicagoland Speedway possessing an exciting combination of straights and challenging corners, Stewart has his task cut out. Speaking to the Potters House, Smoke said, “I’m looking forward to it. Obviously, I’ve had the luxury of running the mile-and-a-half course. I’ve been running the dirt track that’s right next to the drag strips.”

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Stewart added, “So now I’m going to hit the trifecta in Chicagoland and get to do all three running race tracks… We are from southern Indiana, our race team is on the west side of Indianapolis, so this is a second home race, so to speak.”

Well, it is certainly interesting to see with all his experience, what Stewart is able to achieve in Chicago. Hopefully, a victory there could be a defining moment in his NHRA drag racing career.