Tony Stewart may have removed himself from the NASCAR circuit, but that doesn’t mean the team owner in him is slacking off anytime soon! He still has a 25-year-old team under his wing. Yes, we’re talking about Tony Stewart Racing (TSR)—the team that has won 27 owners championships till date, including 14 in USAC, nine in the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series and 4 in the All Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets Series. And looks like, in the capable hands of a veteran, that number might soon reach 28…

But before we tell you about that, for context, TSR was founded in 2000 and had its inaugural season the following year. Currently located at a 25,000-square-foot facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, the team represents Stewart’s wife and semi-retired drag racer Leah Pruett, four-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan, and ten-time WoO series champion Donny Schatz. Interestingly, Schatz is set to return to ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’ for the 29th season, and looking at the help he’ll be getting, an 11th championship seems just within reach!

On Janaury 4, TSR released an official statement announcing some major changes. Dirt veteran and former Hendrick Motorsports car chief, Todd Devnich will be reuniting with Schatz after 21 years as the TSR No.15’s new crew chief. Hailing from Lincoln, Devnich’s career began in the 1990s with sprint cars. From 1998 to 2000 he was with Donny Schatz’s family team. Devnich also played a key role when Schatz won his maiden WoO series race at Cottage Grove in 1998.

In 2004, he moved into NASCAR when he joined Evernham Motorsports to serve as car chief. Working alongside people like Craig Cormack at Evernham and Rick Warner at Hendrick Motorsports, he soon rose through the ranks. For more than eight years, Devnich worked for Rick Hendrick’s NASCAR team. However, in 2020 he moved back to sprint car racing. Devnich joined Tony Stewart Racing and served as car chief for Tony Stewart’s No.14 winged sprint car. But a chance to go back to his old driver has surely got Devnich excited.

Speaking about the promotion and opportunity, he said, “I’m looking forward to the challenge of stepping into the role of crew chief, especially getting to do so with a driver of Donny Schatz’s caliber and with a team like Tony Stewart Racing.”

As for Schatz, the 47-year-old driver has been phenomenal in his three-decade-long racing career. In his rookie year at World of Outlaws, Schatz won the 1993 WISSOTA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year award. In 1996, Schatz hit the bullseye by winning the WISSOTA Sprint Car national championship. Since then, he never looked back and added nine more titles in the next 12 years.

However, this opportunity comes with a lot of pressure for Devnich, as he will need to guide Schatz, who is facing some hardships. After winning his 10th title in 2018, Schatz has faced a noticeable slump in his performance. His best result over the last six years was third in points during the 2024 season. This constant decline in Schatz’s performance and lack of contention for the title forced TSR to make the critical decision. Yet, with a new lineup, TSR will expect a title from Schatz in their 25th year of racing.

TSR crosses a new milestone

The upcoming racing season will mark a massive milestone for Tony Stewart’s racing company. Launched in 2000, TSR has been making waves in various racing tournaments. Tony Stewart reflected on his quarter-century-long journey with TSR.

“It’s pretty remarkable to think that we’re 25 years into this now it just seems like yesterday when Danny Lasoski and I had a conversation about starting TSR and what it was going to look like… it started with one World of Outlaws team,” he said. Danny Lasoki is a legendary sprint car driver. After being part of the launch of TSR in 2000, Lasoski was the driver for their World of Outlaws entry in 2001 and he instantly won the competition. He went on to do it again in 2003 and 2004.

Notably, Tony Stewart’s entrepreneurship journey started in the early 1990s when he co-owned USAC Silver Crown Series cars with Bob East. Together, they won 16 feature events and remained one of the most successful entities in the sport. However, in November 2000, Stewart decided to operate a full-time team and launched TSR.

Stewart added, “When you look at what we’ve been able to accomplish since 2001 it makes you stop, reflect, smile, and think of all the great things that we’ve been able to do as a group of talented drivers, crew members, crew chiefs, and great partners along the way… it’s just been a great ride.” Donny Schatz has been the most successful driver for the team. He has won five Kings Royal titles driving for TSR since 2009. 2018 was his most successful year when he won 22 races in WoO to win his 10th championship. After a struggle for the past 6 years, Schatz would be hoping that a crew chief change to a familiar face would boost his odds and help him excel at the tracks again.