Tony Stewart Talks About the Unexpected Consequence of Driving Tricky Dragsters in NHRA

Towards the end of last year, Tony Stewart announced that he would be racing in the NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Class for 2024. Stewart, with this move, replaced his wife Leah Pruett as the couple has now decided to start a family. However, driving in a new class may not be as challenging for him as you might think. The reason we say that is Stewart recently talked about how driving these 8,000 horsepower beasts has changed him, for the better.

As we follow the owner of SHR, he might look as tough as a rock, but coping with shoulder pain that he has had for almost three decades has taken a toll on him. So evidently, he had to undergo a gruesome surgical procedure last year. With ‘The Smoke’ not getting any younger at 52, there were some doubts about his preparedness for the NHRA event. However, during a recent podcast, Stewart provided some good news.

Tony Stewart bulked up and ready for the NHRA Drag racing season

Stewart made an appearance on Bubba Clem’s YouTube channel for an episode of ‘Unfiltered Racing Talks’. Clem during the show tried to gain insight into the functioning of the drag race car and Tony provided much more than that. The 3-time Cup Series champ went into the details of how tricky it is to pilot the drag car. In doing so, he also explained how his right hand has been growing stronger in comparison to his dominant left hand, on which he had the surgery.

“No, my right arm is getting stronger. I had a shoulder surgery in the off-season on my left arm, which is my dominant arm. So now I’ve bulked up my right side,” Tony said. The drag racing prep session has sure been a positive stimulus for Tony on his recovery road. And it is about time that he fully recovered from his horrific wreck of 1996 that caused him problems in his left arm.

Going into the 2024 season, SHR co-owner will be now looking forward to competing in NHRA. Stewart is not a novice driver when it comes to drag racing, as he did compete in the Top Alcohol class series in 2023. However, making the leap into the Top Fuel division, new dynamics and challenges will come into place.

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Stewart picks dragster over open wheels

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Not many drivers have been able to accomplish what Tony Stewart has done. Apart from his dominance on NASCAR Cup Series tracks, he had tried his hand at IndyCar and drag racing. Naturally, Stewart becomes the right person to ask which of the racing series is the most thrilling.

And Ben Shelton, the co-host of the show, did just that by asking Tony which of the two between IndyCar or dragster gives him the kick in his belly. To which he replied, “No doubt, the dragster. I mean you’re really accelerating. With the pitstops at Indy, when you leave, you’re on cold tires, and you’re not up to speed. So you don’t have a lot of downforce and you’re on a warm-up lane which is flat as a pancake.”

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It will be interesting to see how Stewart manages to pull off his drag racing duties in the absence of his wife in the Top Fuel 2024 season.