Tony Stewart makes heartfelt admission on when a NASCAR win changed his perception
Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart recently shared the first time a win felt more important for the people around him than for himself.
Stewart won his first Top Fuel race at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals earlier this month at The Strip in Las Vegas. The 49-time NASCAR Cup winner shared that the win was different than his others, and he got emotional seeing his wife and NHRA driver Leah Pruett walk up on stage with their newborn son Dominic.
During an interview with Speed Freaks, Stewart recalled a similar moment that changed his perspective back in 2009 when he joined Stewart Haas Racing (SHR) as a driver and co-owner. He won his first race with the team, the annual NASCAR Cup exhibition race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
"When we won the All-Star race there in May with Stewart-Haas Racing, and, and guys were there crying, in Victory Lane, I'm like, what is everybody crying about? And, and in my mind, all I'm thinking about is all these people said I was going to fail, that I wasn't going to win another race in my career, and we wouldn't be successful," Tony Stewart said.
"And it went, my attention went from that to, what, what's wrong with these guys? And somebody told me, they said, 'These guys have never won a Cup race before.' And I'm like, 'Holy crap, I, I've never thought about it.' I think it was really the first time in my life that a win mattered to me more for the guys than it did myself. And it was that way again on Sunday," he added.
Stewart won his first NHRA Top Fuel race in only his second season in the drag racing series. He replaced Pruett in the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) dragster last year after she announced her break from racing and finished the season ninth overall.
Tony Stewart claimed first NHRA win by 0.0182 seconds
Tony Stewart has a long history of racing and winning in several professional series, including NASCAR, IndyCar, and USAC. Last Sunday (April 13), he won his first NHRA race by just 0.0182 seconds in the final elimination round to beat Antron Brown, Justin Ashley, and Jasmine Salinas.
He finished his run in 3.870 seconds at 317.42 mph and said the win was thanks to his whole team, his wife Leah Pruett’s support, and months of hard work. Stewart now sits second in NHRA standings.
Pruett joined TSR in 2021, when Stewart started fielding two entries in the drag racing series. She took a break from racing last season and had her best NHRA season in 2023, finishing third overall.
The 12-time NHRA Top Fuel race winner has not shared any plans to return to the sport this year. But Stewart has said that he will step out as soon as she decides to come back.