TAMPA, Fla. — Racing legend Tony Stewart has almost literally driven every type of vehicle that can be entered in a motorsports race. The Indiana native is a three-time NASCAR Cup champion, and he's in countless halls of fame.
The 52-year-old is a team owner in NASCAR and the NHRA drag racing circuit. Last year, Stewart won a drag racing event in Las Vegas in just his fifth career start.
This year, he'll get back behind the wheel as he kicks off the 2024 campaign at the Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
"I think it’s just the history of the Gatornationals. It’s got such a rich history and tradition," Stewart said during a one-on-one interview in the ABC Action News studio. "Being able to start here in Florida. It’s just the perfect place to start the NHRA season off."
The Gatornationals run March 7-10 at Gainesville Raceway. Stewart said the NHRA drag racing experience is something that's unmatched in the world of motorsports.
"You literally feel your insides move when the car’s on the line. [The cars are] over 11,000 horsepower. To sit there and see the sights, feel the vibrations, the sights, the smells. An NHRA race, your one ticket, when you purchase a ticket, you get to walk around and see all the cars, all the drivers in the pit area," he explained. "You see the mechanics servicing the engines. Then, you get to go up to the stands and watch these cars run. It’s one of the most impressive things you’ll ever see."
Stewart was a 51-year-old rookie last season, and he admits that he's still doing quite a bit of learning on the job.
"The more I learn, the more I realize that I have a lot more to learn," the NASCAR Hall of Famer joked. "The Top Fuel dragster that I’m going to be driving runs only 1,000 feet and runs over 330 miles an hour on a good run. What I’ve learned is that I’ve got a lot to learn."
NASCAR and Indycar races can take hours to finish, with multiple laps and pit stops giving drivers and race teams the chance to make up ground or correct mistakes. NHRA races usually last less than five seconds, so there's not much time to think once the driver hits the throttle.
"Drag racing, if anything goes wrong, the driver makes a mistake, it’s over. That run is over," Stewart added. "It’s like a basketball bracket. You lose that race, you’re loading your stuff up on the trailer. Everything happens so fast in drag racing that you really have to be on top of it. That’s the hardest part, just getting your brain to process the information fast enough."
Some of Stewart's best work has been done off the track. The Tony Stewart Foundation has raised millions of dollars in its two decades of existence.
"We support children's charities, animal charities, and injured race car drivers. A lot of the drivers on the short track level, they put every dime they have available into their race cars and don’t think about the insurance side. Luckily, our foundation’s been able to help some of those guys when they’ve gotten hurt."
For more information, head to tonystewartfoundation.org.
