Candid Tony Stewart Confesses Consequences of Maiden NHRA Victory in 7 Words

Published 04/09/2024, 8:25 PM EDT

After two failed attempts to mark his first elimination win in the NHRA Top Fuel season, Tony Stewart earned his first win at the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park. The NASCAR Hall of Famer advanced to the semi-finals of the series for the first time, piping the likes of Brittany Force and Steve Torrence.

After three events since the start of the Top Fuel season, Smoke is now just one point adrift of the 2-time champ Brittany Force in the unofficial standings. Stewart ranks ninth in the standings going into the Four-Wide Nationals in Nevada next weekend. As a result, the weekend was a huge turnaround for Tony Stewart and his team, who had been hard at work but had nothing going in their favor in terms of results.

Tony Stewart feels relieved after his first elimination-round win at the Arizona Nationals

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It was a huge undertaking for Stewart to adjust to competing in the 11,000-horsepower dragster. While he is known to excel at pretty much anything that has four wheels and an engine, Top Fuel racing has been a huge learning curve for the NASCAR champ. But the win last Sunday came at the right time, providing his team with a sense of achievement after initial struggles.

“These guys really rallied [on Sunday], so by having the opportunity to make three runs, you feel like we’re finally starting to get a base and then can work from there. Never thought just winning one round would take such a weight off your shoulders. It’s kind of like when we made the first run at Gainesville. I kind of relaxed and settled in,” Tony Stewart said via NHRA.

However, after two successful attempts, Stewart had to taste defeat at the hands of Justin Ashely. But despite the loss, it was a momentum-building event for Stewart and his team, and he is looking forward to the next week of racing. “It was the same way [Sunday] getting through the first round, and after we did that, I started to get that rhythm again. It’s good for all of us as a team. We’ll just keep digging. I’m looking forward to [this] week.”

While Tony Stewart has unlocked his maiden achievement with a couple of wins in Top Fuel, rumors regarding his NASCAR team’s future have become the talk of the town.

Stewart Haas Racing is rumored to have put their charters on sale

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The last few years, in particular, have been tough for SHR. With the departure of lead drivers such as Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola, they also missed out on key sponsorship deals since the start of the season. Moreover, the deadlock situation between NASCAR and the team has further put SHR in a sticky position. It is indeed difficult to run a successful business operation in NASCAR, even more so when your team is not performing.

This instability and uncertainty for charter negotiations have led to rumors about SHR considering selling multiple charters ahead of the next season. Moreover, the team is also without the backing of manufacturer sponsorship, as their deal with Ford ends this year and there has been no chatter regarding an extension.

There are plenty of takers in case SHR does put out their charters for sale. The likes of 23X1, Trackhouse Racing, and Legacy Motor Club are on the expansion route and could add more charters to their existing teams. Team downscaling and eventually shutting down their operation in NASCAR is not a new thing, and for the time being, SHR is heading towards a darker end to their NASCAR story.

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Written by:

Chintan Mahesh Devgania is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As someone who likes to dive deep into the sport, he often takes up less explored topics to eventually see them make their way into top stories. His report on Toyota’s young recruit, Jade Avedisian, sharing her thoughts on Late Model Racing, was an example of that.

Edited by:

Shivali Nathta

Candid Tony Stewart Confesses Consequences of Maiden NHRA Victory in 7 Words

Tony Stewart feels relieved after his first elimination-round win at the Arizona Nationals

Stewart Haas Racing is rumored to have put their charters on sale

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