The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series has finally come to a close at this weekend’s 58th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona Dragstrip. And ex-NASCAR driver Tony Stewart has already made a name for himself in the world of drag racing by bagging his first-ever NHRA national event win at Las Vegas back in April. And he is not ready to look back.

On Saturday, he held off the 2023 Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol Dragster winner Madison Payne and is now looking forward to facing Shawn Cowie in Round 2.

Tony Stewart doesn’t know when to retire

It’s been 7 years since Tony Stewart put down his firesuit and exited the NASCAR arena. The versatile racer has earned multiple championships across NASCAR, INDYCAR, and USAC, along with hundreds of wins on ovals, dirt tracks, and street circuits. While his goal of gaining more racing experience remains constant, Tony Stewart got his ticket to earn an NHRA national championship to add to his impressive résumé.

The Stewart-Haas Racing part owner made his debut as a Top Alcohol Dragster at last year’s NHRA Nevada Nationals. Following that, Smoke decided to race full-time in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for McPhillips Racing. And as the finals closed in, Stewart got a chance to compete against Madison Payne, whom he lost to by two-ten thousand of a second at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year. And that just made Stewart’s hunger to win greater.

What Tony Stewart hates the most is, perhaps, losing. With a roar of victory against Payne on Saturday, he tweeted, “Got the Round 1 win against Madison Payne at the #NHRAFinals. Ran a 5.319 ET at 276.13 mph to Payne’s 7.453 ET at 129.54 mph. We’ll face Shawn Cowie tonight in Round 2.”

While a gap of 2.134 seconds might not seem like a lot, for drag racing, it is indeed a vast margin. It is therefore safe to say that Tony Stewart clearly dominated Payne.

Watch this story: The Unspoken Regret of a NASCAR Legend

It’s a good year for Tony Stewart Racing, with Stewart’s wife Leah Pruett earning a dominant victory against Steve Torrence in the Top Fuel category with a marvelous finish of 3.684 at 330.47 in her 11,000-HP Mobil 1 dragster and Stewart himself in a good spot to win against Shawn Cowie. To add to his glory, Tony Stewart Racing is not lagging behind in the Funny Car finals either.

Matt Hagan qualifies for the Funny Car finals and grabs the top spot

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A pair of valorous qualifying runs aided Matt Hagan to clench the provisional #1 spot in the 58th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, along with Steve Torrence, Greg Anderson, and Gaige Herrera in the Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories, respectively.

According to autoweek.com, Hagan said, “This is what I worked for all year long—to be able to do this, go down that racetrack, and have a fast racecar underneath me.”

“That’s what excites me and keeps me coming back every year. I keep crawling back in this racecar because I get to create these moments. I truly wake up every morning going, damn, this is my job, and I get to do this, and I’m right here in this fight,” he added gleefully.

Read more: Tony Stewart Gets Dead Serious; Has “Bad News” for Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing & Co.

Hagan flaunted a fast dart of 3.869 seconds at a blazing speed of 328.46 mph in his Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat, which made him eligible to have a shot at his second top qualifier of the season and the 51st of his entire career. Hagan now looks forward to taking home his 4th world title and the first for Tony Stewart Racing.