Few drivers are as versatile as Tony Stewart. The 53-year-old has competed in various motorsports disciplines across his long but illustrious motorsports career, including the Indy Racing League, NASCAR, and the ARCA Menards Series amongst others. Despite his tremendous experience on the racetrack, the veteran driver isn’t immune to feeling jittery before embarking on a new adventure behind the wheel. That’s exactly what happened when he took over his wife, Leah Pruett’s seat in the NHRA drag racing series.

Determined to live up to the expectations, Stewart aimed to avoid the potential pitfalls that could make his NHRA journey very costly. The Indiana native adopted a cautious approach, which paid off in the long run for the semi-retired racing driver.

Stewart’s experience paid off in the NHRA debut season

Tony Stewart had big shoes to fill. When Leah Pruett announced that she would step away from the NHRA drag racing series to start a family, speculation was rife about the potential replacements for the racing driver. Despite her husband, a NASCAR Hall of Famer taking over, there were question marks about his ability to adapt to the racing format, as it was very different from anything Stewart had done before. Keen to make a good first impression, the veteran driver was hoping to avoid some of the common mistakes made by rookie NHRA drivers, which could affect his first season in the sport.

Revealing a scary reality from the NHRA drag racing series, Tony Stewart said, “It’s way more expensive if you spin the tires. Top Alcohol Class, it doesn’t really hurt the motor or anything. But you do that in a Top Fuel car and it’s $100,000. You blow up a blower injectors, everything, it gets real expensive real quick. Going into the season they’re like you are going to tear parts up and I’m sitting there going yes and I’m the one that has to pay the bills on it.”

With Pruett finishing third in the NHRA standings in 2023, Tony Stewart was eager to not let her down while she was on sabbatical. The veteran driver decided to consciously avoid mistakes that could cost his team money, and not give extra work to his crew, who would have to scramble to get replacement parts for the damages being made to his vehicle. Expressing relief at being able to avoid the pitfalls, Stewart concluded by saying, “Knock on wood, thank goodness we didn’t have any of those moments early in the season.”

Ultimately, it seems like things worked out well for Tony Stewart. Since his debut, the racer has secured two wins in the Top Alcohol Dragster category and won the Rookie of the Year award. While a triumph in the Top Fuel category has eluded him so far, he has reached the final round once before and will be optimistic about his chances in 2025. ‘Smoke’ seems to have found his footing in the NHRA world and will look to achieve even greater heights in the future.

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Tony Stewart Racing to make key changes ahead of 2025

2025 seems like a promising year for Tony Stewart Racing. The team has enjoyed its fair share of success in the NHRA since its debut in 2022, and expectations will be higher than ever before going into the next season. Stewart, who had a promising first year will be back to pilot the Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster, while Leah Pruett will continue to cheer from the sidelines while she takes care of their newborn son, Dominic James Stewart.

To shake things up going into next season, Tony Stewart Racing has promoted veteran tuner Mike Knudsen to crew chief for four-time NHRA Funny Car Champion Matt Hagan. The duo have worked together since 2013 and earned three championships together in 2014, 2020, and 2023. Sharing his thoughts, Knudsen said, “I’m really excited to take the next step in my career. Thanks to Dickie’s (Venables) mentorship, I feel very prepared to step into the crew chief role. I couldn’t ask for a better situation.” Knudsen will be replacing Dickie Venables as the new crew chief.

This was a tough decision for Stewart to make as he thanked Venables for his contributions to TSR. “First, I’d like to thank Dickie for all of his contributions at TSR,” said team owner Tony Stewart. “He and Matt were able to accomplish a lot together over the years, and we’re honored they were able to earn the team’s first Funny Car championship together. His mentorship and talents have been an asset to all the men around him.” Matt Hagan won the Gatornationals in 2022 with Venables as his crew chief, securing Tony Stewart Racing’s first Funny Car championship.

Knudsen won’t be alone as Phil Shuler will also be joining the team as co-crew chief for 2025. Shuler has plenty of NHRA experience, especially at Don Schumacher Racing, and has worked alongside drivers such as Tony Schumacher and Jack Beckman. “I’m really excited to get the opportunity to work with Tony Stewart Racing,” Shuler said. “There are a lot of people there that I’ve worked with over the years at DSR and have a good relationship with. I’ve worked with Mike Knudsen a lot.”

All eyes will be on Tony Stewart Racing when the team makes its debut in 2025 at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida from March 6th to 9th. With the team owner/driver returning to Top Fuel and new leadership in Funny Car, will they achieve even greater heights next year? Time will tell.