Last year, news broke that former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart was being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place earlier during the 2020 Cup Series season. He was absolutely thrilled.

Speaking at the event, he said, “Really a huge honor, because there are so many people that I got to work with. Learned and grown a lot from, so it made for a very special night.

“I’ll never forget this night, I got to spend it with a group of people I got a lot of respect for. Just really proud to be able to share it with those guys and share it with my family.”

How else did NASCAR honor Tony Stewart?

In addition to the nomination, ‘Smoke’ also got a special exhibit dedicated to him. This exhibit was filled with Tony Stewart memorabilia, including helmets, trophies, and even one of his cars.

The Indiana native kicked off his racing career in the karting scene. To get into the specifics, he debuted in the World Karting Association, winning the 1987 championship. Since then, he appeared to pursue a career in open-wheel racing.

However, that changed when he joined the United States Auto Club (USAC) in 1991. From there, he went on to clinch 2 titles in the 1994 and 1995 midget championships.

It is worth mentioning that he tried his hand at IndyCar racing in 1996. However, there soon came a time where he was forced to choose between IndyCar and NASCAR and he chose the latter.

Since then, he has never looked back, and 3 Cup titles are definitive proof of that. 2 of those titles came with Joe Gibbs Racing, while the final title came with the Stewart-Haas Racing team. At the end of the 2016 season, he walked away from NASCAR with 49 wins under his belt.

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