“I had ruined my career!” Tony Stewart recalls the NASCAR race win that silenced his harshest critics

Three times Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has shared his thoughts as he recall forming Stewart Haas Racing, ending his time with JGR.

“I had ruined my career!” Tony Stewart recalls the NASCAR race win that silenced his harshest critics

Tony Stewart (Via IMAGO)

Three times Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is one of the best racers in the history of NASCAR. His accomplishments aren’t limited to elite stock car racing, as he has won championships in IndyCar, dirt races and nowadays is making a name for himself at the age of 53 in the NHRA Top Fuel division alongside his wife Leah.

Tony Stewart recently won his maiden top division drag race, with his impressive performance at Las Vegas. While talking about it, he recalled the biggest decision of his career. Becoming the co-owner of Stewart Haas Racing, leaving Joe Gibbs Racing in his prime. Many in the community thought the veteran was crazy to join a team running outside the top 30 as an owner driver.

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I think it’s funny because it’s kind of the polar opposite of that… It reminds me of one other scenario… back in 2009 when we started Stewart-Haas Racing. People were telling me I was crazy. I left Joe Gibbs Racing to go to a team that had a car 34th and 36th in the points.

Tony Stewart told Forbs.

His critics branded the decision as career ruining, but it took him just three months to silence them as he won the Pocono race, the highest paying event of that season. The win was really special for him, and he was over the moon celebrating it with people that trusted him. He went onto win three more races that year and end the season P6 in the championship table.

I had ruined my career by doing that. And here we were, three months into it, and we win the highest paying event of the year. I remember getting to Victory Lane and half of those guys were in tears. That moment, I realised—it was not about me. It was about the people we had put together. And that’s exactly what Sunday turned into.

Tony Stewart added.

What are Tony Stewart’s plan for the future after maiden NHRA win?

Talking about his NHRA career now after winning at Vegas, Stewart admitted that winning the first race is always difficult and with that box checked, he might be able to use that momentum to be a contender every week. The victory helps both him and his team to approach in a calmer way.

Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart (Via @Tony_Stewart/X)

I feel like the first one is always the hardest one to win. I feel like so many times when you’re trying to win that first one, emotion gets in the equation and the nerves get in. Once you win that first one, everybody calms down because their demeanour is different.

Tony Stewart said.

The comment from the veterans shows he is determined to have a career that matches his other motorsports explorations from the past in NHRA. It will be interesting to see if the legendary driver can win the Top fuel title and enter the drag racing history books.