Following a 20-year stint in NASCAR, Tony Stewart retired in 2016 to focus on team ownership and to participate in open-wheel dirt racing where his path to the pinnacle of motorsports began. From the first time that he began driving a go-kart in 1978 till date, Stewart has proven to be one of the most versatile race car drivers of current times.
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Stewart’s three championships in the Cup Series are a well-known accomplishment. But before he got into NASCAR racing in 1999, he was the 1997 IndyCar champion. Even before then, he was a four-time USAC champion and a winner of USAC’s Triple Crown (1995). USAC’s top three divisions are Midget, Silver Crown, and Sprint.
Not surprisingly, Stewart won all three to earn the Triple Crown. The three divisions compete in completely different types of race cars and are raced on both asphalt and dirt. Fast forwarding to the then-future, Stewart can be seen winning the 2006 IROC championship. In 2021, he won the SRX championship and once again, proved that he was a much higher standard than his counterparts.
Stewart is the first and only driver to be a champion in stock cars, Indy cars, Midgets, Silver Crown cars, and Sprint cars. Talking of this large spectrum of achievements and his career, Stewart says, as reported by stewarthaasracing.com, “I couldn’t have asked for more out of this life. I feel like I’m a very, very fortunate person, so no matter what happens, the goals and everything that happens from here is just icing on the cake. I’ve been very lucky to do the things I’ve done.”
Tony Stewart’s achievements and accolades over long racing career
Stewart is often compared with Mario Andretti for his versatility in racing. The various disciplines that he has mastered have earned him distinctive entries in many Hall of Fames including, the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2020), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2019), and the USAC Hall of Fame (2016).
In 1999, he became the first driver to complete the Indy500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, a double duty that will be attempted by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in 2024. Stewart’s variance has oozed into his role as a team owner as well. Tony Stewart Racing is a holder of 27 owner championships, with titles in USAC, World of Outlaws, and the All-Star Circuit of Champions.
He expanded his presence to the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series in 2022 and fields two full-time entries in it. He recently made his debut in the series Top Fuel class, replacing his wife, Leah Pruett, as the driver for one of the entries.
