In a conversation February 6 at the PRO Superstar Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida—an independently-run pre-season event before the National Hot Rod Association opener on March 9—Top Fuel racer Tony Stewart said he was so frustrated by his inaugural 2024 season of pro drag racing, and the testing he had done for 2025, that he was actually considering stepping aside as a driver.
Good thing he didn’t. On Sunday, barely two months after that conversation, Stewart won his first Top Fuel race, at the 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 4-Wide Nationals, so named because Las Vegas is only one of two tracks on the NHRA schedule that is designed to race four cars side-by-side instead of the usual two, means that Stewart outran three other cars in the final round for his inaugural win, with a 1000-foot elapsed time of 3.870 seconds, at 317.42 mph.
“It’s pretty damn cool,” he said after the race. “I’ve been a motorsports fan my whole life, and I think we made racing history today with the Top Fuel win. I’m not sure if there has ever been a driver to win a NASCAR Cup race, an IndyCar race, the USAC Triple Crown championship and an NHRA Pro event. To do it with our team and our family was very emotional.” The win moves Stewart into second place in season points behind Shawn Langdon. He finished 2024 ninth in the standings.
The three-time NASCAR Cup champion’s role as a Top Fuel driver was the result of a twist-of-fate decision when his wife, Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett, whom he married in 2021, decided to step away from driving in order to try to start a family. Stewart, 53, who had a season of drag racing in the considerably slower Top Alcohol dragster class under his belt, stepped into the 12,000-horsepower Tony Stewart Racing car in which Pruett, 36, very nearly won the season championship in 2023.
Aside from a final round appearance at Sonoma, Stewart didn’t have a lot to show for his rookie Top Fuel season. But beginning with the 2025 NHRA season-opening Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, it was apparent that Stewart and the team were onto something. After a final-round appearance at Pomona on March 30, he won at the very next event, defeating Antron Brown, Justin Ashley, and Jasmine Salinas to take the victory.
On top of that, Stewart and Pruett were able to celebrate the win with their son, Dominic, who was born last November. “When Leah brought Dom up on stage in victory lane, my heart stopped,” he said. “I got so emotional there. That is a feeling I have never had in my life before.”
Next up is the American Rebel Light 4-Wide Nationals at the zMax Dragway on April 27, located next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval track, where Stewart has won in the NASCAR Cup series. The zMax Dragway is obviously the other track besides Las Vegas capable of running four cars at once. “We can’t get to Charlotte fast enough,” Stewart said, not surprisingly. “I love the [four-wide] format.”
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