NHRA Rookie Tony Stewart Hopes First Time a Charm in Las Vegas

• Tony Stewart will make his NHRA driving debut in the seat of a Top Alcohol Dragster this weekend in Las Vegas as part of the Nevada Nationals weekend.

• Stewart is a rookie in every sense—he's never so much has gone down the NHRA drag strip side-by-side with another car.

• Stewart said that he's run six test passes—four at Brainerd, Minn., and two at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.,—in the Top Alcohol dragster for McPhillips Racing.

Tony Stewart will take on the role of the ultimate rookie this weekend when the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series hits The Strip at Las Vegas.

The 51-year-old three-time NASCAR Cup champion and 1996-97 Indy Racing League champion will make his NHRA driving debut in the seat of a Top Alcohol Dragster.

While Stewart is no stranger to the NHRA—after all, he owns Tony Stewart Racing that fields the Top Fuel car of wife Leah Pruett and three-time NHRA Funny Car champ Matt Hagan—he's never so much has gone down the drag strip side-by-side with another car.

"It's a big thing to think about because I haven't done it yet," Stewart told Autoweek in Zoom interview session on Tuesday. "So this weekend, you know Friday morning, will be the first time I've ran beside somebody.

"When we went down to Frank Hawley's (Drag Racing) School and we're trying to learn how to drag race, Leah spent time actually staging with me with her feet and getting the lights to come on. So, you know, a couple of sessions we've done that now.

"So at least the staging procedure and seeing somebody else come in and bump in. You know, she was trying to do some tricky stuff to try to throw me off, which is what can happen in drag racing, what some of these guys will do at times. But the staging part, I'm comfortable with and with the lights and how somebody else could stage.

"But going down the track with somebody the first time—that's going to be an experience that I'm excited about."

Stewart said that he's run six test passes—four at Brainerd, Minn., and two at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.,—in the Top Alcohol dragster for McPhillips Racing of Rich McPhillips and Rich McPhillips Jr.

"We got done with our last run at Reading and we were in the tow vehicle towing the car back to the pit and Pops (Rich Sr.) goes, 'I think you're ready to run a race finally.' So that kind of caught me off guard. I said 'Are you serious? Do you really think that.' He goes, 'I don't see anything or any reason why you shouldn't."

Stewart's opportunity to race for real came up for this weekend, and it's time for Stewart to be a rookie again.

"Fast forward a month or two, and the driver that was supposed to drive the car this weekend in Las Vegas, I think has another commitment," Stewart said. "And so it opened up the seat, and I said anytime there's an availability to drive this car, I'm in."

Stewart is guaranteed three qualifying rounds and hopefully at least one round of eliminations. He's being careful to keep his goals for this first race weekend in check.

"So this is kind of the introductory week in which you know, going to a national event right out of the gate is definitely not the easiest way to do that by any means," he said. "But the positive to it is I've got good people that are going to be there, as well, to rely on, so I think there's positives to it being at a national event. I think there's also some negatives to being at a national event.

"I'm looking at it very, very simple right now. I get three qualifying rounds. And if the first round of eliminations, if that's all the further I make it, I'll get four runs running with somebody and I'll get the full experience of what an NHRA competition is like from the driver standpoint. I guess I'm setting the bar low, and I think every day that that we've gotten closer to it, I'm like, 'Well, maybe if I can get through Saturday and get to Sunday, which would be the semi final...' but I keep having to reel myself in.

"It's the competitor in me comes out and wants to sit there and do the best I can. I'll do the best I can obviously, but I'm not going to be disappointed if for some reason I go out in the first round."

While Stewart is a rookie at 51, the sport of drag racing, even at the NHRA level, is a sport that drivers 15, 20 years older are still winning and racing for championships. Just look no further than John Force—he's 73 years old. Could this weekend's experience stoke the competitive fire and have Stewart thinking of one day racing for championships at the top level of this sport?

"Yeah, potentially," he said. "And that's what this weekend is about. It's about learning and getting that experience and, and seeing if I think this is something that tcould be a part of my future.

"So obviously I'm heavily invested in with with our two teams with Matt and Leah. And, you know, I genuinely love the sport. I love the people. The pit area, the atmosphere at NHRA race is unbelievable. It's unparalleled. The fan access and how the fans can come down and watch these teams tear apart these motors service these cars and get them ready in less than an hour is phenomenal. And it's something that the fans have access to at an NHRA race that they can't get in any other form of motorsports.

"So it's just it's a lot of fun to do something different and to see an atmosphere that really reminds me of what it was like in the heyday of having fun in motorsports. So yeah, this is something that if it all goes well, absolutely. It could be something that I look forward to possibly do and more down the road."