The sting of losing a championship is not a new feeling for Tony Stewart.
In his 18-year career in the NASCAR Cup Series, there were only three seasons where the hot-tempered racer was adorned with the title honors. Likewise, during the three-year stretch where he ran the NTT IndyCar Series full time, Stewart was crowned champion once.
Of course, there were plenty of glorious highs felt along with the losses — including Stewart’s USAC Triple Crown season in 1995, when he became the first driver to win three national USAC championships (midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown) in the same year.
But at Texas Motorplex on Oct. 15, the wound of losing the Top Alcohol Dragster title felt unusually deep for the 52-year-old, as he watched Julie Nataas wrap up the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series championship.
Stewart may be the drag racing rookie on the McPhillips Racing squad and completely new to straight-line racing, but his raging passion to win was no different than year’s past.
Luckily, his NHRA Tony Stewart Racing team delivered a sweet consolation prize later the same day, as drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan swept the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories for the first time in the operation’s history.
“I could see that Matt (Hagan) and I winning was more than just a band-aid,” said Pruett, who is also Stewart’s wife. “There is always a bigger picture going on.”
Still, the championship loss was a new heartbreak for Stewart, who has experienced several disappointments over the course of his first full Top Alcohol season — including a disqualification at zMAX Dragway, which contributed to the title slipping away, and a handful of first round losses.
On the flip side, the Indiana native won four national events this year.
“I’ve been helping him in the very beginning, as everyone knows, about how to drag race and everything about that. And that was just stage one,” Pruett explained. “Then, there’s the emotions of drag racing. The highs and lows. The peaks and valleys.
“You ask Tony, they’re more intense than anything else he’s gone through because there’s not another turn to go catch it, there’s not the ability of a driver to make up for the lack of performance of a car, so to speak.”
According to Pruett, Stewart is pleased with his growth and performance on the starting line, considering his improved reaction times and increased comfortability in the car.
“He knows that he’s proved himself there,” Pruett said. “He can show out the best he can for the rest of the season.”
Last Saturday, Stewart experienced another first-round exit during the Vegas Nationals, losing to Kim Parker in his first matchup after qualifying 11th out of 22 cars.
“Tough weekend at the Vegas Nats,” Stewart wrote on X. “I’m proud of my McPhillips Racing team for working hard to find what’s been missing the last few races.”
Only one race remains in the Top Alcohol season, which will conclude during the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., on Nov. 12. Stewart is currently ranked second in the national standings, 32 points ahead of third-place Shawn Cowie.