NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Racing in the one of the quickest fields of Top Alcohol Dragsters ever assembled, NASCAR champ and team owner Tony Stewart held his own by qualifying solidly, and then winning the first two rounds of final eliminations in his NHRA drag racing debut. Stewart finished qualifying as the No. 2 seed in his Mobil 1 dragster, and later earned his first win with a narrow victory over James Stevens as eliminations kicked off on Saturday afternoon. Later in the day, Stewart notched a second victory against Taylor Vetter to continue his impressive debut Stewart will race against 2014 world champ Chris Demke during Sunday’s semifinal round.

“This is pretty cool. I had very modest expectations when I first got here,” said Stewart. “My main goal was to get some experience. Obviously, I wanted to do well and I know I have an experienced team that is capable of winning races. I’m not sure I expected to still be racing on Sunday. The first round was pretty cool. I knew he [Stevens] left on me. I saw his nose, so I knew I was in trouble, but that’s what this McPhillips team is capable of.

Stewart’s NHRA debut has been one of the most talked-about events of the season, but so far, it’s been worth the hype. Stewart followed up his 5.293 in the first round with a 5.278 in his quarterfinal win against Vetter. In both rounds, Stewart displayed consistency on the starting line with a pair of .062 reaction times.

While the experience is far from over, Stewart has taken time to reflect on his NHRA debut. From his first three qualifying runs into his two elimination rounds he looked like anything but a rookie driver. He was particularly impressive Friday when he clocked a 5.219 elapsed time in his first official run in his Mobile 1 dragster, tuned by the father-son duo of Rich McPhillips Sr. and Jr.

“It was really good to get a solid first run in [on Friday] obviously that’s been key to this point of the weekend,” Stewart said. “It got really cool last night [for Q2] and the track changed a bunch, and it caught a lot of people off guard. We shook and spun the tires. I wanted to make a full run but in some ways it was a good thing because I got to experience tire shake, which I hadn’t had before. This morning [Saturday], it wasn’t as good on the hit as they were looking for. It was lazy on the starting line but mid-range and at the top end it made a nice run, comparable to what it did in Q1.”

Stewart got to make several runs with an opponent in the other lane, an experience he hadn’t previously had during his multiple test sessions. His team tried to simulate actual side-by-side competition, but there is no substitute for the real thing. In the end, Stewart realized the adjustment wasn’t as dramatic as he had perhaps envisioned.

“The first run I was on a solo which is, kind of worked out well to be honest,” Stewart said. “In the end it was not a big deal. To line up next to somebody is not nearly as dramatic as I thought it would be because you really can’t see them anyway. All you can see is the [Christmas Tree] lights. We knew coming in here we’d get a bare minimum of four runs in, hopefully more. So far, my lights have been pretty consistent. I don’t know if I should be worried but being .062, but at least I’m consistent right now. That gives me a little bit of confidence.”

Stewart admits that it’s far too early to discuss his future plans, but clearly he’s enjoying his debut and he’s acknowled having addition discussions with the McPhillips team regarding some sort of a 2023 program. At this point, he’s hesitant to say what it might look like, or how many events it might include.

“I think it’s safe to say there will be a second date,” Stewart said. “Before we go further let’s get through the rest of the weekend. Then, we’ll sit down and have a conversation and decide what to do. I can’t just show up as a driver and not be a team owner. I still have my responsibilities.

“I also need to get with the McPhillips family and see what their comfort level is. I have a lot of trust and faith in them. Rich Jr. has a twisted sense of humor just like I do and pops [Rich Sr.] has such a calm demeanor. By the second time I met them I realized they were people I wanted to work with. There is no way you’d put a program together unless you are 100 percent committed to it. It’s too big of an investment.”