Former NASCAR driver and current NHRA star, Tony Stewart, is known for his exceptional versatility and undying competitiveness. So much so that Stewart raced across racing competitions such as IndyCar, NASCAR, and NHRA to test his limits. However, just like everything, Stewart's racing career will end someday.

In a recent appearance on the "Rubbin is Racing" podcast, he shared a timeline of his NHRA retirement. "I still race stuff outside of NHRA. I run a three-quarter midget on dirt. My dad's 88 years old, which is unheard of to be driving at his age, and he's still racing. That's part of the reason I still race a three-quarter midget, so I can race with my dad a couple times a year," Stewart said.

"Here we are in my mid 50s, and I'm still driving cars and winning races in cars that I've never driven before. So I don't know what that's going to look like, honestly. And honestly, I feel like it's really going to be, I feel like mentally, it's going to be a situation where physically my body's going to tell me, 'Hey, I can't do this anymore,'" the three-time Cup Series champion added.

Stewart revealed how he has persistent back pain after breaking his back four times during his career. Moreover, he also had a major scare racing in the NHRA September 2025, as he crashed at over 330mph ahead of the Four-Wide Nationals.

Tony Stewart entered the NHRA with his team, Tony Stewart Racing, in 2022. He fielded the Top Fuel entry for Leah Pruett (his wife now) and the Funny Car entry for Matt Hagan. After Stewart closed his NASCAR Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing, in 2024, he entered the NHRA full-time.

That year, Stewart drove in the NHRA Top Fuel Dragster division and replaced his wife, Leah Pruett, in his own team. A year later, Stewart won his first race at the 2025 Four Wide Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Coming into 2026, he races for Elite Motorsports and is a competitor to Leah Pruett, his wife, who races for his team, Tony Stewart Racing.

Tony Stewart wins race at 54, shows mettle

On April 13, in his third full-time season in NHRA, Tony Stewart won his third race. With the win at the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Stewart helped Elite Motorsports grab their first Top Fuel victory.

Following his win, Stewart hailed his team and, at the same time, lauded Tony Stewart Racing for their performances. "We got such a cool group of guys over there, and I love my guys at TSR (Tony Stewart Racing) too. It was nice to see Leah. I mean, Justin took her out, but she had her best leg of the weekend, so I love seeing her do her thing," Stewart said.

Stewart beat Justin Ashley to win the race, as he put in a 3.683-second run at 332.51 mph compared to Ashley’s 3.714-second run at 328.54 mph. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was visibly moved by the victory.

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yask Kotak