TONY STEWART

Tony Stewart is one of the most versatile and intense competitors in American motorsport history. He won three NASCAR Cup Series championships (2002, 2005, 2011), making him one of only ten drivers ever to win three or more titles.

Before NASCAR he dominated open-wheel racing, taking the 1997 IRL IndyCar title — he is the only driver to have won championships in both IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series. He is also the rare Cup star who kept racing dirt tracks seriously throughout his NASCAR career, which was considered eccentric and eventually became a second career.

He co-founded Stewart-Haas Racing with car owner Gene Haas in 2009, built it into a four-car operation that won 69 Cup races and two championships (his own in 2011 and Kevin Harvick's in 2014), and closed it at the end of 2024 when Ford support and two major sponsors fell away. He retired from Cup racing in 2016 but never stopped racing — he bought Eldora Speedway, launched a dirt track series, and in his fifties switched to NHRA drag racing, winning Top Fuel Rookie of the Year in 2024 and two national events in 2025.

Stewart-Haas Racing (co-owner with Gene Haas from 2009 until the team ceased NASCAR Cup operations at the end of the 2024 season), Eldora Speedway (dirt track venue in Ohio, purchased 2004), Tony Stewart Racing (NHRA and sprint car operations), Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, and since 2024 his own NHRA Top Fuel driving career — he drives for Elite Motorsports in 2026.

Stewart is not a traditional investor — he is a car guy who builds businesses around racing. Eldora Speedway is the purest expression: he bought a beloved dirt track that was in financial trouble, invested heavily in upgrades, and turned it into one of America's premier dirt racing venues.

Stewart-Haas Racing was built through talent and Gene Haas's capital, and produced multiple championships. He sold his stake in SHR in 2023.

Stewart-Haas Racing became one of NASCAR's elite teams under his ownership, winning 69 Cup races and two championships — his own in 2011 and Kevin Harvick's in 2014 — before he wound it down at the end of 2024. Building a championship organisation from a two-car startup, while still driving for it, is a genuine legacy in the sport.

Winding down Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of 2024 was the end of a fifteen-year business, forced by the loss of Ford factory support and two anchor sponsors. Whether that counts as a mistake or a clean exit depends on who you ask.

He also had a period of public controversies that distracted from his business operations and required significant personal focus to navigate.

Stewart has always said he would rather race than manage a business. Owning Eldora let him do both — he runs a business that keeps him connected to the racing world he loves, rather than building something purely for financial return.

Married NHRA drag racer Leah Pruett in November 2021. Their son, Dominic James, was born on 17 November 2024.

Pruett sat out the 2025 season after his birth and returns to Top Fuel in 2026, which means Stewart and his wife will be racing against each other. Separately, Stewart was involved in a 2014 sprint car race in which driver Kevin Ward Jr.

was struck and killed after leaving his car on track. A grand jury declined to indict Stewart and a civil suit was settled, but the incident affected him deeply and he has spoken about it rarely since.

Did not attend college — pursued racing from his teenage years.