Tony Stewart reveals dad Nelson Stewart, 86, interested in running NHRA Sportsman events
Tony Stewart said Tuesday that his father, Nelson Stewart, is interested in running NHRA Sportsman events in the future, according to Kelly Crandall of RACER/ESPN.
Nelson Stewart, 86 years young, races legends cars and notably took the checkered flag in the Outlaw Legends race at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair in June 2023. Tony Stewart said that if his dad wants to compete in NHRA, he won’t be the one to tell him he can’t.
“If he wants to race, by God, we’re not going to tell him he can’t race,” Tony Stewart told Epartrade.com. “… I think Antron [Brown] has almost adopted him.”
The Top Dragster, Top Sportsman series is one of 16 drag racing classes in NHRA. Tony Stewart is a team owner in NHRA, fielding a Top Fuel entry for his wife, Leah Pruett, and a Funny Car entry for Matt Hagan.
Tony Stewart announces plans to race NHRA Top Fuel dragster in 2025
Smoke competed in place of Pruett in 2024, as she prepared to give birth to their son. Stewart and Pruett welcomed their firstborn son, Dominic James Stewart, into the world on Sunday, Nov. 17. After being present for the birth of his son, Stewart traveled back to Pomona to compete at the NHRA Finals. Stewart advanced to the semifinals, recording a career-best run of 3.688 seconds at 334.73 mph.
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He finished ninth in the Top Fuel points standings. He advanced to a pair of final rounds, four semifinals and a berth in the Countdown to the Championship. Stewart earned 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year honors in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. He revealed in the same interview he will run the NHRA Top Fuel dragster once again in 2025.
The 53-year-old said that Pruett “wants to be a mom next year.”
“I’m going to be back in the Top Fuel car again next year,” Stewart said, via Speed Sport. “Leah has decided she wants to be a mom this first year. I’ll be honest, she is literally just over two weeks from having Dominic. And I am pretty confident in about two to three weeks, she’ll be ready to get back in a Top Fuel car.
“She absolutely looks amazing. Looking at her, you wouldn’t even tell she just delivered a little boy to us. So, it’s just amazing how strong and tough my wife is and what she does. But she does wanna be a mom next year.”