This past weekend, Tony Stewart drove the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT dragster to victory at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at the Strip in Las Vegas – marking the racing legend’s first win as a driver in the drag racing big leagues. As a car owner, Stewart has celebrated wins in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes with Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan driving, and Stewart has won in a Top Alcohol dragster, but this is his first ever win in Top Fuel and his first major win as a Dodge drag racer.
Tony Stewart Qualified 5th for the Top Fuel field for the 2025 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at the Strip in Las Vegas. For those unfamiliar with the venue or this event, it is a rare track with two traditional drag strips placed side-by-side, allowing four racers to square off on each run – hence the name “Four-Wide”. In the first round, Stewart took on perennial Top Fuel front-runner Steve Torrence, along with Rob Passey and Steve Chrisman. Stewart got to the stripe first with a .071 reaction time giving him an early lead that allowed him to beat Torrence, who ran a slightly quicker elapsed time.
In the second round, Tony Stewart once again faced Torrence, along with Doug Kalitta and Justin Ashley. This time, Stewart wached Ashley jump out to a small lead on the starting line, but when Ashley ran into issues down-track, the TSR Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT dragster took the second round win.
In the third and final round of the Four-Wide Nationals, Tony Stewart took on Justin Ashley, Jasmine Salinas and reigning class champion Antron Brown. On this run, Stewart’s reaction time was not great, but he laid down a 3.87 at 317, comfortably beating Brown in second (3.912 at 302) to claim his first NHRA Top Fuel win.
“I haven’t been around the NHRA series very long, but I realized it takes a lot to win one of these Top Fuel races,” said Tony Stewart. “Everything in my career, I never had to wait over a year to win a race. We always figured it out pretty quickly and we won. I had two ‘holeshot’ wins in the first two rounds today and my worst reaction time was in the final, but the TSR crew gave me a great car in the final. Neal Strausbaugh (crew chief) and Mike Domagala (co-crew chief) and the whole crew won that final round for us today. We needed this win. It’s been so stressful for everyone since Leah (Pruett, Stewart’s wife) nearly won the World Top Fuel Championship in 2023 when it came down to the final round of the whole season.
Two years ago, I won my first NHRA national event in the Top Alcohol Dragster here at Las Vegas, and now I win my first Top Fuel national event at the Strip. It’s pretty damn cool. I’ve been a motorsports fan my whole life, and I think we made racing history today with the Top Fuel win. I’m not sure if there has ever been a driver to win a NASCAR Cup race, an IndyCar race, the USAC Triple Crown championship and an NHRA Pro event (Top Fuel). To do it with our team and our family was very emotional. When Leah brought Dom (their new son) up on stage in victory lane, my heart stopped. I got so emotional there. That is a feeling I have never had in my life before.”
Tony Stewart now sits in the second spot in the NHRA Top Fuel championship chase, but there is still loads of drag racing left in the 2025 season.
Patrick Rall is a professional writer and photographer with a passion for all things automotive. Having grown up in his father’s performance shop, he spent extensive time at the oval track and drag strip – both driving and wrenching on various types of vehicles. In addition to working as a writer, Patrick previously worked as an automotive technician before moving on to a business office position with a chain of dealerships, and this broad spectrum of experience in the industry allows him to offer a unique look on the automotive world. Follow Patrick on Twitter, Facebook and on Youtube.
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