$90M-worth Tony Stewart makes feelings clear on striking a high-stakes NHRA deal with SHR’s former sponsor 

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has inked a deal with former stock car racing sponsor Rinnai America Corporation. Stewart was featured in an interview with 'Drag Illustrated' and expressed his feelings on the deal with his former sponsor.

$90 million Stewart (via Celebrity Net Worth) ventured into the NHRA Series after he met his now-wife, Leah Pruett. Don Prudhomme introduced the couple during the COVID-19 pandemic via FaceTime. After the pandemic, major leagues were shutting down, and Stewart went to see his then-girlfriend compete in the series and developed an interest in drag racing.

Rinnai America Corporation first sponsored Tony Stewart's team in 2023. The largest gas appliance manufacturer in Japan sponsored the #14 Ford Mustang driver, Chase Briscoe. On the other hand, the brand sponsored Leah Pruett in the Top Fuel Dragster for two events and Matt Hagan in the Funny Car series during the NHRA New England Nationals.

Recalling his time with the sponsor, the former NASCAR Cup Series driver said:

"Rinnai has been a great partner of ours both in my NASCAR days and now in the NHRA. The NHRA program works for Rinnai because they’re able to do a lot of BTB (business-to-business) at the racetrack in a neutral setting."

"We’re able to have meetings with customers in the hospitality tent and then show them a great time at the racetrack and show them what 11,000-plus horsepower looks like, so it’s a great partnership. We’re very proud to represent them, and for us to have the opportunity to go to one of the distribution facilities and sign autographs for them before the event is something we always enjoy doing. They always do a great job with it, and it makes for a very fun weekend for us," he added. (via Drag Illustrated)

After Leah Pruett took a temporary break from the series, Tony Stewart replaced her. Stewart ranks sixth in the championship with 112 points behind the leader, Shawn Langdon. Meanwhile, Matt Hagan is just 27 points behind the Funny Car leader, Paul Lee. Stewart will face Steve Torrence at Friday’s rescheduled NHRA All-Star Top Fuel Callout. Additionally, during the weekend, Stewart will make his first appearance with his former sponsor.

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When Tony Stewart elucidated the significant changes between stock car and drag racing

Last year in October, the former owner of Stewart-Haas Racing went on the 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick's "Happy Hour" podcast and clarified the significant difference between the two major series.

Tony Stewart claimed that the NHRA and NASCAR are two vastly different series. He began by comparing the race timings of both series and pointed out that NASCAR races generally last about three to four hours, whereas NHRA races conclude in three to four seconds.

“It’s not like what you and I were used to, where we’ve got a three-and-a-half-hour race," Stewart said. "We’ve got six or eight pit stops throughout the day, and we have three, four, or five hundred laps to get the job done. If we make a mistake, we’ll fix it," Stewart said.

Tony Stewart concluded that the National Hot Rod Association dragsters pump around 11,000 horsepower and are built to run in a straight line. Meanwhile, NASCAR cars' engines produce around 650 horsepower and are generally designed for oval tracks.