“I don’t give two s**ts about the Olympics”: Tony Stewart continues racing in NHRA despite having a weekend off 

Tony Stewart recently shared his thoughts on the 2024 Paris Olympics and his passion for racing. In a video he posted on social media, Stewart was seen climbing into his NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster to gear up for upcoming events, despite having a weekend off.

Stewart nearly made motorsports history at the latest NHRA event — the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway. Competing in his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Rinnai Dodge//SRT dragster, he finished second in the Top Fuel category. A member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Stewart aimed to become the first driver to clinch major professional wins in four different disciplines: NASCAR, IndyCar, USAC, and NHRA.

After securing second place at Sonoma Raceway, the 53-year-old is setting his sights on the next event — the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, scheduled for August 15-18. Preparing for his return, Tony Stewart posted a video (on X) of himself hopping back into his dragster to gear up for the challenge ahead. Narrating in the background, he said:

"We have a weekend off. I said, 'You don't think I'm gonna sit at home watch TV?' I don't get two s**ts about the Olympics. So, I'd rather come race and hang out with some cool people."

The caption of his post read:

"Hopped back in the Top Alcohol Dragster on the off-weekend for a packed house at #NightUnderFire. Made it to the Final, but Gary’s 5.25 pulled off the win against my 5.26."

---

Tony Stewart's 10 feet miss at Sonoma Raceway

Last weekend marked Tony Stewart's return to Sonoma since his final NASCAR Cup victory in 2016, squaring off against former world champion and 77-time winner Antron Brown. As a rookie in the Top Fuel category, despite a storied career in various racing disciplines, Stewart faced several challenges this season, including four first-round exits in the last six races.

At Sonoma, however, starting in the P11 position, Stewart pulled off an upset by defeating the P4 qualifier and championship contender Shawn Langdon in the first round. The 53-year-old continued his success by outpacing Justin Ashley in the quarterfinals and overcoming Ron August, the lowest qualifier, in the semifinals.

In the final showdown, Tony Stewart took the lead but was quickly passed by Brown, who recorded a winning time of 3.746 seconds at 329.67 mph in his Matco Tools/Toyota dragster. Though Stewart had a quicker start, Brown's car surged ahead to secure the Top Fuel title with a time of 3.746 seconds, narrowly besting Stewart's 3.774 while the latter fell about 10 feet short.

Reflecting on the weekend, Stewart wrote in his post-race social media post:

"This was a much better weekend than I anticipated. We didn’t really win anything, but we didn’t lose yesterday. In the final, we did everything we could as we left on one of the best Top Fuel leavers," he wrote on X.

"To leave on Antron in the final is very big for me as a driver. We kept him honest and we made improvements with the car. We are checking boxes one at a time. We’ll take what we learned this weekend and try to make it better," he added.

With Stewart now fully immersed in NHRA, the racing community eagerly awaits to see how his career goes, especially after his wife Leah Pruett returns behind the wheel.