“People said I was going to fail”: Tony Stewart reflects on the heat he faced following his JGR departure for SHR

When Tony Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing and joined forces with automotive tycoon Gene Haas to form Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, several people said that he was not going to be successful. However, everything changed when he won the All-Star Race that same year.

During a recent interview with SpeedFreaks on YouTube, the NASCAR Hall of Famer recalled his race-winning moment from 15 years ago. He used to drive the No. 14 Chevy back then (SHR switched to Fords in 2017).

“When we won the All-Star Race in May with Stewart-Haas Racing and guys were there crying in victory lane, I'm like, what is everybody crying about?” Tony Stewart told the interviewers (7:48). “In my mind, all I'm thinking about is all these people said I was going to fail, that I wasn't going to win another race in my career.”

Someone from Stewart’s team explained to him that they had never won a Cup Series race before. It was then that it dawned upon the Columbus, Indiana native.

“I'm like, 'holy crap! I've never thought about it.' I think it was really the first time in my life that a win mattered to me more for the guys than it did myself,” Stewart added.

Stewart-Haas Racing closed its operations after the 2024 season. By then, they had amassed 69 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, and 28 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, including Riley Herbst winning the championship race at Phoenix Raceway in November 2024.

Following the closure of SHR, Gene Haas retained one of their previous charters and formed a new team called the Haas Factory Team, which is headquartered in Kannapolis, North Carolina. 2025 marks its debut year in the Cup as well as the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

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After logging career-first Top Fuel sweep, Tony Stewart prepares to make history at Charlotte

Last weekend, Tony Stewart held off reigning world champion Antron Brown to win the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Notably, it marker his first win in an NHRA national event.

Stewart is now second in the NHRA standings, 16 points behind Shawn Langdon, the current points leader. His next race is at the Z-Max Dragway on Sunday, April 27, at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Named American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, the race happens to be the 1000th Top Fuel event. Needless to say, winning it will add to his already impressive resume that flaunts triumphs in almost every aspect of motorsports, including NASCAR, IndyCar, USAC, and now NHRA.

“It’s going to make going to Charlotte that much better, especially being the 1,000th Top Fuel race,” Tony Stewart said in a statement (via Speedway Media). “Me being a part of the sport, going into their 1,000th race and knowing that NHRA’s 75th anniversary is next year and being a part of that in some capacity is really cool to be a part of and it’s awesome.”

Notably, Tony Stewart was a part of NASCAR’s 50th anniversary. So, he knows how important historic moments like these are. Fans can watch him in action on NHRA.tv, 11 am EST onwards.