Tony Stewart racing debut (3 Viewers)

[Chili]

Woke up this morning with a ESPN alert that Tony Stewart will be racing at the NHRA Nevada nationals. He will be racing in Top Alcohol Dragster in Rich McPhillips Dragster. Mobile1 is the primary sponsor.

 

[qualified17th]

Remember that time Rich McPhillips Jr. was in that same car and won his debut? No pressure there Smoke...

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

Little Miss Scrapper runs a McPhillips car, too.

 

[Notch1320]

I think that this is Tony's big FU to NASCAR as he was scheduled to be the grand marshal at this weekend's NASCAR race in Martinsville and instead opted to race a NHRA race. $300,000 in fines has soured him about NASCAR and I wouldn't be surprised to see him sell his shares in Stewart-Hass racing.

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

Also, he and Gene have been at odds with hiring drivers lately. And, Ford would not let him hire Kyle Larson. It will be interesting to see if he pulls the Ford plug on the spirit car team, too.

Like Oprah says, Mopars for everyone!

 

[Just Paul]

Tony tested in the car Monday after Brainerd, this has been in the works for awhile.

While I was watching at first I was confused as to why so many people came up to watch and had their phones out taking pictures and videos. Then I realized who was driving.

 

[Bruno]

Just curious but does he not need grade points to run the national?

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

Will Hanna said over on FB that TS could get in with McPhillip's car owner points.

 

[Chili]

Just curious but does he not need grade points to run the national?

With no quota on the Alky cars, can’t anybody enter? While not positive, I don’t believe Arizona racer Charles McLaws has raced this year either.

 

[qualified17th]

I think that this is Tony's big FU to NASCAR as he was scheduled to be the grand marshal at this weekend's NASCAR race in Martinsville and instead opted to race a NHRA race. $300,000 in fines has soured him about NASCAR and I wouldn't be surprised to see him sell his shares in Stewart-Hass racing.

He was supposed to be the guy this past weekend in Homestead, not Martinsville. Don't think this has anything to do with that mess.

 

[r2]

This is so cool.

 

[Butch]

Bets on TF next year

 

[jsracz]

Also, he and Gene have been at odds with hiring drivers lately. And, Ford would not let him hire Kyle Larson. It will be interesting to see if he pulls the Ford plug on the spirit car team, too.

Like Oprah says, Mopars for everyone!

Pull the Ford plug and go where on the NASCAR side, Toyota or Chevy? Mopar already announced they're not looking at a return to NASCAR.

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

Leave NASCAR altogether and bring back the Stanton Mopar sprint car engine program.

 

[NitroLuver]

Just an article.

Tony Stewart’s Return to Racing Is Dangerous and More Than a Little Defiant Toward NASCAR

Tony Stewart will make his NHRA debut in Las Vegas on the same weekend NASCAR determines its field for the Championship 4.

www.sportscasting.com

 

[jsracz]

Dodge no interest in anything but NHRA at this time.

Stewart/Haas has been trending down for a couple years now. I spend most of the year down in NASCAR country living on Lake Norman and with two relatives that work at SHR it's no secret that Tony has pretty much faded into the background over the last several years - so no coincidence the teams performance has dropped at the same time. He's only really ever been there in name only it's Gene Haas who funds the huge majority of the race org. Haas originally paid Tony to come put his name on the team from day one. He at least made them much more competitive than they are these days. I don't blame him for being pissed at NASCAR for the recent penalty call because of the inconsistency, which NASCAR never seems to get right. I don't think anyone is surprised around here that Tony will continue to fade into the background even further going forward. Once Harvick leaves after next season I don't think he will even have much of a personal tie to much of anything over here, drivers included.

 

[handsome]

Bets on TF next year

i think Tony would run next year in the McPhillips tad to get experience. also that would give him a year to get all his ducks in a row for 2024. .

 

[Pete]

i think Tony would run next year in the McPhillips tad to get experience. also that would give him a year to get all his ducks in a row for 2024. .

all those damn little ducks have a mind of their own... ;-)

 

[TSK]

I'd bet the author of that article has never been to, or watched, an NHRA race.
The way the article begins, you'd think crashes occur during every run. He said NHRA wrecks are worse than NASCAR wrecks by a factor of 10. What a maroon.
When NASCARs wreck, it's seldom a single car incident. Wrecks at Daytona and Talladega, especially near the end of the race, often take out a dozen or more cars.

 

[Nunz]

i think Tony would run next year in the McPhillips tad to get experience. also that would give him a year to get all his ducks in a row for 2024. .

That would be the smart move. IMO