Tony Stewart

'Smoke', one of America's most-decorated drivers, on swapping seats with Lewis Hamilton, shunning the media spotlight and tackling the dragstrip

- ROB WIDDOWS

Tony Stewart is a legendary figure in his homeland, the only man to have won championships in both IndyCar and NASCAR. Nicknamed ‘Smoke’, he’s also won championships in midgets, sprints and USAC Silver Crown cars during a career that began in karts in 1980.

The statistics are phenomenal, a roll call of races and titles won in almost every category in the history of motor sport in North America. This year, despite saying he’s “semi-retired”, he’s on the NHRA dragstrips where he’s already collected more silverware. The veteran racer is also a philanthropist, the Tony Stewart Foundation supporting the plight of sick children among other causes.

There’s a dark side to Stewart’s career too, most notably the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr, hit by the guesting NASCAR star at the Canandaigu dirt track in 2014 when the 20-year-old had left his crashed car to remonstrate over a collision. Stewart was never charged or officially blamed for the incident.

The 53-year-old is known for his reluctance to put himself in the media spotlight, preferring to let the driving do the talking. From his ranch in Indiana, however, he speaks about his career as both driver and team owner, decades that have put him firmly in America’s Hall of Fame.

Motor Sport: Let’s start in the present and work our way back. This year you’re doing NHRA top fuel dragsters. Why?