Tony Stewart will attempt to make motorsports history this weekend at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, aiming to become the first driver to win on both the Sonoma Raceway road course and the drag strip. The motorsports icon enters the event second in the NHRA Top Fuel standings, just 12 points behind leader Shawn Langdon.
Stewart, 53, will make his 32nd career Top Fuel start and his second at Sonoma. Last year, he qualified 11th and reached his first Top Fuel final round before losing to Antron Brown. He’s still seeking his first Sonoma dragstrip victory and first No. 1 qualifier at the event.
Stewart’s wife, Leah Pruett, has previously posted two No. 1 qualifying efforts at Sonoma, setting a track record in 2017. Stewart said winning on the dragstrip would complement his three NASCAR victories at the track in 2001, 2005 and 2016 — the last being his final NASCAR Cup Series win before retiring from stock cars.
“We’ve kind of been in a unique situation the last couple years of going to facilities that have multiple tracks,” Stewart said. “Las Vegas was the first one that we were able to conquer all the tracks on that property and obviously Sonoma is one of my favorite NASCAR tracks on the schedule. Having the opportunity to win there in the Cup car and now having an opportunity to win on the drag strip would be really cool for us to be able to knock a win down.”
Stewart added that Sonoma has always been special to him. “It’s always been one of my favorite places to come race and I just love coming to Sonoma,” he said. “Hopefully we can celebrate on Sunday in a little different victory lane celebration and different location on the racetrack, but at the same time, still get that feeling of what it’s like to conquer at Sonoma.”
This weekend also marks Stewart’s first event of the season representing Mobil 1 on his dragster, which will carry a new livery for the long-time sponsor. Stewart has worked with the brand for 14 years across NASCAR, World of Outlaws and NHRA programs.
“Everyone at Mobil 1 has been family for the last 14 years,” Stewart said. “We’ve had such a great partnership with our NASCAR program, World of Outlaws program, and now our NHRA program. It’s just a labor of love with our partnership. We continuously work hard to try to figure out how to help Mobil 1 continue to push the boundaries and make their product better.”
He added that their support gives his team peace of mind on the track.
“The great thing for us as a professional race team is we don’t worry about our lubricant in our car,” he said. “We don’t worry about whether we’re getting the protection we need and the lubrication we need. Mobil 1 has always given us quality products to keep us on the front edge of technology and it helps us take better care of our parts and pieces with our motors and rear ends and everything that we use their products on. It’s just one of those partnerships that helps your program go faster and they know how to protect us at the same time.”
Earlier this season, Stewart became the first driver to win on every property at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and completed a rare trifecta in Chicago, where he has triumphed on the oval, dirt track and dragstrip. A Sonoma dragstrip victory would add another milestone to his growing list of accomplishments as a multi-discipline racer.
