When it comes to racing, Tony Stewart has driven in IndyCar, NASCAR, SRX, and is looking to add drag racer to his resume.

The three time NASCAR Cup Series champion, NASCAR Hall of Fame driver, and NASCAR Cup Series team owner has announced that he will be driving full time in NHRA drag racing.  Stewart also holds an IndyCar championship and a USAC championship. 

Also known as Smoke, will be driving a Top Alcohol Dragster for McPhillips Racing.  He made his debut last October at the Nevada Nationals.  Now, he is looking to add an NHRA National Championship to the list.

Along with being a co-owner in Stewart-Haas Racing; Smoke also owns an NHRA team where his wife Leah Pruett drives a Top Fuel car and Matt Hagan drives a Funny Car.

Smoke spoke on his new ride saying, “we’ve been working on putting this package together with the McPhillips family to expand on what we did at Las Vegas last year and get back in the seat.  I want to keep learning about the sport and have the opportunity to go compete more this year with a team I really enjoy.  It’s nerve-wracking to try and do something different, but when you have a team like what the McPhillips Racing team has, it makes everything a lot easier.”

While Smoke is looking for that championship, he isn’t quite sure it’s in the realm of possibilities for his first full year as a racer; saying, “it’s hard to sit there and know what expectations we should have for the year.  I think as long as I keep learning more and more as I go by trying to be more consistent with driving the car, keep it in the groove, trying to stay consistent on reaction times and improve reaction times, those are all goals for me. I want to keep learning and get better every weekend and every race we go to.”

The NHRA season begins next month in Florida with the Gatornationals in Gainesville.

Along with his SRX Series this summer, Smoke will be running select races in the Divisional Series.

“It’s been like being a little kid all over again.  When I was racing go karts, I couldn’t wait for the winter to be over so I could go racing. That’s where I’m at all over again,” said Smoke.