Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed
Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional
stock car racing driver, current
NASCAR team co-owner of
Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the
Superstar Racing Experience. He is a three-time
NASCAR Cup Series champion as a driver, winning titles in 2002, 2005, and 2011. As a
team owner, he has won NASCAR Cup titles in 2011 with himself and in 2014 with
Kevin Harvick as drivers. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won racing titles in
Indy,
midget,
sprint, and
USAC Silver Crown cars. He is the only driver in history to win a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR.
He last competed full-time in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (now known as the NASCAR Cup Series) during the 2016 season, driving the No. 14
Chevrolet SS for his team,
Stewart-Haas Racing, under crew chief
Mike Bugarewicz. From 1999 to 2008, he drove the No. 20
Joe Gibbs Racing car, under crew chief
Greg Zipadelli with
The Home Depot as the primary sponsor. While driving for car owner
Joe Gibbs, Stewart won two Cup Series championships in 2002 and 2005. In 2011, Stewart became the first
owner-driver since
Alan Kulwicki to win the Cup Series championship. Stewart is the only driver to win the Cup Series championship under the old points system and the
chase playoff format, and is the only driver to win the title under three different sponsorships (
Winston in
2002,
Nextel in
2005, and
Sprint in
2011). He is also the first driver in the Cup Series to win the championship by a tiebreaker. On May 22, 2019, Stewart was voted into the
NASCAR Hall of Fame, and on January 31, 2020, was inducted alongside the 11th Hall of Fame class. On November 21, 2021, he married NHRA Top Fuel Drag Racer
Leah Pruett.
Category:Sports
Subcategory:Motor Sports
Subcategory Detail:NASCAR
Keywords:Stewart, Tony
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