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Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart reflects on NHRA victory at Maple Grove Raceway

matthew knaub, reading eagle, pa.
·4 min read

Sep. 18—Throughout his career, Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart has won major events at many of the premier motor sports facilities across North America.

After the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion-turned-NHRA-drag-racer collected his second win of the year at Maple Grove Raceway on Monday at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, Stewart had some high praise for the quarter-mile dragstrip tucked away in the woods of Brecknock Township, Berks County.

"I love this place," Stewart said. "There's just something about the atmosphere here."

In his first full season competing in the NHRA's Top Alcohol Dragster division, Stewart won his second national event of the year on Monday and moved into first place in the points standings. With an elapsed time of 5.213 seconds, Stewart defeated Madison Payne in the finals by 0.04 seconds.

"I'm probably as comfortable as I've ever been in this race car," Stewart said. "Every event that we go to, I just get more comfortable."

Stewart drives for McPhillips Racing, and the victory also carried extra weight for Stewart and his car owners Rich McPhillips and Rich McPhillips Jr. A past winner at Maple Grove in the Top Alcohol Dragster division as a driver, Rich — and his son Rich Jr. — reside in Phoenixville, Chester County.

"A win is always special, but when you win under these circumstances at a home race like that for them, it's even that much more special," Stewart said.

The victory is Stewart's second at Maple Grove in the past two months, as he won the Top Alcohol Dragster final in the NHRA eastern divisional event held at the track on Aug. 5. In addition to his two national wins, Stewart has two victories in regional competition this year.

"Of all the tracks we go to for the year, there isn't any place that's going to beat how the fans are here," Stewart said. "This place has been packed all weekend."

Large crowds filled the bleachers and grounds at Maple Grove from Thursday through Sunday, including a sold-out crowd on Saturday for qualifying. With a sellout on Saturday for the second straight year, Maple Grove joined Gainesville, Phoenix and Denver as tracks that have hosted capacity crowds at NHRA events this season.

"It shows you how strong the race fans are in Pa.," Stewart said. "It's not just drag racing, it's across motor sports as a whole."

While the fans came in droves to see the action, rain forced the suspension of racing on Sunday afternoon. Racing resumed on Monday morning in front of a sparse crowd, and there was just one race left to run in the Top Alcohol Dragster division — the final.

"It just totally breaks the rhythm of the race and the event," Stewart said about racing on Monday. "The guys did an amazing job with the car. It makes it just that much more gratifying when you pull it off like that."

The 1997 IndyCar champion and the NASCAR Cup Series champion in 2002, 2005 and 2011, Stewart has spent the majority of his career racing on the national stage. He also has competed in dirt racing across the country for decades, appearing in dirt races in Pennsylvania as recently as 2021.

Inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, Stewart married NHRA Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett in 2021. Stewart, who owns Tony Stewart Racing, became an NHRA team owner and began fielding two entries in 2022, one for Pruett and one for Matt Hagan in the Funny Car division.

While he has been involved with various disciplines of motor sports for decades, Stewart shared his appreciation for the NHRA and its events.

"All you got to do is walk through the pit area on a race weekend and the atmosphere is vastly different than what you see at any other form of motor sports," Stewart said. "That's what creates the excitement here of really bringing those fans into the moment and into the pits."

Whether it was on the track or in the pits, the excitement level at Maple Grove over the weekend did not go unnoticed by Stewart.

"The race fans love it (and) the competitors love it," Stewart said. "It's just a really cool event."