NASCAR Hall of Famer and three-time Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart is no stranger to competing - or victory - at Charlotte Motor Speedway. From the road course to the dirt track, Stewart is one of the only drivers in history to have piloted an IndyCar, NASCAR Cup car, winged and non-winged Sprint Car and Top Alcohol dragster. Later this month, he’ll make his Charlotte debut in an 11,000-horsepower NHRA Top Fuel dragster at zMAX Dragway, just across the street from the famed 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway where he earned wins in the 2003 Bank of America 500 and 2009 NASCAR All-Star Race.
Now a rookie in the NHRA Top Fuel ranks, Stewart has been vocal about the stark differences between drag racing and the other classes of motorsports.
“There are no similarities,” he said. “Drag racing is off on Fantasy Island and Tattoo comes in the white tuxedo and tells the boss the plane is coming. It’s just that different.”
While the 2024 season marks his first full-time season in the class, Stewart and his team are already trending in the right direction. He picked up his first NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series round wins at the Arizona Nationals earlier this month, advancing to the semifinals before falling just short of a win.
After landing in NASCAR Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2003 and 2009, Stewart is excited about the chance to lift a Wally across the street at the zMAX Dragway.
“It would be an honor,” he said. “It’d be really cool to be able to check some boxes off and know that we’re one of the very few drivers in history that have run that many different types of cars (Xfinity, Sprint, IndyCar, Top Fuel) on all those tracks.”
To experience the thrill of victory, he’ll have to hold off a stout field of contenders, including six-time zMAX Dragway winner Antron Brown.
From a standout sprinter in high school to a three-time World Champion NHRA drag racer, Brown knows a thing or two about speed. He recalled the rush of lining up at zMAX for the very first time, and how it felt as though he was unleashing chaos on the Earth.
“You have to be first to leave,” he said. “If you’re not first, you’re definitely last, and you don’t wanna be behind the percussion of the other cars going down the strip – you can’t feel your car, you can’t hear it, you can’t sense it. You’re driving it like you’re blind.”
Brown is at the precipice of achieving his milestone 75th national event win. Given his six previous wins at the zMAX Dragway (including triumphs at the 2014 and 2015 Four-Wide Nationals), it would come as no surprise if he accomplished such a feat during the NHRA’s upcoming return to Concord.
The Funny Car season is off to a blazing start as well, with a talented lineup pulling up to the start line for each event.
Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion and the winningest Funny Car driver of all time, John Force has been a decisive presence at the zMAX Dragway since its inception. Despite the unique challenge the four-wide format presents, Force speaks highly of both the dragway and the Smith family that founded the Bellagio of Drag Strips.
“You gotta love anything that people create that they put their life into, and he [Bruton Smith] did,” said Force, who won the inaugural race at zMAX 15 years ago. “It’s special.”
The 74-year-old raced to his record 156th NHRA victory - and first in two years - in Arizona earlier this month, and he’ll look to keep the victories coming at the nitro-fueled Four-Wide Nationals.
His toughest competition could come from Ron Capps, the owner and driver of his namesake operation Ron Capps Motorsports, and the second-winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history. A four-time winner at zMAX Dragway (including the 2017 4-Wide Nationals), Capps believes that part of the reason he competes so well in Charlotte is because of the area’s heavy ties to NASCAR.
“It’s such a NASCAR themed town,” he said. “And that tells me that our sport is welcome there for sure. To see our fans come out every year – we love racing at zMAX.”
The 2024 season marks Capps’ 30th year competing in the sport’s professional ranks, and after a rare first-round exit at the 2023 Carolina Nationals, Capps is looking for redemption this year.
TICKETS:
Fans can purchase tickets to the April 26-28 NHRA 4-Wide Nationals online at charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267), with single-day tickets starting at just $35. Every ticket is a pit pass, so come early to see your favorite drivers and their cars up-close before a festival of 44,000 horsepower ignites the excitement!
KEEP TRACK:
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