Drivers and team owners from outside of drag racing getting into the sport isn’t anything new – see John Andretti’s Top Fuel endeavor in the early ‘90s, for example – but lately, it seems like the invisibility cloak has been lifted off of drag racing and the mainstream motorsports world is starting to take notice on a new level.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State of Drag Issue, in September/ October of 2024.]
NASCAR drivers have made the occasional appearance at the NHRA races at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, the heart of NASCAR country, for years. But when Tony Stewart, one of the most prolific drivers and team owners in all of motorsports, started getting more involved in drag racing, his circle-track-racing friends started coming around more too. Drivers who had a general knowledge of 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel and Funny Car racing soon got a first-hand look while attending races with the Tony Stewart Racing Nitro team.
“Smoke” isn’t the only NASCAR figure to get involved in NHRA nitro racing in recent years. Former driver turned team owner Rick Ware jumped into the NHRA Top Fuel ranks at the 2022 U.S. Nationals with popular driver Clay Millican and the Parts Plus team. Ware, whose teams also compete in the NASCAR Cup Series, American Flat Track, and the World Supercross Championship, has shown that he’s all-in on nitro racing. Despite busy schedules for all of his teams, Ware regularly attends races with the Top Fuel team and has provided the Jim Oberhofer and Nicky Boninfante-led team with all the resources needed to compete for a championship.
“NHRA offers a unique opportunity to afford intimate access to the action to larger numbers of guests than most other motorsport properties do, and that’s important to us as we continue to find new ways to offer memorable motorsport experiences,” Ware explained when he announced the formation of his Top Fuel program.
Other team owners are starting to catch on too. Over the summer, an Autoweek story by Susan Wade reported that Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti shared his interest in NHRA drag racing during a media roundtable at the Portland E Prix. He indicated that he’s looking at it as an option and he would “love to be in drag racing.” While Andretti Autosport hasn’t made any announcements regarding a potential drag racing venture, the fact that they’re even considering it feels like a win for the sport. Will we see more outside involvement in coming years? If it means more passionate new personalities like Stewart and Ware, we sure hope so.
This story was originally published on November 11, 2024. 
