Tony Stewart will resume sprint car racing following NASCAR retirement

When Tony Stewart announced the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season would be his last, he made it clear he was not retiring from racing entirely and would continue to compete in other disciplines.

At the time of his retirement press conference, Stewart would not reveal his future plans, but he was more forthcoming when he spoke with reporters on Monday at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla.

“I plan on running a lot of dirt races after the end of the season when I retire from the cup stuff, so I would say this is on the radar,” Stewart said.

That Stewart will contest a heavy schedule of dirt sprint car events is no surprise. The formula has long been a passion of the three-time Cup Series champion. Throughout his NASCAR career, Stewart would continually barnstorm throughout the country, often anonymously, to race sprint cars. He won the prestigious Chili Bowl in 2002 and ‘07, and considers those victories especially momentous.

“The first time I won the Chili Bowl, we had already won the Triple Crown (USAC championships in sprints, midgets and Silver Crown) and won an IndyCar championship,” Stewart said. “Winning the Chili Bowl, a one-race event, was bigger than winning the IndyCar championship, to me. It was much harder to win the Chili Bowl. Everybody wants this trophy. It’s just a special deal.”

Stewart has not raced a sprint car since striking and killing Kevin Ward Jr. during a 2014 incident at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park when Stewart’s car clipped an on-foot Ward, who had just been in an accident involving Stewart and was walking on the track to confront him.

A grand jury ruled Stewart did not intentionally strike Ward and would not face criminal charges. Ward’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stewart last August, a case that remains open.

While Stewart is not among the 344 entries representing 34 states and five countries for this year’s Chili Bowl, he is in attendance to assist with track preparations. Among those competing the 30th annual indoor midget race are NASCAR drivers Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., J.J. Yeley and defending race winner Rico Abreu.

“It is the dirt track race of the year,” Stewart said. “I don’t care what series, what track, this is the place to be. It’s the only time all year you’re going to get this many quality cars and drivers and teams to come to one event and race.”