Tony Stewart wins first sprint car race since NASCAR retirement

Tony Stewart won his first sprint car race since retiring from NASCAR, taking the checkered flag in the United Sprint Car Series Spring Speed Xplosion finale Saturday night at the Bubba Raceway Park dirt track in Ocala, Fla.

Stewart announced in Sept. 2015 he would retire from full time at the conclusion of the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season, and he said one of things he wanted to do was focus more on racing dirt sprint cars. But the 45-year-old’s initial return to his favorite form of racing has been a struggle, with a string of races where he wasn’t competitive.

“I’ll be honest, this is our eighth night this year we’ve run, and the first seven we haven’t been very stellar,” Stewart said. “But it’s just been a while since I’ve been in a car, and we’ve been fighting trying to figure out what these tires want. The setup we ran here the last time doesn’t work here anymore.”

Stewart passed Danny Martin Jr. for the lead on Lap 19 and led the remainder of the 33-lap race. The three-time NASCAR champion then flew to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway late that night where the Cup Series will race on Sunday. Stewart co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing with Gene Haas, and the team has four drivers, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Danica Patrick, competing in the STP 500.

“I get the best of both worlds now,” Stewart said. “I still am a car owner on the Cup side. But this weekend, we were here Friday and Saturday night, and as soon as I get done with this interview, I’m changing clothes and flying to Martinsville late tonight.

“My schedule is actually busier now than what it was when I was running the Cup side, but I get the best of both worlds. I get to do the NASCAR side, and still get to do what I love to do running the dirt cars again.”