By Tom Zulewski, Iron County Today
LAS VEGAS – Tony Stewart has 49 wins and three Cup championships in the NASCAR ranks. He’s been successful in IndyCar, World of Outlaws Sprint cars and other forms of racing. On a warm afternoon April 13, Stewart can add NHRA national event champion to the resume.
Stewart beat Antron Brown by .42 seconds and won the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Top Fuel at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Stewart crossed the finish line in 3.870 seconds at 317.42 mph.
In only his second full-time season as a Top Fuel driver, Stewart advanced to his third career final round by beating Steve Torrence twice on holeshot wins, then beat Brown, Justin Ashley and Jasmine Salinas to claim the silver Wally trophy that celebrated the 25th anniversary of racing at LVMS.
“It’s unreal. I haven’t been around NHRA that long, but I realize it takes a long time to win a race in this series,” Stewart said. “With everything else in my career, I never had to wait more than a year to win a race because I was able to figure it out.”
After winning the first two quads by holeshot, Stewart had his worst reaction time of .082 seconds off the starting line. He credited crew chief Neil Strasbaugh and others for helping him earn the trophy.
“We all needed it,” Stewart said. “People in the stands don’t realize it and think I”m the reason the car sucks, but there were different variables that changed from last year. To do this today is history-making as a whole.”
With the victory, Stewart moved up to second in the Top Fuel points standings, 16 behind leader Shawn Langdon. He shared his reaction to the win.
“What you saw at the top end was relief,” he said. “It’s pressure for me because it’s me and what I’ve done in motorsports, the history and our path we’ve taken. It’s bad enough for me and the stress I feel, but imagine how the crew felt. To sit there today and go ‘finally, these guys got the monkey off their back. I was third off the line, and they won the race. That makes me happy. It’s a team effort.”
In the other pro classes, Austin Prock turned on the win light in Funny Car with a time of 4.009 and speed of 316.01 mph, his second straight win at Las Vegas.
“Coming off the championship, we struggled and couldn’t put it all together at the start of this season,” Prock said. “You gotta celebrate like you’re never gonna win one of these (trophies) again. You don’t know how long it’s going to take.”
Prock beat Paul Lee (4.042, 311.77) in the final and shared how the reaction from dad Jimmy Prock shaped his approach.
“When we fired up the car for the final, my dad noticed something was wrong. I thought I’d better cheat at the top of the tree because that’s our only hope,” Prock said. “We got hold of it pretty good and it was enough to win. If they’re all ugly like this, but the blinking light’s on, I don’t care. You don’t have to be perfect all the time, just be better than everyone else.”
In the Pro Stock final, Dallas Glenn beat Matt Hartford to the line on a holeshot with a time of 6.649 at 206.83 mph. Hartford posted a 6.638, but Glenn had the better reaction time of .030 seconds to Hartford’s .049. Glenn has been in the final in all three races held on the season to date, but had something unusual happen in the opening elimination round.
“When we fired up the car, my nose started to bleed. That was interesting,” Glenn said. “Somehow, I didn’t see Lane 2 stage, so I didn’t get to the two-step before the tree came down. We got lucky enough to find the horsepower and get the win.”
In addition to Hartford, Glenn beat points leader Greg Anderson (6.677, 203.55) and moved within four points of the top spot.
NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Finals
Top Fuel: Tony Stewart (3.870 seconds, 317.42 mph) def. Antron Brown (3.912, 302.35), Justin Ashley (3.965, 304.25), and Jasmine Salinas (4.237, 196.67)
Funny Car: Austin Prock (4.009, 316.01) def. Paul Lee (4.042, 311.77), Dave Richards (4.320, 227.80) and Matt Hagan (7.965, 87.66)
Pro Stock: Dallas Glenn (6.649, 206.83) def. Matt Hartford (6.638, 205.85), Greg Anderson (6.677, 203.55) and Matt Latino (6.699, 205.63)