If the NHRA handed out its Rookie of the Year accolades for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the contest would be over now. 

Tony Stewart drove to the second win of his rookie season, putting down all challengers in winning the Cleetus and Cars Show; the most recent stop on the NHRA Div. 3 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series hosted by Indianapolis Raceway Park has now advanced to the finals in the last three NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events.

“The last three races have been amazing,” Stewart said. “To win at Vegas and runner-up at Charlotte two weeks ago, then come here to the regional event in Indy and win is awesome. I’m really proud of this team and how much they have progressed. It was a rocky start to the year, but once they figured out the problems we were having, this thing has come to life. 

“I feel like every run we make; we’re getting better and better and getting the window a little bigger of what makes the car happy. Rich (McPhillips Sr.), Richie (McPhillips Jr.), Renee, Wayne, Bill, and Eric, that are on my car, are great. There’s an awesome synergy with everyone. There’s Tex and Chris on Jasmine’s (Salinas) car and Darrell and Chad on Mike’s (Coughlin) car, and Matt’s (Cummings) car when he runs it. Everybody works together, and we’re one giant team. It’s nice when you plan and envision a run before you do it, and then it goes exactly like you had planned.”

Stewart staked his claim on the title from the get-go, establishing No. 1 qualifier credentials with a 5.183-second elapsed time. The run stood as the pole and also established a personal best. His Q2 run at 282.07 mph is the fastest he has gone in a Top Alcohol Dragster.

Stewart maintained a torrid pace, running 5.202, 282.19 mph to beat Jeff Chatterson and then a 5.288 to beat Jasmine Salinas. The jack-of-all-trades driver and master of them all ran 5.257, 276.35 mph to beat Jackie Fricke in the final round.

Stewart has stated publicly in not so many words, ‘When I’m doing a circle trac cark, I can grit my teeth, and I can find a new line, and I can take risks, and if I’ve got to find another 10th, I can push and find it.”

Drag racing, as he readily admits, is a different ballgame. 

“The hard thing with this style of racing is keeping up with the race track and knowing how much power you can put to the car,” Stewart explained. “They did a great job prepping the track, and Richie did a great job keeping up with it, so we knew what to do with the car.”

And so did Stewart - win.