Nelson Stewart still going strong in Legends Car racing
Nelson Stewart is more known as “the fire that made smoke,” in reference to his son, Tony Stewart, than a race car driver in his own right. However, when it comes to wheeling a race car, Nelson Stewart can hold his own and loves to race just as much as his son.
“I just have a ball”, said Nelson Stewart in an interview with LegendsNation.com.
When asked about why he still races as much as he does, Nelson replied, “I don’t want to go out of this world not doing what I love to do and that’s race cars.”
Stewart has taken his passion of racing in recent years to the INEX Legend Cars across not only the Midwest, but most of the United States, including racing several events at the Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Last July he took home a 5th place finish in the final round in Herman Towe’s car.
For Stewart, there is no such thing as a home track. He quite possibly travels further to just race than any other race car driver. Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, is the closest track to his home, and that is just a mere 6 and half hours up the road.
“If I can turn the car in the trailer on four wheels it is a good night”, said Stewart about what he expects each race night.
He expects to race as much as he can this year, but he did say it all depends on Tony and how much help he needs during his final season. He did hint that Tony would possibly be in the car a lot sooner than the media has been predicting and said Tony feels great and is moving around very well.
This coming April, Stewart has another big travel trip planned. He will be heading down to Texas Motor Speedway to compete once more in the Battle at the Big Top April 4th through the 8th.
While in Texas, Stewart will celebrate his 78th birthday on April 4th. But don’t let the age fool you. He can still wheel it with the best of the Masters out there. Tim Brockhouse calls him a “low key guy that can drive a race car.”
The weekend after Texas is the Spring Fling at Western Tech Speedway Park in El Paso, TX. Stewart is going to run with some of the best dirt Legends race car drivers in the country as they all compete for the $5,000 winner’s check.
“I don’t care about points. I just like to race at new tracks I have never raced at before and that have history,” said Stewart on going to El Paso in April.
All of the dedication and perseverance that Stewart does throughout the year did not go unnoticed by the leaders of U.S. Legend Cars International. The INEX community presented Nelson Stewart with its highest award this past January during the annual champions banquet held at the Speedway Club at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There Stewart was presented with the USLCI/INEX Commitment to Excellence Award. As a low key guy he very much does not want the spotlight, but his peers gave a standing ovation in his honor.
Not much for a speech Stewart did say that ”It is just a joy. The people that you meet in this group, I’ve done a lot of different kinds of racing in a lot of different places and the group of people who run legend cars are some of the best in the country. I’m just really proud to be where I am right now.”