Former NASCAR star Tony Stewart earns first career Top Fuel victory in NHRA

Former NASCAR star Tony Stewart won the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on Sunday for his first career Top Fuel victory.

The 53-year-old Stewart had a winning run of 3.870 seconds at 317.42 mph at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He held off Antron Brown at the finish, and also beat Justin Ashley and Jasmine Salinas in the final.

“You sure as hell appreciate it more when you struggle like we did,” Stewart said. “All the credit goes to this team. I’m so proud of my guys. There’s so many great partners here and I have a great team standing there. I have a feeling I’m really going to be hurting in the morning, but it sure as hell is going to be worth it.”

Stewart is a three-time Cup Series champion with 49 career victories in the sport’s top division. He was named one of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers of all time.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!