With a career spanning more than 20 years, Anthony Wayne Stewart — better known as Tony Stewart or simply Smoke — is a professional auto racing legend for good reason, boasting a host of impressive accolades and accomplishments.
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Even though he retired as a full-time NASCAR driver back in 2016, the 49-year-old Stewart continues to race and is also involved in several racing-related business ventures. All that considered, Smoke has been raking in the big bucks for quite some time now. Here, we'll take a brief look at his career and see how that translated to his massive net worth.
Racing Career and Bio
After an impressive run of winning titles in go-karts as well as Indy, midget, sprint, and USAC Silver Crown cars, Stewart — who is the only driver in history to win a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR — began his full-time NASCAR racing career in 1999.
From 1999 to 2008, the Columbus, Indiana native drove the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing car. After winning the 1999 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Smoke won two NASCAR Cup Series championships in 2002 and 2005. During that nine-year stretch, Stewart solidified his NASCAR dominance as a two-time Brickyard 400 winner (2005 and 2007), a three-time Budweiser Shootout winner (2001, 2002, and 2007), and a three-time Prelude to the Dream winner (2006, 2008, and 2009).
From 2009-2016, Stewart competed in the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Haas CNC Racing, which would later become Stewart-Haas racing after he became co-owner of the team in 2011. That same year, Stewart became the first owner-driver to win a Cup Series championship since Alan Kulwicki in 1992. Ending Jimmie Johnson's five-year championship streak, Stewart also became the first Cup Series driver to win the championship due to a tiebreaker.
Throughout his career, Stewart competed in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series. Having run 618 Cup Series races in 18 years, Stewart had 49 wins, 308 top-10 finishes, and 15 poles. Smoke also raked in 11 wins, 41 top-10 finishes, and six poles in 94 Xfinity Series races, while earning two wins and five top-10 finishes in only six Truck Series races.
On top of his Cup championships and his wins on the track, Stewart is also a 2018 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame inductee, a 2019 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee, and a 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.
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NASCAR Merchandising and Endorsements
Over the course of his career, Tony Stewart has been endorsed by a number of different companies, including Subway, Coca-Cola, Burger King, and Toyota.
Stewart also garnered a good deal of his money through merchandising. In 2016, he was 6th on the top-20 list for drivers ranked by merchandise sales.
Business Ventures
Not only has Tony Stewart had success as a race car driver, but also as a NASCAR team owner. He has a 50% stake in Stewart-Haas racing and is owner of the No. 14 car driven by Clint Bowyer, the No. 4 car driven by Kevin Harvick, the No. 10 car driven by Aric Almirola, and the No. 41 car driven by Cole Custer.
Stewart also owns Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio), while also serving as a co-owner of Paducah International Raceway (Paducah, Kentucky) and Macon Speedway (Macon, Illinois).
As if a series of race tracks weren't enough, Stewart even owns his own racing series, having purchased the All Star Circuit of Champions back in 2015. On top of all that, he also runs the Tony Stewart Foundation, which raises funds for chronically ill children and drivers injured in motorsports activities.
It's safe to say that you'll have a hard time finding someone more committed to American stock car racing than Tony Stewart.
Tony Stewart Net Worth
With an estimated net worth of $90 million, Tony Stewart is one of the highest-paid NASCAR racers and owners in the United States. That equates to pretty substantial yearly earnings, particularly during his full-time NASCAR racing days.
Take 2014, for example. That year, according to Forbes, he racked up $18.7 million — $12.7 million from salary and winnings and $6 million from licensing and endorsements. Just in case you didn't know, it really pays to be among the best in NASCAR history!
This post was originally published on October 8, 2018.
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