Over three years ago, a spectacle unfolded in Tony Stewart’s racing operation. Superstar Racing Experience, a racing discipline that featured legendary drivers from multiple series, probably reached its peak at a Sharon Speedway race in July 2022. Marco Andretti won the SRX championship, and he achieved it after breaking his wrist in a mid-race wreck! This was just one of the incidents that strengthened the bond that Stewart shared with Andretti.

SRX shuttered at the beginning of 2024 due to ‘market reasons’. However, the memories that Tony Stewart’s series experienced still stand strong – and Marco Andretti features heavily in them. Presently, Stewart has more reasons to cherish those memories, with Andretti undertaking a big milestone.

Bidding adieu with emotional words

Marco Andretti spent most of his 30-year-old career in IndyCar. He won the 2004 Skip Barber National title before moving up through Star Mazda and Indy Lights, and debuted in IndyCar in 2006. Andretti was dedicated to the sport, despite the ups and downs. He won once at Sonoma in 2006 and then at Iowa in 2011. Andretti started 253 races, earning 20 podiums. Although he quit full-time racing after 2020, Andretti ran only the Indianapolis 500 between 2021-2025. Tony Stewart hailed this consistency: “Congratulations on three decades of motorsports…It takes a lot of dedication, commitment.”

Marco Andretti officially announced his plans to retire as a racecar driver. The 38-year-old posted his statement on October 29th, drawing tributes from the motorsports community. And among those was one posted by Tony Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. And Stewart showered praises: “Your attention and passion to details, that’s what you’ve brought to the sport. As a racecar driver, you just never let anything slip. Every time I talked to you during May…having those conversations is what I enjoyed…I’ve loved racing with you…Wouldn’t trade those moments for the world, man.”

The moment that stood out for Tony Stewart was when Andretti won the 2022 SRX championship. Despite hurting his wrist, he outsmarted stellar racers like Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, and Stewart himself. It also marked the first championship for the Andretti family in 31 years. Mario Andretti’s last title (in the CART Series) was in 1984, while Marco’s father and Mario’s son, team owner Michael Andretti, captured a CART title in 1991. “Watching you win a championship and being able to be a part of that was one of the highlights of my life,” Stewart continued.

Most of all, Tony Stewart hailed the friendship he shares with Marco Andretti. “Aside from the three decades you’ve contributed to motorsports, above and beyond that is just your friendship for all of us. All of us in IndyCar, all of us in NASCAR, all of us in the dirt-track world – all of us that you touched in our lives. So we’re proud to know you, proud to call you a great friend, and we love you, brother. Take care.” Andretti will spend time with his one-year-old daughter, Miura, and tend to his business ventures.

Meanwhile, no hint of retirement is visible on Tony Stewart’s horizon. His plans for 2026 are already set with a new update.

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Teaming up with a fresh partner

We all know how versatile a driver Tony Stewart can be. Aside from his NASCAR glory, Stewart holds championships in IndyCar (1997), the USAC National Midget Series (1994), and IROC (2006), among others. Over the last two years, though, Stewart was wheeling the Top Fuel car of his wife, Leah Pruett, while she was on a maternity hiatus. Pruett gave birth to Dominic James in November 2024, and now, she is ready to take over duties from her husband. Yet the latter has already made plans for himself.

Tony Stewart plans to drive the Elite Motorsports Top Fuel dragster that used to belong to his NHRA competitor, Josh Hart. And he has also signed a multi-year deal with R+L Carriers, a family-owned global freight transportation and logistics company. Hart helped facilitate the deal along with Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman and supports it.

Roby Roberts, owner and CEO of R+L, said, “We see a unique opportunity at Elite Motorsports, beyond the performance on the race track. With their vast number of drivers and the alliance with Tony Stewart Racing Nitro, the level of hospitality and the experiences they can offer to our employees is what sets them apart. Elite Motorsports is a family of their own, and we’re excited to join a team that shares our mentality.”

Clearly, Tony Stewart will take time before he joins his friend Marco Andretti in retirement. With Andretti stepping back from the wheel, he is also leaving behind a golden legacy of racing.