Motorsports icon, championship-winning driver and team owner Tony Stewart will help kick off the three biggest business days in racing as the headline guest at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show’s annual Grand Opening Breakfast, Thursday, December 8, 2022, in Indianapolis.
The Breakfast is an annual tradition for thousands of motorsports professionals from all over the world. Taking place the morning of the first day of the PRI Trade Show, it symbolizes the official opening of the three-day event.
With host Ralph Sheheen of Speed Sport joining Stewart on stage, the two will engage in a casual, talk-show-style interview that is sure to educate, entertain and inspire.
“Tony Stewart’s passion and drive is going to add a great deal of energy to an already iconic event,” said Dr. Jamie Meyer, PRI president. “We’re looking forward to hearing Tony’s outlook on the racing industry, what projects he has in the works and learning where he is headed as a leader of the racing industry.”
Stewart’s most widely known titles are the three he scored in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, he has 13 driving championships under his belt, including an IndyCar series championship and four United States Auto Club (USAC) championships—three of which made up an unprecedented win of USAC’s “Triple Crown” in 1995. He is the first and only driver to win championships in stock cars, Indy cars and open-wheel Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown cars.
In 2009, Stewart became a driver/owner in the NASCAR Cup Series when he formed Stewart-Haas Racing with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. Three years later, Stewart won the championship. It was his third and final Cup Series title as a driver, but the first of three NASCAR owner titles.
Stewart has 27 owner championships under the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) banner—14 in USAC, nine in the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series and four in the All Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets Series.
In 2022, Stewart expanded TSR’s footprint to include the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. His eponymous team fields two full-time entries—one in Top Fuel for 10-time event winner Leah Pruett and one in Funny Car for 42-time event winner Matt Hagan.
In addition to TSR, Stewart also owns Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The half-mile dirt oval is where Stewart frequently raced as an up-and-coming USAC driver, and it hosts several of the year’s biggest dirt racing events. Stewart is also part-owner of two other racetracks – Paducah (Kentucky) International Raceway and Macon (Illinois) Speedway.
Stewart is a series owner as well. He purchased the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) in January 2015. The ASCoC is one of the oldest traveling 410 winged sprint car organizations in the United States, and it’s a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. In 2020, the ASCoC added to its roster by absorbing a three-quarter midget racing series, renaming it the All Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midget Racing Series.
“Tony Stewart personifies the winning spirit that drives our industry,” said Meyer. “He continues to push boundaries and has proven himself as a racer, a team owner, a track owner and a businessman. I know that he is going to inspire the crowd by sharing his personal story.”
Doors to the Grand Opening Breakfast open at 7:00 a.m., and the program begins at 7:45 a.m. All PRI attendees are invited to the breakfast free of charge, but guests are advised to arrive early, as seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more details, visit PerformanceRacing.com.