NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart to Pilot Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 at Winternationals

Stewart already has a few test runs in the wicked Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 under his belt with impressive results.

Tony Stewart – or “Smoke,” as he’s otherwise known, has been racing just about anything on wheels since he was a kid, but he found stardom in NASCAR, where he’s racked up three Cup titles as a driver and two as a team owner. However, Stewart has also won titles in a wide variety of racing series, including midget and sprint cars, the USAC Silver Crown, and even IndyCar. Now, the motorsports legend will try his hand at a little drag racing when he climbs behind the wheel of the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals this weekend.

Stewart is no stranger to the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400, however, as he’s already taken a few test hits in the car at North Carolina’s zMAX Dragway. It didn’t take long for him to find out that driving this uber-powerful electric pony is a bit different than the ICE racers he’s used to, however.

“It’s something you have to sneak up on,” Stewart said. “It’s not something that you want to get in, cold turkey, mash the gas, and then have the front end come off the ground and not have any clue where you’re going.”

“I call a spade a spade,” Stewart added. “If I didn’t think it was awesome, I’d say ‘oh, it’s pretty neat, the development of it will make it an awesome car.’ It’s already an awesome car. It makes almost 1,400 horsepower. So to have a car that makes 1,400 horsepower that can go down the drag strip in eight and a half seconds or less, that’s pretty impressive. And that’s just the start of it – they will keep making this better and better.”

Unsurprisingly, Stewart caught on pretty quick during his test runs in Concord, recording a best e.t. of 8.28 seconds at 169.68 mph. Just a few weeks ago, Bob Tasca III set a new record for the car by running a slightly better 8.12 seconds at 171.97 mph – a new electric vehicle drag racing record – so we’d say Smoke might just have a future in drag racing, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

Join the Mustang Source Forums now!

Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.