LAS VEGAS — Tony Stewart will race on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In his NHRA drag racing debut in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, Stewart qualified second and won his first two elimination rounds on Saturday afternoon at the state-of-the-art concrete drag strip.
Driving a dragster fielded by McPhillips Racing, Stewart advanced to the semifinals that will be run on Sunday.
Stewart outran James Stevens in the first round and defeated Taylor Vetter to set up a semifinal match against 2014 Top Alcohol champion Chris Demke.
“This is pretty cool. I had very modest expectations when I first got here,” Stewart told NHRA.com. “My main goal was to get some experience. Obviously, I wanted to do well and I know I have an experienced team that is capable of winning races. I’m not sure I expected to still be racing on Sunday. The first round was pretty cool. I knew he [Stevens] left on me. I saw his nose, so I knew I was in trouble, but that’s what this McPhillips team is capable of.”