Something is happening behind closed doors and the legend known as “Smoke” might be lighting the fuse
Byline: Charlotte, NC, July 2025
Tony Stewart has always done things his own way. Whether he was wrecking half the field at Bristol, launching his own racing empire, or stepping away from the NASCAR spotlight on his own terms, Stewart has never followed the script.
Now, nearly a decade removed from his last Cup Series win, the three-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer is back in the headlines. This time, the news isn’t coming from a racetrack but from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Earlier this week, a trademark filing was submitted under the name Black Smoke Racing Enterprises. The filing appeared just 72 hours after Stewart was seen entering a closed-door meeting with two former high-ranking NASCAR executives. The trademark lists general motorsports terms such as race promotion, marketing, and competition management.
No team affiliation is mentioned. No manufacturer is named. No partners are listed. At the bottom, in small print, sits one name. Anthony W. Stewart.
And with that, speculation began to spread through the motorsports world.
On the night of July 18, Stewart was spotted entering a private dining room at a high-end Charlotte steakhouse alongside former NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Brent Dewar and former Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller. Both executives left the sport in recent years under unclear circumstances, reportedly over disagreements about the direction of NASCAR’s leadership.
The meeting was private, but not invisible. According to one server on duty that evening, the men stayed well past closing time.
“It looked like they were drawing on napkins,” the server said. “And it wasn’t food.”
Following the meeting, no one involved has offered an official comment. Stewart’s team declined to respond. Dewar replied to inquiries with a single sentence: Tony has always been a visionary. I’m excited for what’s coming. Miller has remained silent.
The name Black Smoke Racing instantly triggered fan theories. Stewart’s longtime nickname, Smoke, has followed him from his dirt-racing roots through his Cup Series championships. The use of the word Black has raised eyebrows. Some believe it hints at a darker, more rebellious chapter of Stewart’s legacy.
Motorsport forums lit up with speculation. Some suggest Stewart may be creating a new short-track racing league. Others believe he is planning to take over or reboot SRX, the racing series he co-founded and later stepped away from. The boldest theories suggest he is preparing to launch a breakaway racing league, one free of corporate constraints.
Adding fuel to the fire are Stewart’s recent financial moves. Over the past six months, he has quietly acquired ownership stakes in two mid-sized speedways in Illinois and Tennessee. Both tracks were previously considered too outdated or remote for NASCAR’s approval. Now, both are undergoing complete repaving and facility upgrades.
The timing of all this could not be more compelling. NASCAR is facing internal tensions between tradition and entertainment. Ratings have stabilized, but younger audiences are turning to grassroots content and real-time digital storytelling. The backlash following this year’s All-Star Race, especially around the controversial Promoter’s Caution, exposed the widening rift between drivers and executives.
Stewart’s own future has also shifted. His race team, Stewart-Haas Racing, will shut down after the 2025 season. While Stewart called the move necessary, many now believe it was a calculated decision to free up time and capital for something new.
For now, the trademark is just a document. But anyone who knows Stewart understands he doesn’t move without intention. Whether Black Smoke Racing becomes a new racing series, a touring promotion, or something entirely unexpected, one thing is certain.
He is not done.
Not even close.