An Indiana State Police K9 who was named after NASCAR driver and Columbus native Tony Stewart has retired.
Smoke, an 11-and-1/2-year old German shepherd, was purchased by the state police more than nine years ago with money provided by the Tony Stewart Foundation. Before his service in Indiana, the dog served for two years as a police K9 in Iowa.
The dog was named after Stewart’s well-known racing moniker “Smoke,” a nickname given to Stewart after blowing engines during a 1997 championship run in the IndyCar series.
In addition to donating money to purchase the dog, the Tony Stewart Foundation has also donated ballistic vests to the state police K9 program to protect several dogs.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Smoke spent his entire Indiana State Police career with his handler and best friend Master Trooper Kyle Freeman.
Freeman and Smoke primarily patrolled the Indianapolis area, making numerous drug arrests, state police troopers said.
One of Smoke’s most memorable moments was sniffing out and locating more than 19 kilos of cocaine and $500,000 cash during one arrest, state police said.
Troopers estimated that in his career, Smoke helped locate more than 100 pounds of cocaine, 70 pounds of methamphetamine, five pounds of heroin, a pound of crack cocaine, 400 pounds of marijuana and 30 doses of MDMA (ecstasy).
Freeman said he wanted to thank Stewart and the foundation for all that they had done by providing Smoke and the vests to the state police.
“They gave me a phenomenal partner and a great friend who selflessly served the citizens of Indiana,” the trooper said.
Following tradition for K9s who finish their police careers, Smoke will enjoy his retirement was the Freeman family.
Stewart retired as a NASCAR driver after the 2016 season, but continues as an owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, as well as other motorsports ventures.
