Development and experimentally evaluation of an optimal Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) strategy based on the State Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE) control technique is presented. The proposed nonlinear controller is based on a nonlinear vehicle model with nonlinear tire characteristics. A novel extended linearization scheme of the system's state space equations on the basis of the combined slip Pacejka tire model is developed. On-line control regulation in terms of optimal braking torque allocation is computed at each time increment by solving efficiently an Algebraic Riccati Equation. The proposed method is implemented and tested on a Jaguar XF test vehicle. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller in stabilizing the vehicle with less effect on the vehicle longitudinal motion.