Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
With multiple drivers in winning race cars and a couple of late restarts, the Folds of Honor 500 was a success in terms of what you would like out of any Sprint Cup Series race, but as I sat there watching Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help but think, what is up with Tony Stewart?
Stewart ended up 30th Sunday after being involved in a late race crash, but what caught my attention was how he was running before the end of the race. Throughout the race I saw Tony running from 25th to 30th and struggling to move forward. But as I sat there Sunday afternoon I began to think of the big ‘Tony Stewart’ picture and came to some conclusive thoughts.
If you think back to the beginning of the 2013 season, there’s the memory of a Tony Stewart team that was also struggling before they found pay dirt at Dover Speedway where Stewart claimed his first and only win of the season. After doing some research I found that after that win, the next five races saw Tony collect three top-fives – from a team that was running as they are now. It seems as if Stewart was on the right track until he suffered a broken leg in a sprint car race later that summer. That season saw Tony compete in 21 of the series’ 36 races.
If you also think back to the 2011 season, Tony Stewart won his third championship. But he also barely squeaked into the Chase, of which he admitted his team was struggling. Crew Chief Darian Grubb and Stewart had decided to part ways at the end of the 2011 season and it seemed as if the No. 14 team would struggle to get through the Chase. Remarkably, they won the first Chase race at Chicagoland, then went on to New Hampshire Speedway to capture the checker flag, after leading only two laps. Stewart then went on to win three more races at Martinsville, Texas and the season finale at Homestead-Miami to capture the championship – winning five of the ten Chase races.
With these numbers its easy to see that Tony Stewart is a confidence driver to a severe extent. Usually when a driver is in a rut, you notice low top-ten to top-15 finishes; but with Stewart, you see results lower than that in the 20s or even the 30s. To the contrary, when you see a confident Tony Stewart, you see a driver that is most likely the best in racing. With all the occurrences that have presented themselves, from the sprint car crash, to the Kevin Ward incident, and the Kurt Busch situation, you can see how that confidence has been tough to keep up.
Here’s the point, Somehow, some way, Tony finds a way to squeak out a win, even when his car has not been in contention throughout the race. I have never seen another driver able to do that, to the extent he does.
So for the people saying he needs to cut back on his sprint car racing, or needs to focus on just being an owner, is bogus. He has won championships while being an owner and back to his earlier days, running many sprint car races and even the occasional INDY 500.
To the Tony Stewart nation reading this, it is not as if Tony has lost the talent to drive or race anymore; it is not a lack of knowledge from his crew chief Chad Johnston who has won in this series before. It is a merely a hiccup that we are seeing from Tony Stewart. If you look just across the race shop you see the No. 4 car of Kevin Harvick, running up front and winning races. The race cars are working for Stewart-Haas Racing.
As long as Tony is able to move through the season without any unusual circumstances keeping him out of the car, you will see the Tony Stewart that I grew up watching. That is a man capable of winning multiple races and more championships.
I have absolutely no uncertainty in writing that Tony Stewart will return to championship form. I am not one of those people who believes he is washed-up or is not mentally capable to compete at this level anymore. I am one of those people who believes we will see Tony Stewart return to championship form within the next couple years. I am one of those people who believes, Smoke will rise again.
After years of antics with Tony and now Kevin Harvick fitting into the crown of King Moron, I wish the two would go away. Tony seems to be tired of Tony, hopefully the over exposed Harvick family will get sick of looking at themselves and fade away too. Wishful thinking…
Your mind is really messed up must be a FAD BRAD FAN
I’m sure the death of Kevin Ward is eating away at him, Kevin was a race car driver just like Tony, Not just some pot head idiot some people want you to believe.Maybe Smoke should just hold a press confrence and tell us all what happen the night he ran over Kevin, if he’s innocent the truth will come out . The truth will set you free.
That is without question the silliest comment ever. The guy WAS a pot head and he committed suicide. Period.
Basically, Tony’s team has become the test team for Harvick. Kevin brings in the big money sponsorships and is their best shot to win another title, so Tony sacrifices his chances to run the experimental set-ups. Kinda what Kasey Kahne does for Hendrick.
Tony and his “company” are a HMS outlet. Who is kidding who, just like Juniors little Xfinity racing team, nothing wrong with it. Just can’t stand the people not talking about the big elephant in the room.
You may be absolutely right, but based on the competitor Tony Stewart is, I refuse to believe that he would race in anything other than what he feels is the best. I really do believe he would just declare it a waste of time to race in sub par equipment. Why not put a young up and coming kid in the car with top notch equipment then? You would lose sponsorship money, yes, but being the business man Tony Stewart is I’m sure he could put something together if that truly was the case.
Just my take on things, and I do appreciate your input.
I want to agree with the writer of this article. I have been a 14 fan for many years. I have seen the highs and lows and really enjoyed the ending of the 2011 season. I was at Southern Iowa Speedway the night Tony Stewart broke his leg. That night he could wheel that sprint car like no one else. He and Kyle Larson were in a class by themselves.
However, I read the race reports after each Sprint Cup race. It seems over the past year or so, the 14 has been battling an ill handling race car almost every week. He is a wheel man through and through but I worry that he is having trouble figuring out the car with the new rules package. I have to ask if he is getting enough help from his crew chief and team. I am not sure what the answer is but it seems that as talented as Tony Stewart is, he should be making progress with the car and rules package.
Kevin Harvick figured out the rules package and won a championship and has been second the last two weeks. I am intrigued by grumpiestoldman’s comment about running the test set up. It would explain a lot.
Here’s hoping that the 14 can catch that magic again and thrill us all. Go 14 Go.
He needs to get his butt back in a sprint car and put all that crap behind him.
Tony needs to get rid of his crew chief