Tony Stewart at Daytona International Speedway in February 2015. Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images
The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is full of optimism and positivity, since there have been a lot of changes since 2015 ended. Jeff Gordon was able to drive off into the sunset on his own terms as he is now ready for his next chapter with NASCAR on FOX. Tony Stewart was looking for the same outcome while preparing for his farewell tour in 2016. But thanks to a back injury suffered while driving a dune buggy in California last weekend, his farewell tour will be starting later than he thought.
Last weekend, Stewart suffered a burst fracture of his first lumbar vertebrae, requiring him to have surgery on his return to Charlotte. Now he will miss not only the 58th running of the Daytona 500, but Stewart is reportedly going to miss around 3-4 months of racing. It all means that Stewart will miss his last chance of winning the crown jewel of NASCAR – the Daytona 500 – and many more races. Several potential names come up as who will fill in for Stewart while he’s out. But one driver, Clint Bowyer, who is replacing Stewart next year at Stewart Haas Racing, is already committed to HScott Motorsports for the entire 2016 season.
If you had thought Jeff Gordon had a bad start to his farewell tour, it’s nowhere near what Stewart is enduring heading into his last season. Stewart has practically been on a downward spiral on and off the track for the last three seasons. He was to hoping for a clean slate to kick off his last season, only for bad luck to strike him again. With Bowyer already the driver-in-waiting to replace Stewart; even if he changed his mind and put Bowyer in his No. 14 car, it’s not likely he could add a fifth car, should he return this season under that scenario? NASCAR has a limit of four cars per team, and can only run a fifth car for up to seven races.
When Stewart does return, he needs what Kyle Busch had last season, after suffering injuries in the XFINITY Series season opener. Busch missed 11 races, then went on to win the Sprint Cup championship. Now, many wonder if Stewart can recreate that Busch magic this season.