Five Potential Candidates to Fill in for Tony Stewart

Photo - Getty Images

Photo – Getty Images

The farewell tour for three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart is not going the way anyone in the sport could have imagined.

Stewart, who suffered a burst fracture in his back while driving a dune buggy Sunday, January 31, will miss the beginning of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The entry list shows Ricky Stenhouse Jr will race in lieu of the no. 14 for Stewart in the pre-season, non-points paying event, the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona on February 13th. Also racing in lieu of the no. 24 for the Jeff Gordon, who is now retired, is Casey Mears. Both drivers will continue racing with their existing teams for their season opener, the Daytona 500 on February 21st and beyond.

So now, the biggest question that remains is, who will fill in for Stewart beyond the Sprint Unlimited? There are many drivers without a full-time ride in Sprint Cup or without a ride in any NASCAR division and several candidates from the XFINITY or Camping World Truck Series. Here is a list of five candidates I feel have the best shot to get the ride for at least some of the races, that Stewart will miss.  Continue reading

Tony Stewart Set Back Again, Now Needs 2016 Magic

Tony Stewart at Daytona International Speedway in February 2015. Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

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. Continue reading

Tony Stewart Looks for Positive Ending to Sprint Cup Series Career

Photo - Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Ever since Tony Stewart won his last Sprint Cup Series championship in 2011, life has been awful rocky. Stewart let his crew chief, Darian Grubb, go after the 2011 season and picked up Steve Addington as his crew chief. He won three races in 2012, but was nowhere near the success he had, finishing ninth in points. With only three wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes, Stewart’s downward spiral had actually begun. But not in the way anyone could have ever imagined. Continue reading

Kyle Busch Completes Comeback with Victory, Championship at Homestead

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Finishing off one of the most remarkable comebacks in NASCAR history—indeed, in the annals of sport—Kyle Busch won Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and, with it, his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Absent from the first 11 races of the season because of a broken right leg and left foot sustained in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at Daytona in February, Busch pulled away from fellow Championship Round driver Kevin Harvick after a restart with seven laps left and crossed the finish line 1.553 seconds ahead of the defending series champion. Continue reading

NASCAR Clinch Scenarios for Homestead-Miami Speedway

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NASCAR

NASCAR Clinch Scenarios for Homestead-Miami Speedway

Below are the finishes each driver/owner/manufacturer needs in this weekend’s races at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch their respective championships, regardless of the finish of any other driver/car/manufacturer.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC)

Driver
The first to the finish line among the Championship 4 – Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. – will win the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship.

Owner
The same rule applies to the owner championship, which involves the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet. Continue reading