Tony Stewart (racing driver)

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Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart at his last NASCAR launch in 2016
status not active
NASCAR Cup Series statistics
Best placement 1. - (2002, 2005, 2011)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10
618 49 15th 308
NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics
Best placement 21st - (1998)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10
94 11 6th 41
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics
Best placement 69th - (2002, 2004)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10
6th 2 - 5

Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart (born May 20, 1971 in Columbus , Indiana ) is a retired American racing driver and team partner of Stewart Haas Racing . He was active in the NASCAR Sprint Cup from 1999 to 2016 , where he won the championship in 2002, 2005 and 2011. This makes him the only driver to have won the NASCAR Cup title at both the Winston Cup and Nextel times Cups and the Sprint Cup.

He was nicknamed "Smoke" and "The Columbus Comet" (after his hometown). He is the owner of the Eldora Speedway , where the Prelude to the Dream takes place every year. After the 2016 season, he ended his active NASCAR career, but he announced that he would compete in more dirt track races.

Career start

Stewart started karting and won the World Karting Championship in 1987. In 1991 he was named Rookie of the Year (best new driver) in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Silver Crown Series, and in 1994 he was named National Midget Series Champion . In 1995 he was the first driver to win all three major USAC titles.

In 1996 he made his debut alongside his Indy Car races in Harry Rainer's car in the Busch Grand National Series . However, his best result in nine races was only a 16th place. A one-time appearance in the Craftsman Truck Series (third highest NASCAR racing series) resulted in a tenth place.

In 1997 he had a poor start to the season in the Indy Racing League (IRL) when he dropped out in the first three races. After his first victory in Pikes Peak, he was able to take the title despite mixed results. He again drove a few races in the Busch Grand National Series, this time for Joe Gibbs . When reaching the finish line, he always reached the top 10, with third place in Charlotte as the best result. Gibbs was so impressed that Stewart was awarded a 1998 contract for all Busch races that did not overlap with the IRL.

In the IRL, he won two races and was third overall. Especially because of his last place in the Indianapolis 500 due to an engine failure, this series was disappointing for him in 1998. In the Busch Grand National Series, he reached the top 5 in five races and came second twice. At the end of the season he was 21st of the championship with 22 of 31 races. For the 1999 season he rose to the Winston Cup, thus ending his three-year IRL career.

Career in the Sprint Cup

Under contract with Joe Gibbs Racing (1999-2008)

In the first race of the season, the Daytona 500 , he surprisingly qualified second with his number 20 Home Depot Pontiac . In the race he was initially in the front of the field before he dropped to 28th place due to technical problems. Stewart was often in the top 10 in his debut season and only failed to finish one race. Together with three race wins, this meant fourth place in the overall standings and the title of Rookie of the Year .

In 2000 he was able to win six races, but deteriorated due to a series of failures in the overall standings in sixth place. Because of some inglorious racing incidents, Stewart received in several critical press reports the request that he should stop his rowdy behavior. After an accident with Jeff Gordon in Watkins Glen , he let loose a rant against the then three-time champion.

In 2001 he was involved in a spectacular crash at the inaugural race, the Daytona 500. Stewart survived several rollovers of his car unscathed and won three races during the season to become runner-up. After a " bump and run ", the NASCAR allowed a moderate push of the front man, by Jeff Gordon at the race in Bristol, Stewart retaliated after the race by turning Gordon's car around in the pit lane. At Daytona, he messed with a NASCAR race official after previously ignoring a black flag . He also dealt with this in Talladega , because he refused to wear the mandatory HANS system . These incidents contributed to his image as a bad boy for NASCAR.

Tony Stewart's Home Depot Chevrolet with starting number 20

The first race in 2002 began with a failure due to engine failure, which ended the race for the number 20 car on lap two. At the start of the season Tony took two wins, but was only seventh halfway through the races. In addition, an argument with a photographer at the Brickyard 400 led to a suspended sentence until the end of the season. He was able to win the following race in Watkins Glen, then he placed himself consistently in the top 5 to get his first Winston Cup in the fight against Mark Martin .

As defending champion, he moved from Pontiac to Chevrolet in 2003 and had a comparatively quiet season. Two wins and a strong form at the end of the season led to a seventh place.

With two wins in Chicagoland and Watkins Glen, he finished sixth in 2004. Together with Andy Wallace and Dale Earnhardt junior , he achieved fourth place in a Boss Motorsports Chevrolet at the 2004 Daytona 24-hour race . The trio dominated the action with their sports car until shortly before the end of the race when their rear suspension broke. In November, Stewart bought Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio , one of the most iconic short track racing courses in the United States .

In 2005 he became champion of the top NASCAR racing series for the second time with five wins. The Chase for the Nextel Cup , which was held for the first time, introduced a kind of play-off round among the ten best drivers to date in the last ten races of the season, which Stewart started as the top seeded driver. Without another win, but with top 10 placements in seven of the ten races, he took the title. Stewart is one of the youngest drivers to have won multiple championships. His racing and championship awards in 2005 added up to around 13.6 million US dollars. On August 16, Tony rammed Brian Vickers ' car after the race in the Busch Series at Watkins Glen. In addition to a $ 5,000 fine, he went back on parole. Since his second win of the season, like Spiderman Hélio Castroneves after his successes with a helmet and racing overalls , he has been climbing up the fence of the track to be celebrated. Its sponsor, the home improvement chain Home Depot, used the generated attention to increase sales of ladders and bricks.

In 2006 Stewart missed qualifying for the Chase by just under 16 points by finishing 18th in Richmond. Two wins and 14 top-10 placements were just barely enough against Kasey Kahne , who secured tenth place in the table with one win and third place in races 25 and 26. In the remaining ten races, Stewart took three wins and consolidated his eleventh position. In the middle of the season he fought several races with a painful shoulder injury. During NASCAR's All Star Race on May 20th, Stewart collided with Matt Kenseth , whereupon they blamed each other. On July 23, he was stopped by the race stewards for unfair driving for one lap in the current race, but still achieved seventh place.

The 2007 season began with disappointment for Stewart. After an accident at the Daytona 500 , he finished the race in 43rd place. This was followed by a total of eleven top 10 results by the halfway point of the season, with Stewart finishing outside the top 20 only five times. On July 15, 2007, he reported back with a win at the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway . Two weeks later, Stewart also won the next race of the season, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard , at Indianapolis Motor Speedway . This was followed by a sixth place at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona and his third and last win of the season at the Centurion Boats at The Glen in Watkins Glen . In the 2007 season, Stewart made it into the chase, scoring five top-10 finishes in the last ten races, including a runner-up at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in Richmond . In contrast, however, were three placements outside of the top 30, so that Stewart finished sixth in the championship at the end of the season.

The first half of the 2008 season in the Sprint Cup was rather mixed. After 18 races Stewart had achieved five top 5 and eight top 10 placements, but there were also four races in which he finished in 30th place or worse. In addition, he did not succeed in winning a race until then. In contrast, there were a total of five wins in a total of seven races in the Nationwide Series, in which he competed. On July 9, 2008, his team owner Joe Gibbs announced that Stewart will be leaving the team for the 2009 season in order to become part of the Stewart Haas Racing team , for which he will also drive , in addition to his racing career .

Team owner and driver at Stewart Haas Racing (from 2009)

Stewart Haas Racing's # 14 car in 2009.

The new Stewart Haas Racing team was directly competitive from the start of the 2009 season , as the team purchases customer vehicles from Hendrick Motorsports . In the first 11 races Stewart was able to achieve eight top 10 placements and in the Sprint All-Star Race XXV , which is not part of the championship, Tony Stewart achieved his first victory as a driver and team owner. 3 weeks later he and his new team won his first points race on the Pocono Raceway at the Pocono 500 . That was the first time in 11 years that a driver who is also the team owner was able to win a race. In the course of the season before the Chase for the Sprint Cup , more victories followed at the Spring Race in Daytona, the Coke Zero 400 and in Watkins Glen International at the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen . By the 26th race in Richmond , Stewart maintained the championship lead with 3 wins and 18 top 10 placements. Since Mark Martin had 3 more victories, Stewart started 2nd in the Chase for the Sprint Cup . In the chase , Stewart was unable to compete for the championship. He still managed to win the Price Chopper 400 in Kansas , but the rest of the races were rather mixed, and he finished his first season as a driver and team owner with 6th overall.

At the beginning of the 2010 season Stewart was able to win again the season opener of the Nationwide Series in Daytona. He did this for the fifth time in six years. Also this year he was able to qualify for the Chase by taking sixth place in the table after the Air Guard 400 at the Richmond International Raceway with a win and 7 top 5 placements. In the Chase he could only score average and ended the year in 7th place overall.

Stewart with Earnhardt Jr. in Richmond, 2011.

After a rather mixed first half of the 2011 season , he only just managed to qualify for Chase as ninth in the drivers' standings , as he could only secure the place in the final qualifying race in Richmond. Then he, who came into the Chase as an outsider, won the first two races in Chicago and Loudon . He was also able to achieve very good results on average in the next races, until he took the next victory at the 33rd race of the season at Martinsville Speedway by overtaking the reigning five-time champion Jimmie Johnson on the outside just before the end, which was a small sensation. In an interview after this race, Stewart made it clear that Carl Edwards, the championship leader, should count on him. Literally he said "He better be worried. That's all ... He's not going to have an easy three weeks". Edwards and Stewart made it really exciting at the season finale. Stewart still needed 3 points after another race win in Texas and a third place in Phoenix to be tied with Edwards, who in turn achieved very good results. After a drama in Homestead, in which Stewart had to roll up the entire field twice from the very back, he finally won ahead of Edwards and was able to secure the championship as he was able to achieve more victories - ultimately five.

The 2012 season ended Stewart finished ninth overall with three wins. At the Bristol race he caused a stir when, after a collision with Matt Kenseth , he threw his helmet on the hood of his car as it drove out of the pit lane . He also said he would "drive through Kenseth" if given the chance.

In the 2013 season Stewart achieved only moderate success. Bass Pro Shops replaced Office Depot as the main sponsor for this season. After a win at the FedEx 400, the season was suspended on August 4th. Stewart broke his right leg in a sprint car accident and was initially represented in the remaining races by Max Papis and Austin Dillon , only to be regularly replaced by Mark Martin later .

Stewart also had to be replaced in the 2014 season . Regan Smith and Jeff Burton stood in for him after Stewart decided to skip two races - Cheez-It 355 and Pure Michigan 400. The reason was again a sprint car accident in which the young driver Kevin Ward Jr. died and in which Stewart was involved.

2015 was not very successful for him, with only 3 top 10 results he missed the chase. In September, Stewart announced that he would end his NASCAR career after the 2016 season.

Stewart's 2016 Chevrolet

Before the start of the 2016 season , Stewart broke his back while driving dune buggies and had to be replaced by Brian Vickers and Ty Dillon in the first eight races . In his first race of the season in Richmond , he finished 19th. Before the race, the rule that a driver must compete in all races of a season in order to be able to participate in the chase was lifted for Stewart. With a win and a place in the top 30 of the overall standings, he was able to qualify for the Chase. In Talladega Stewart handed the car over to Ty Dillon after a recommendation from his doctor after the first caution, who finished the race in 7th place, but since Stewart started the race, the result was awarded to him. At Sonoma , Stewart secured victory after overtaking Denny Hamlin in the last corner. With some good results in the following races, he made it into the top 30 of the drivers' standings and was thus qualified for the Chase. The chase itself was less successful, Stewart missed the second lap after the first three races.

Dirt track racing

Since 2000, Stewart has competed in various dirt car racing series between NASCAR races. He later founded his own racing team (Tony Stewart Racing), whose drivers include the multiple champions of the "World of Outlaws" series, Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser . Stewart said the series Winged Sprint Cars were the most difficult racing cars for him to drive. He won his first race in the WOO series in July 2011.

On July 17, 2013, Stewart caused an accident in New York Motorsports Park in Canandaigua , in which 15 vehicles were involved, one driver was seriously injured. As a result, Stewart helped develop new safety devices for dirt car racing vehicles. In another mass accident on August 6, 2013, Stewart suffered multiple broken legs. It was almost a year before Stewart could race again. He did this in the same vehicle with the number 14 and immediately won his first race after the compulsory break on July 20, 2014, he hoped that this would give him a big boost in self-confidence for the upcoming races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Kevin Ward Jr. dies

On August 9, 2014, Stewart, again at the Canandaigua circuit, hit driver Kevin Ward Jr. with the right rear wheel of his dirt car. The previous lap there had been a collision between Stewart and Ward's vehicles. He then left his vehicle and ran onto the track. Ward was pronounced dead at the hospital 45 minutes after the accident. Stewart's team initially announced that they would compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International on August 10th as planned , and that this was "business as usual". A few hours later, the team revoked the decision, Stewart canceled his start in the race. Stewart also did not take part in the next race in Brooklyn (Michigan) . The motorsport association NASCAR issued a rule according to which drivers are not allowed to leave the vehicle after an incident until track personnel have arrived.

Race wins

Web links

Commons : Tony Stewart  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jordan Bianchi: Tony Stewart looking forward to NASCAR retirement . In: SBNation.com . ( sbnation.com [accessed November 21, 2016]).
  2. ↑ [1] NASCAR.COM Stewart left chasing 11th instead of defending title September 11, 2006
  3. ↑ [2] NASCAR.COM Stewart takes blame for incident at Pocono July 26, 2006
  4. ↑ NASCAR.com: Stewart to leave JGR, join Haas CNC as part owner
  5. ↑ Tony Stewart throws helmet at Matt Kenseth after Bristol wreck, vows to 'run over' foe . Sporting News, Aug 21, 2012
  6. ↑ Tony Stewart has broken back, wants to miss Daytona 500 . In: USA TODAY . ( usatoday.com [accessed November 21, 2016]).
  7. ↑ Tony Stewart pupil, teacher in World of Outlaws USA Today, October 30, 2012
  8. ↑ Tony Stewart at fault in dirt track wreck that injures female driver USA Today, July 13, 2014
  9. ↑ Yes, Tony Stewart did run over a fellow driver, who was killed. But know the whole story. motorsport.com, August 9, 2014
  10. ↑ Tony Stuart has surgery after breaking leg in sprint car race . FOX News, Aug 6, 2013
  11. ↑ Tony Stewart hopes to take confidence booster from sprint car victory into Indianapolis  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ). Start Tribune, July 21, 2014@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.startribune.com
  12. ↑ Sheriff: Driver hit by Tony Stewart in sprint car race has died . NBCSports, Aug 10, 2010
  13. ↑ Tony Stewart will not drive in NASCAR race after hitting, killing driver Saturday . The Washington Post, Aug. 10, 2014
  14. ↑ NASCAR reacts after death in an accident: drivers have to stay in the car . RP Online, August 15, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Stewart, Tony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stewart, Anthony Wayne (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American racing driver
DATE OF BIRTH 20th May 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH Columbus , Indiana