'Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart' (born
May 20,
1971) is an
auto racing driver who was born in
Columbus, Indiana. He has won championships in
sprint cars,
Indy cars, and
stock cars. He currently drives the #20
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and
Chevrolet Impala SS in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for
Joe Gibbs Racing and is sponsored by
Home Depot. He also drives in the
NASCAR Busch Series part-time in multiple cars, most notably, the #33 Old Spice Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Kevin Harvick Inc. He was named after
General "Mad Anthony" Wayne.
Racing career
Open wheel career
Born in
Columbus, Indiana, on May 20, 1971 Stewart grew up racing
go karts and was successful very early, winning the World Karting Championship in
1987. He raced three-quarter midgets until 1991, when he moved up to the
United States Auto Club (USAC) series with help from one of his karting sponsors and friend
Mark Dismore. Stewart was the USAC Rookie of the Year in
1991, fifth in
1993 after winning the
Hut Hundred,
[Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame] and was the National Midget series champion in
1994.
In 1995, Stewart became the first driver to win USAC's version of the
Triple Crown, earning championships in all three of USAC's major divisions, National Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown. The highlights of the year were winning the
Hut Hundred and
4-Crown Nationals.
When he wasn't racing Indy Cars, he raced stock cars. In 1996, Tony made his
NASCAR Busch Series debut, driving for car owner Harry Rainer. In nine races, however, he had only a best finish of 16th place. He had more success in a one-time ride in the
Craftsman Truck Series, where he finished 10th.
Tony was poised to improve his
Indy Racing League (IRL) standing in
1997, but struggled with finishing at times. He failed to finish the first three races of a ten race schedule, but recovered to finish second at
Phoenix. At that year's
Indy 500, Stewart had a good enough car to win his first IRL race, leading 64 laps. However, he trailed off near the end of the race and settled for 5th. Tony finally got his first career win at
Pikes Peak, where he led all but seven laps of a 200 lap race. He became the leading contender for the series' championship after a bad slump knocked points leader
Davey Hamilton out of first place. Despite an average end to his season, finishing 7th, 14th, and 11th, and five DNFs, Stewart did just enough to beat Hamilton for the IRL title. He also raced in a few midget events, finishing thirteenth and eleventh in the 1997 and 1998 USAC national points, and winning the
Copper Classic both years.
As he had done the previous year, he raced a handful of Busch Series races. This time, he was racing for
Joe Gibbs,
NFL Hall of Fame head coach of the
Washington Redskins who was having a lot of success with driver
Bobby Labonte in
Winston Cup. When Stewart was able to finish races, he finished in the top 10, and had a 3rd place finish at
Charlotte. Stewart so impressed Gibbs that he was signed to drive the majority of the Busch schedule in
1998 to go along with a full-time IRL schedule.
The double duty did not affect his performance in either series. In the IRL, he won twice and finished 3rd in the championship. His season was something of a disappointment, especially as he finished last in the Indy 500 because of an engine failure.
On the Busch side, he finished in the top-five five times in 22 starts. He came extremely close to winning his first Busch Series race at
Rockingham, but was beaten on a last lap pass by
Matt Kenseth. Stewart finished a solid 2nd place in 2 (of 31) starts, ahead of six drivers with more starts, and had an average finish that was comparable to some of the series' top 10 finishers. Gibbs had enough confidence in Tony that he was moved into Cup for the 1999 season. With that move, Stewart ended his three year career as a full time IRL driver after having continued difficulty fitting into the car.
===
Nextel Cup Years===
1999 season
Stewart started his Winston Cup career in
1999 with a bang, as he qualified his #20
Home Depot Pontiac in second place in his first Cup race, the
Daytona 500. He showed courage in one of the
Gatorade Twin 125 races, when involved in a great battle with
Dale Earnhardt for the win. The Intimidator came out on top, but Stewart had nonetheless impressed quite a few people with his performance. In the 500 itself, Stewart ran near the front until problems with the car relegated him to a 28th place finish.
Stewart spent most of his rookie season wowing people, as his car was often in the top 10. He only failed to finish a race once, and even then, he was credited with 9th place. He won a pair of pole positions at
short tracks, and set a series record for victories by a rookie with three. He finished his first year an unprecedented 4th in points, the highest points finish by a rookie in the modern era (until 2006 when rookie, and current teammate,
Denny Hamlin finished 3rd), and only bested by
James Hylton, who finished 2nd as a first-timer in
1966. Not surprisingly, he ran away with the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award.
Stewart also attempted to race 1,100 miles on
Memorial Day Weekend, as he competed in both the Indy 500 during the day and the
Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C., at night. His attempt at "The Double" was fairly successful. He finished in the top 10 at both races; ninth in the 1999 Indy 500 and fourth at Lowe's Motor Speedway. However, he only completed 1,090 miles of the scheduled 1,100.
2000 season
Stewart showed no signs of a sophomore slump in Winston Cup in
2000, winning six races. However, he "slipped" to sixth place in the standings because of a handful of DNFs and an increase in the number of competitive drivers, among them his teammate Labonte, who won the Cup championship. Tony also began to get some bad press for his on-track incidents. The best known of these came at
Watkins Glen, when he and
Jeff Gordon tangled and crashed. Stewart made his displeasure toward Gordon known in an obscenity-laden tirade. Stewart won the
Turkey Night Grand Prix midget car event at
Irwindale, California, which he called, “one of his greatest wins ever."
2001 season
Tony's 2001 season got off to a frightening start, as he was involved in a spectacular crash in the Daytona 500 where his car violently flipped over several times. He walked away unscathed, recovered to win three more races and, as he'd done before, ran near the front most of the season. Statistically, he had a worse season than 2000, but he was the runner-up to Gordon for the Cup championship.
The 2001 season was not without controversy, however. Jeff Gordon pulled a "
bump and run" on Stewart to gain a better finishing position in a race in
Bristol, and it resulted in Stewart retaliating in a post-race incident by spinning Gordon out on pit road. Stewart was fined and placed on
probation by NASCAR. He got into further trouble at
Daytona, when he confronted a Winston Cup official after ignoring a black flag. At the same race, he also got into an incident with a
reporter, kicking away a tape recorder. He confronted the same NASCAR official at the race in
Talladega after refusing to wear a mandated head-and-neck restraint. Stewart was not allowed to practice until wearing one and only managed to practice after his
crew chief,
Greg Zipadelli, intervened. His fines and probation periods resulting from these incidents have earned Stewart a reputation of having a hot-temper, and he became NASCAR's "bad boy".
2002 season
Tony started
2002 even more inauspiciously than in the previous season, as his Daytona 500 lasted just two laps due to a blown engine. He went on to win twice early in the season but was only seventh in the points standings at the halfway point of the season. The second half of his season was plagued by an altercation with a photographer after the
Brickyard 400. NASCAR put Stewart on probation for the rest of the season. He went on to win the very next week at Watkins Glen, and went on a hot streak in the final races, finishing consistently in the top five. At the end of the year, Stewart held off a charging
Mark Martin to win his first Winston Cup championship.
2003 season
As defending champion, Stewart managed to have a relatively incident-free 2003. Driving a
Chevrolet instead of his previous
Pontiac (Gibbs switched between manufacturers), Stewart actually had his worst Cup season (until the 2006 season), but it was still good enough for seventh in the points. He only won twice that season but led more laps than he had the previous year and was highly competitive in the final races of the year.
2004 season
The 2004 season was highlighted by first victory coming at
Chicagoland as well as his second victory at
Watkins Glen International. Stewart qualified fourth for the first ever Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. However an incident at the first race of The Chase at
New Hampshire International Speedway dashed hopes of a second series title.
In November, Stewart became the owner of one of the most legendary short tracks in America,
Eldora Speedway. Located in New Weston, Ohio, Eldora is a half-mile dirt track known to many as "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954." Stewart began racing there in 1991 and continues racing in special events alongside other Nextel Cup drivers and dirt track legends.
In 2004, Stewart teamed with Englishman
Andy Wallace and
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in a
Boss Motorsports Chevrolet to take fourth in the
24 Hours of Daytona sports car race. The result does not show the trio's performance, however: They had dominated the race until the last two hours, when the suspension cracked. With 15 minutes left in the race, and with Stewart at the wheel, one of the rear wheels came off, finally ending their run. In addition to placing fourth overall, the trio placed third in the
Daytona Prototype class.
2005 season
2005 was one of Stewart's most successful years in the Nextel Cup. He won five races, including the
Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, a race that Stewart said he would give up his championship to win, and took with it the No. 1 seed heading into NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup 10-race playoff.
On
August 16 Stewart was fined $5,000 for hitting the car of
Brian Vickers, after the completion of the Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. Stewart was driving a Busch series car owned by
Kevin Harvick Incorporated at the time. Stewart also was placed on probation until
December 31. In an apparently unrelated incident,
Kyle Busch was fined $10,000 and placed on identical probation for ramming
Anthony Lazzaro's car after the Sirius Satellite Radio race, also at Watkins Glen.
Following his second win of the season, Stewart began climbing the fence separating the fans from the race track after each victory, used by
IndyCar Series driver
Helio Castroneves. Tony was quoted as saying "I'm too damn fat to be climbing fences," and recently purchased $17,000 worth of exercise equipment to remedy the problem. It also led to sponsor
Home Depot cashing in on Stewart's success with some promotions reminiscent of Stewart's Eldora Speedway drivers. After his second full climb of the fence in Loudon, N.H., they ran a discount on ladders and fencing at the stores with a campaign named, "Hey Tony, we've got ladders," where anyone who presented the advertisement in national newspapers in their stores earned the discount. After his victory in Indianapolis, Home Depot presented fans who presented the advertisement of his Allstate 400 win with a discount on purchasing bricks. He mentioned in a press release from his sponsor, "I plan to keep winning races and helping to drive down the cost of home improvement for The Home Depot customers."
On
November 20, Stewart won his second NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship, joining
Jeff Gordon as the only active, full-time drivers to have won multiple championships. He also is one of the youngest drivers to win multiple championships. He was praised by fellow competitors, notably NASCAR veteran
Mark Martin who proclaimed Stewart as the greatest NASCAR driver of his era. During the 2005 season, Stewart won a total of $13,578,168, including $6,173,633 for winning the championship, the largest season total in NASCAR history. Stewart also went through training to become a deputy sheriff in Alabama.
[1]
2006 season
Stewart's 2006 season was very much up and down. He had competitive cars and scored early wins at Daytona and Martinsville. However he also had strings of bad luck. He also suffered a shoulder injury during the middle of the season and drove in pain for several weeks.
Additionally he has once again been involved in several on track controversies.
Following a rough Bud Shootout on
February 12, Stewart expressed concern to the media about the possibility of aggressive driving resulting in the serious injury or death of a driver. It came during a week in which the racing world remembered the fifth anniversary of the death of legend
Dale Earnhardt, who died on the final lap of the 2001
Daytona 500. Just a few days after Stewart's comments to the media, during the 48th running of the Daytona 500, he was involved in a number of incidents with
Jeff Gordon,
Kyle Busch and
Matt Kenseth, who he chased halfway across the track to run into the grass. "He has no room to complain," Stewart said of his brush with Kenseth. "He started it, and I finished it".
On
May 20 during Nascar's All Star Race Stewart and Kenseth wrecked again. Each driver claimed it was the other one's fault with Stewart saying, "if (Kenseth) thinks it's my fault and I (caused the wreck) he's screwed up in his head." Following the wreck, several media outlets proclaimed the new Stewart-Kenseth rivalry as must-see TV.
[1] The so-called rivalry was short-lived as Kenseth and Stewart participated as friends in a joint promotional tour for DeWalt and Home Depot;
[2] Kenseth also appeared in September at Stewart's
Eldora Speedway in the NEXTEL PRELUDE with NASCAR drivers, as well as the ARCA Truck Series event there.
On
July 23, Stewart once again was at the center of a media storm. On lap 31 of the
Pennsylvania 500, Stewart was accidentally squeezed against the wall by fellow driver
Clint Bowyer. Stewart responded by waving his hand in anger, then purposely hitting Bowyer's car. This contact sent Bowyer spinning down the front stretch where he collided with
Carl Edwards. Stewart was promptly held one lap by
NASCAR for rough driving. He did however pass leader
Ryan Newman to get back on the lead lap and eventually rallied to finish 7th and get back in the top 10 in the point standings. After initially refusing to take responsibility for the incident he apologized the next day
[3].
Tony Stewart missed the cut to qualify for the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup by 16 points
[4]. He finished poorly at
Richmond after wrecking his primary car in practice, and was displaced in the top ten by
Kasey Kahne. As a result, he finished the 2006 season 11th in points, his worst thus far in his career, as he had completed each of his seven previous seasons in the top ten in points. Commenting on not being in the
2006 Chase, he says: “It lets us have the ability to take chances and try things ... that we've been wanting to try but just haven't had the luxury to do it. If we were in the Chase we wouldn't have that ability”
[5]. Stewart won three races in the 2006 Chase (
Kansas,
Atlanta, and
Texas).
The season wasn't totally unkind to Stewart, however. He was a participant in the 30th season of
IROC and won 2 of the 4 races (Texas, and the Daytona road course) on his way to capturing the series championship. He won a million dollars for the effort, but made an offer to return his prize money if IROC would hold one of its events at his Eldora Speedway.
2007 Season
His 2007 racing season started out with Stewart winning his second
Chili Bowl Nationals midget car feature. Tony started off the Daytona Speedweeks with a win in the 2007
Budweiser Shootout. It was his third win in the race.
[2] He also won his qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
Stewart dominated and had the car to beat. It looked like Tony was going to be the first NASCAR driver to win the Bud Shootout, a Gatorade Duel, and the Daytona 500 in the same Speedweeks, but on lap 152, luck went south as Tony was knocked out of the race when
Kurt Busch bumped Stewart's left rear bumper. This also caused Busch to be knocked out of the race. Tony and the Busch brothers (Kurt and Kyle) were the three leaders for the majority of the race. On March 22, 2007, it was released that Tony will be on the cover of NASCAR 2008 for the third time (2001, 2004, 2008).
In his first
Car of Tomorrow race with the
Impala SS, Stewart was dominant at
Bristol Motor Speedway, leading 257 of 504 laps (
green-white-checkered finish). But a fuel pump problem spoiled his shot at the win. At the third
Car of Tomorrow race located at
Phoenix International Raceway Stewart was again the man to beat leading a race high 154 laps, but a late race caution moved Stewart to second, where he finished behind
Jeff Gordon. In the week following the caution Stewart implied the cautions were "bogus" and that NASCAR is rigged like
professional wrestling.
[3]
At the All-Star Challenge at
Lowe's Motor Speedway, he finished 5th behind Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Jeff Burton. At the Coca-Cola 600, Stewart finished sixth, after losing the fuel gamble and having to come in to pit for gas.
On July 15, 2007, Stewart led a race high 108 laps and recorded his 30th career NEXTEL Cup win at the
USG Sheetrock 400 at
Chicagoland Speedway.
On July 29, 2007, after leading a race high 66 of 160 laps, Stewart won the "
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard" race at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, just 45 minutes from where he grew up. During the victory lane interview, Stewart used the word "
bullshit" in his interview. He was penalized 25 points and fined $25,000. This comes after he was criticized by
ESPN for saying that he had a case of
Schlitz that he "fully intended to see the bottom of the cardboard box tonight. ESPN analyst (
Woody Paige) had previously stated Stewart wasn't a good role model.
On August 12, 2007, he won the
Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International after Jeff Gordon spun his car around after wheel hopping in turn 1 with two laps to go.
Other Racing
He frequently makes appearances on dirt tracks, appearing regularly at an
ARCA race on dirt and at many prominent midget car events, USAC's
Turkey Night Grand Prix, and the indoor
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
Racecar owner
Stewart is the owner of a
World of Outlaws sprint car driven by
Paul McMahan. Stewart has won USAC car owner titles in the Silver Crown division in 2002 and 2003 with
J. J. Yeley, and in 2004 with
Dave Steele. He also collected owner titles in USAC's National Sprint Car Series with Yeley in 2003 and
Jay Drake in 2004. His current driver lineup in USAC consists of
Josh Wise in the midget and sprint cars and
Levi Jones in the sprint car and national midget Series.
He is also the owner of Custom Works, a company that manufactures radio controlled oval track cars, and has had a degree of success as a r/c racer himself. He appeared on the 2007 hit show "Drake and Josh", where he helped Drake steal the principals car and ram it into a school bus.
Racetrack owner
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart purchased
Eldora Speedway speedway located near Rossburg, Ohio in late 2004 from Earl Baltes
[4]. Tony Stewart is currently a co-owner of
Paducah International Raceway in
Paducah, KY. He also co-owns Macon Speedway in Macon, Il along with Kenny Schrader, Kenny Wallace and Bob Sargent.
TV & Radio
★ Beginning in January 2007, Stewart now hosts a two hour weekly radio show, titled Tony Stewart Live, broadcast on
Sirius Satellite Radio.
[6] Stewart co-hosts the show with
Matt Yocum, and takes listener calls.
★ In
2007 Stewart appeared in commercials for
Subway with their spokesman,
Jared Fogle.
Video Games
★ In NFL Street 2, a player can be created in his likeness.
★ He appeared on the cover of
NASCAR Thunder 2004 where he appears with a scowling look to represent the new Grudges and Alliances feature and
NASCAR 08.
Races Won
Winston/Nextel Cup (32 career wins plus 2 championships)
★ 2007 (3 wins)
USG Sheetrock 400 (
Joliet),
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (
Indianapolis),
Centurion Boats at the Glen (
Watkins Glen)
★ 2006 (5 wins)
DirecTV 500 (
Martinsville),
Pepsi 400 (
Daytona),
Banquet 400 (
Kansas),
Bass Pro Shops 500 (
Atlanta),
Dickies 500 (
Texas)
★ 2005 (5 wins)
Dodge/Save Mart 350 (
Sonoma),
Pepsi 400 (
Daytona),
New England 300 (
Loudon),
Allstate 400 at The Brickyard (
Indianapolis),
Sirius at The Glen (
Watkins Glen), '
Nextel Cup Championship'
★ 2004 (2 wins)
Tropicana 400 presented by Meijer (
Chicago),
Sirius at The Glen (
Watkins Glen)
★ 2003 (2 wins)
Pocono 500 (
Pocono),
UAW-GM Quality 500 (
Charlotte)
★ 2002 (3 wins)
MBNA America 500 (
Atlanta),
Chevy American Revolution 400 (
Richmond),
Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen (
Watkins Glen), '
Winston Cup Championship'
★ 2001 (3 wins)
Pontiac Excitement 400(
Richmond),
Dodge/Save Mart 350 (
Sonoma),
Sharpie 500 (
Bristol)
★ 2000 (6 wins)
MBNA Platinum 400 (
Dover),
Kmart 400 (
Michigan),
thatlook.com 300 (
Loudon),
MBNA.com 400 (
Dover),
NAPA AutoCare 500 (
Martinsville),
Pennzoil 400 presented by Discount Auto Parts (
Homestead)
★ 1999 (3 wins)
Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 (
Richmond),
Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 (
Phoenix),
Pennzoil 400 presented by Kmart (
Homestead)
Busch Series (2 career wins)
★ 2006 (1 win )
Hershey's Kissables 300 (
Daytona)
★ 2005 (1 win )
Hershey's Take 5 300 (
Daytona)
Craftsman Truck Series (2 career wins)
★ 2003 (1 win ) Virginia Is For Lovers 200 (
Richmond)
★ 2002 (1 win ) Richmond Is For Lovers 200 (
Richmond)
International Race of Champions (4 career wins plus championship)
★ 2006
Crown Royal IROC XXX (2 wins) Race 2 (
Texas), Race 3 (
Daytona Road Course),
Crown Royal IROC XXX Championship
★ 2002
True Value IROC XXVI (1 win ) Race 1 (
Daytona)
★ 2001
True Value IROC XXV (1 win ) Race 3 (
Michigan)
IRL IndyCar Series (3 career wins plus championship)
★ 1998 (2 wins) Indy 200 (
Walt Disney World Speedway), New England 200 (
Loudon)
★ 1997 (1 win) Samsonite 200 (
Pikes Peak),
Indy Racing League Championship
References
1. http://jetjit.com/deputy-tony-stewart.htm
2. "Tony Stewart Snares 21st Annual Chili Bowl Nationals Finale", January 13 2007, Hawkeye Racing News, Retrieved January 25 2007
3. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18312037/ Stewart says NASCAR rigged like wrestling
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldora_Speedway
External links
★
Racing Reference stats
★
Biography
★
NASCAR.com: Tony Stewart
★
Coca-Cola Racing Family's Tony Stewart profile
★
ESPN Bio Page
★
Home Depot Racing
★
Tony Stewart - Bio, Stats, and Images
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