HOMESTEAD, Fla. – – Tony Stewart’s streak of winning at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in a season came to a screeching halt in Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
Stewart took his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS to the garage late in the Ford EcoBoost 400, ending a streak that dated back 15 years or 1999 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, as a rookie driver.
A Stewart-Haas Racing spokesperson said the grill got knocked in on his No. 14 Chevrolet and the engine overheated.
The steak stands tied for fourth-best in NASCAR history. Seven-time Sprint Cup Series champion Richard Petty holds the record with 18 straight years from 1960 to 1984.
Stewart’s 43rd place finish ended the worst season of his career. After qualifying 28th, Stewart’s team struggled throughout the race, falling off the lead lap early and never vowing to be a threat before parking his car with 182 laps complete.
The 43-year old Stewart still wound up in victory lane Sunday at Homestead, as an owner when Kevin Harvick, who won Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series championship and race in the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet. Stewart shares co-ownership of SHR with Gene Haas.
Stewart, a native of Columbus, Indiana on-track performance this season was lacking even before he was involved in an August 9 accident that tragically killed Kevin Ward Jr. during a Sprint Car race in upstate New York. Stewart missed three Cup races following the tragedy, before returning at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in late September.
He has not raced a Sprint Car race since.
Despite missing Watkins Glen, Michigan and Bristol, Stewart finished 25th in Sprint Cup Series standings with three top-fives and seven top-10s, a personal season low.
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