SPEEDWAY, Ind. – For those watching Tony Stewart slowly wind his way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway for what likely will be the final time, Sunday’s Crown Royal 400 had a sense of finality.
After Kyle Busch took the checkered flag to win the race, Stewart remained on the track, savoring the moment. By prior arrangement, he was rolling near the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Gordon, and together they completed a final lap, trading acknowledgements with fans standing in the grandstands.
If things go as planned, neither Stewart nor Gordon will ever race a stock car at the Brickyard again.
“It was cool,” said Stewart, who was mobbed by reporters after the race. “I knew when we got the checkered we just didn’t want to come in just yet. I wanted to run one more lap, and Jeff was around us.
“Before that last green run, I told my spotter to go get his spotter and said after this thing is over, we need to go a lap around here together, because most likely it is the last time we’ll both get a chance to do that. I couldn’t think of a better guy to share that moment with than Jeff.”
Despite the sentiment of the moment, Stewart still has 16 races to run this year, and he’ll compete for a fourth championship in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. That’s why his recovery from a late speeding penalty to finish 11th was important on Sunday.
“We’re just having fun with it, and that’s what we said we wanted to do at the start of the year and we wanted to have fun and win a race and we’ve done all that,” said Stewart, who announced last year that this season will be his last in Sprint Cup racing. “I don’t think we’re quite done yet.
“So, we’re just going to keep having fun and going for it. I put us way behind today with a penalty that got us a lap down and at the back of the longest line, and to battle back to 11th, I’m pretty proud of that for our whole team.”
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
