Not long ago, people were saying that Tony Stewart’s days of dominance were at an end.
The assessment proved fair considering the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion had only notched three top-five finishes in the last two years.
How quickly the assessment has changed.
Stewart has produced three top-five showings in his past four starts, including a win at Sonoma and a runner-up last Sunday at New Hampshire. The Columbus, Indiana, resident will try to extend his streak in Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN) – his last race at his hometown track.
“I’m not going to downplay it because it’s one of the most important weekends of the year for me,” Stewart said. “Being at home and racing in front of friends and family for the last time there. It’ll be an emotional weekend, for sure, but I’ve got a plan on how I’m going to approach the weekend, and I’m just going to stick to that plan and go about our work.”
In 17 starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart claims two wins, seven top fives, 11 tops 10s and 227 laps led. He also owns the second-best average finish (9.6) and the third-highest average running position (11.6). He has finished outside the top 12 a mere four times at the 2.5-mile track.
“Man, that front straightaway, especially where the start-finish line is, if you are leading that race and you come off turn four, that’s a long way to the checkered flag,” Stewart said. “If a guy isn’t right behind you, you have a lot of time to savor that moment driving underneath the double checkered flags and the yard of bricks. Man, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling.”
If Stewart kisses the bricks at Indy once more this weekend, it would be after recording his 50th win – a milestone that would tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett for 11th on the all-time list. Every eligible driver with as many victories as the No. 14 Chevrolet driver is immortalized in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
What better place to capture his 50th win than the state and track that he loves.
“It’s a big deal to us to win here (at Indianapolis),” Stewart said. “This is an event that I definitely circle on the schedule and emotionally have a lot invested in it. To us, it’s definitely not just another stop that’s on the calendar and on the schedule. You don’t just pull in and say, ‘we’re going to go in, try to win the race and then pull out of here.’ When you’re here, you’re amped up because you’re at Indianapolis.”
Source: NASCAR Wire Service
