Tony Stewart White Flag, Next Time By

Leading during the closing laps of a race can be both a thrilling and anxiety-inducing experience. Drivers go through their mental checklists, making sure to hit their marks, and doing what they can to protect the lead while the team relays such pertinent information as “white flag, next time by” and “checkered flag, this time”. It’s all music to the ears of the potential victor.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has heard that music often. Forty-eight times, in fact, in the elite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in a career that now spans 16 years.

Stewart’s proficiency at closing the deal is evidenced by this fact: he has owned the lead when taking the white flag for all but two of his 48 career wins.

A win Saturday night in the Kentucky 400 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, however, would place the three-time Sprint Cup champion on the cusp of a rather unique white-flag moment.

For just the fourth time, Kentucky plays host to the Sprint Cup Series after joining the schedule in 2011. As such, it is one of only two tracks where Stewart is winless in Sprint Cup competition. The other is Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the oldest speedway on the Sprint Cup schedule.

A win at Kentucky would not only be a first for Stewart, but also for primary sponsor Rush Truck Centers. A subsidiary of Rush Enterprises, Inc., Rush Truck Centers is the premier service solutions provider to the commercial vehicle industry and the United States’ largest network of truck and bus dealerships, representing industry-leading brands. With more than 100 vehicle centers strategically located in high-traffic areas or near major highways, Rush Truck Centers operate as one-stop centers offering an integrated approach to the needs of its customers.

Rush Truck Centers has been a partner of SHR’s since 2010, playing an integral role in getting the team’s racecars to and from the track. Kentucky is the third of five races where Rush Truck Centers is the primary sponsor of Stewart and the No. 14 team.

And just like Rush Truck Centers delivers for its customers, Stewart would like nothing more than to deliver a win to the San Antonio, Texas-based company. It would be a first for Rush Truck Centers and Stewart’s first win at Kentucky, leaving only venerable Darlington on his to-do list. Saturday night marks yet another white-flag moment for Stewart.

Up until 2012, Stewart was also winless at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he eviscerated his 13-year victory draught at the 1.5-mile oval when he led three times for a race-high 127 laps en route to his 45th career Sprint Cup win. Ironically, Stewart’s considers Kentucky to be a bumpier version of Las Vegas. Given the No. 14 team’s oval-track performance in recent weeks, Stewart may be closer than ever to adding a Kentucky win to his already impressive resume.

Since NASCAR’s version of the All-Star break just over a month ago, Stewart and Co. have made steady progress, climbing from 22nd to 17th in the championship point standings. Fast cars in the last month, however, have been compromised by pit road penalties and race situations that have resulted in a series of finishes masking the overall effort.

Nonetheless, Stewart’s cars haven proven quick, and for a man in a rush – only 10 races remain before the cutoff for the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – the black and yellow No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet SS is the ideal ride for Stewart to have in the Bluegrass State. 

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