Tony Stewart Control

“This is a story about control, my control. Control of what I say, control of what I do.”

That’s the opening monologue for the title track on pop icon Janet Jackson’s third album, “Control.” The independence-claiming anthem was released in 1986 and served as the vehicle for Jackson’s not-so subtle missive that she was taking charge of her life and career.

Although it was nearly 30 years ago when “Control” hit the airwaves, it’s possible Jackson was channeling her inner Tony Stewart.

Control is an instrument Stewart has successfully applied throughout his racing career, parlaying it into three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships and 48 career wins. And come Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Stewart seeks to control his chance to earn a fourth series title by winning his first race of the season, his third at Sonoma and his eighth on a road course.

The 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in California wine country has proven to be a strong venue for Stewart, as the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing has a pole, two wins, three second-place finishes, five top-fives, nine top-10s and has led a total of 82 laps in 15 Sprint Cup starts.

Stewart relishes the opportunity to turn left and right, viewing road courses as driver’s tracks.

Success and failure are dependent on the driver’s ability to take charge of the car and the unique circumstances that go with road racing, rather than negotiating the aerodynamic-dependent features that regulate success on the intermediate ovals that comprise the majority of the Sprint Cup schedule. Road-course racing is about control, and from behind the wheel of his Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy, Stewart controls the pedals, transmission and steering wheel with tenacity.

Between Sonoma and the Sprint Cup Series’ second road-course venue in Watkins Glen, New York, Stewart has made 29 career road-course starts, earning seven wins, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s while leading a total of 307 laps.

And Stewart’s dexterity in road-course racing hasn’t been limited to NASCAR. Outside of the elite Sprint Cup Series, he has a road-course trophy in IROC, having won Round 3 of IROC XXX on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course en route to the series championship in 2006. He has also competed in the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona five times, with a best finish of third in 2005.

With a road course in front of Stewart and four races behind him where he’s risen from 22nd to 16th in the championship standings, Sonoma serves as the perfect springboard for Stewart’s traditional summer surge. Of his 48 Sprint Cup wins, 23 have come in June, July and August. (Seven wins in June, nine wins in July and seven wins in August.)

Summer is right around the corner, and so is Stewart at Sonoma.

TSC PR