Great racecar drivers stand out, and more often than not, they’ve rocked the boat from time-to-time while climbing the racing ladder. Tony Stewart is no exception, and he’ll continue to rock the boat this weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway during the 66th annual Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
As part of Darlington’s The Tradition Returns weekend, Stewart’s No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS is sporting a throwback paint scheme commemorating the original Tracker Boat from Bass Pro Shops – the Bass Tracker. Introduced in 1978, the Bass Tracker was the first boat, motor and trailer package designed specifically for anglers, and it has remained America’s No. 1 selling fishing boat for more than 36 years.
Stewart is looking to be No. 1 Sunday night when the checkered flag drops at Darlington. The three-time Sprint Cup champion and owner of 48 career Sprint Cup victories is winless at Darlington. In fact, the 1.366-mile oval is one of only two active Sprint Cup venues where Stewart hasn’t won, the other being Kentucky Speedway in Sparta which only came on the Sprint Cup scene in 2011.
A win would also vault Stewart from his 26th-place standing in points to that of championship contender by making him a member of the 16-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Talk about rocking the boat.
Darlington is an appropriate venue for boat-rocking. After all, it was Harold Brasington who in 1949 plowed up a parcel of land that once grew peanuts and cotton to build a one-and-a-quarter-mile oval. After locals derided the project as “Harold’s Folly,” Brasington countered the best way possible when 75 stock cars took the green flag three-wide in the inaugural Southern 500 on Sept. 4, 1950. Brasington rocked the boat, but not the nearby minnow pond that still exists off turn four of the track’s egg-shaped contours. Sherman Ramsey, the man who sold Brasington the property for his racetrack, didn’t want his minnow pond disturbed, and Brasington obliged.
That is the first of many stories originating from NASCAR’s first superspeedway, as the iconic venue has proven to be a cornerstone of NASCAR history.
Stewart, in his 17th year as a driver in the Sprint Cup Series, is well aware of Darlington’s history and its list of winners, particularly those who won and set the stage for NASCAR’s rise to mainstream prominence. Inaugural Southern 500 winner Johnny Mantz and multi-time Darlington victors David Person, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon being some of the most notable.
Stewart would like nothing more than to add his name to that list and pick up his first Sprint Cup victory at Darlington and his first since winning at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on June 2, 2013. By rocking the boat at Darlington, Stewart would ensure a rocking victory lane.
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