Tony Stewart Hoosier Returns to Home Track

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

Many years have passed since Tony Stewart was a youngster growing up in Indiana, working his way up auto racing’s hierarchical ladder and dreaming of the day he would race across the famed yard of bricks that make up the start-finish line at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

More than 30 years later, it’s a dream that has been realized many times over – first in 1996 as an IndyCar Series rookie competing in the Indianapolis 500, then as a NASCAR superstar celebrating Brickyard 400 wins in 2005 and 2007. Stewart’s Indianapolis exploits helped make him a racing champion and played a large part transforming him into a household name.

As his celebrity has grown, so too have Stewart’s entrepreneurial endeavors. His interests span across many motorsports entities, from his dual role as driver/owner at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to track ownership of Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, to owning and promoting an entire racing series via the All Star Circuit of Champions.

Despite becoming an auto racing magnate, Stewart has stayed true to his Indiana roots. His hometown of Columbus remains home. He owns the house he grew up in as well as a 430-acre farm. While Stewart long ago entered the mainstream thanks to his three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions and 48 career wins, he remains a regular guy more comfortable on Main Street.

Driving the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for SHR, Stewart will make his 17th career Sprint Cup start at Indianapolis on Sunday in the Jeff Kyle Brickyard 400. Stewart’s two victories at the famed oval are complemented by seven top-fives, 11 top-10s, 227 laps led, an average finish of 8.5 and a perfect lap-completion rate.

While Stewart’s greatest success at Indianapolis has been behind the wheel of a stock car, it’s his days racing Indy cars around the 2.5-mile oval that laid the foundation for those achievements.

When he made his Indianapolis debut as an IndyCar rookie in the 1996 Indianapolis 500, Stewart did it with flare, starting from the pole and leading 44 laps before an engine failure ended his race prematurely, resulting in a 24th-place finish. He went on to make four more starts in the 500, earning a career-best fifth in 1997. Although he led laps in four of those five races, he was never able to achieve his ultimate dream of winning at Indy.

Stewart seemed destined for Indy greatness upon making the transition to stock cars in 1999. As a rookie, he finished seventh in his first Brickyard 400 and fifth in 2000 before earning the pole for the 2002 race. Something, however, always seemed to get in the way, whether it was derailed pit strategy or being on the wrong end of a fuel-mileage race.

The 2005 Brickyard 400 is when it finally all came together for Stewart. He rallied from his 22nd-place starting spot to lead a race-high 44 laps as he held off Kasey Kahne for his first Indy win. While it took 10 years from his first start at the iconic racetrack to capture the checkered flag, he added a second victory just one year and 209 days later when he won the 2007 Brickyard 400 after leading a race-high 65 laps.

And Stewart’s success at Indy has not been limited to his driving duties. His record at the famed oval also includes the title of winning car owner – a feat accomplished two years ago when former SHR driver Ryan Newman captured the checkered flag after starting from the pole.

With a thriving race team, a professional sprint car series and one of the premiere tracks in the country that hosts the only dirt race among NASCAR’s national touring series, Stewart is a racing maestro. His symphony, however, remains Indy, and the local boy who done good comes home to Indy for another go-round at the fabled Brickyard.

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