‘When the summer heats up, so does Tony Stewart.’ This saying may get old but so far, that is exactly what the the driver of the No. 14 Haas-Automotion Chevrolet is doing.
After facing adversity in 2013 and 2014, Stewart stuggled during the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. 2016 began with a back injury before the season even started, taking him out of the first eight races. However, since getting a medical exemption from NASCAR, Stewart has won a race and remained within the top 30 in the Chase standings, exactly what he needs to do to stay playoff eligible.
It was a slow start to the 45 year old’s final NASCAR season. Before the win at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, Stewart had accumulated only two top-10 finishes, seventh at the FireKeepers Casino 400 in Michigan and sixth at Talladega where Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon jumped in as a relief driver for the second half of the GEICO 500.
Stewart credits his crew chief, whose name is hard to say and spell, Mike Bugarewicz, for what is looking to not only be the driver’s final year but a comeback year as well. “I feel like we are getting better each week now,” Stewart said in a Stewart-Hass team press release. “Mike is doing a great job on the box. You can see the confidence not only in him, but in all the guys on the team. Our Chevys are fast right now.”
The Sonoma victory seemed to be just what Stewart needed to get his mid-season momentum going. He wrecked the next weekend in Daytona during the Coke Zero 400 but the way that race shook out, he finished 26th and remained in the standings by the skin of his teeth. Stewart went on to earn a solid top 10 at Kentucky and a second-place finish behind Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth at New Hampshire.
“Sonoma gave us a lot of confidence. It gave me a lot of confidence. It gave Mike (Bugarewicz) confidence,” Stewart said. “It really picked the morale of the team up. Everybody was kind of on edge because everybody wants this last year to be good, and we want to run good in this last year. So for Mike and me to get caught up with each other, we’ve really had to work hard at it, and I think he’s done a great job. But I think Sonoma really helped kind of relax everybody and it got us all in the mode of racing again.”
Stewart is proud of his performance yesterday at New Hampshire as well. During the final few laps of the New Hampshire 301, he made a jump from ninth to second on the board after he took advantage of the final few restarts. “The last three restarts were pretty intense,” Stewart said. “It seemed like it took a couple laps after the restarts for the track to rubber back in, and I think it was the best tire that Goodyear has brought here that I can remember in the 18 years I’ve been here. You could race all over the racetrack today. It was a fun race.”
With now two top 10’s, the same amount of top fives and a driver rating of 93.7, Stewart looks to be on track to make the Chase – NASCAR’s playoff system. “I’m really proud of what we accomplished this weekend,” he said. “We really weren’t that strong off the truck. I mean, we were OK, but there were guys who were three-tenths faster than we were all day on Friday, and even yesterday they were a solid two-tenths faster than we were. But we were able to work through those things.”
An Indiana native, Stewart will move on to his home state and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 begins this Sunday at 3:00 PM ET on NBCSN, the IMS Radio Network and Sirius XM Channel 90.
Coming off the ranch, I didn’t have a motorsports background but my passion was and still is very strong. My first taste of NASCAR came at the age of seven while waiting for music videos to come on the old TNN network. As I grew up, I pursued other interest but eventually rediscovered cars going left when I found the SPEED channel during the 2011-2012 offseason.
I didn’t decide I wanted to pursue a career in NASCAR until the summer of 2012. I’m not a wrench head or strong enough for a pit crew so media was the next best thing. At the beginning of 2013, I started going to races and making connections within the sport. I also studied Motorsports Management at Sports Management Worldwide. Although I love what happens on the track, I’ve always been interested in what goes on behind the scenes and I’ve gotten to know many people throughout the radio, TV and digital media world.
While I’m a long time writer, 2015 was my first year actually covering the sport with www.nascarfemale.com . I also became a media correspondent for Raceline. I’ve been able to help the TV show gain recognition on social media. My current goal is to acquire more experience in covering NASCAR and move up the media ladder. Outside of motorsports, I have been an equine-sports statistician for 16 years.
I currently reside in Gillette, WY where I’m still involved with horses. I enjoy riding them, rodeo, swimming, traveling and meeting people.
Email Me
I didn’t decide I wanted to pursue a career in NASCAR until the summer of 2012. I’m not a wrench head or strong enough for a pit crew so media was the next best thing. At the beginning of 2013, I started going to races and making connections within the sport. I also studied Motorsports Management at Sports Management Worldwide. Although I love what happens on the track, I’ve always been interested in what goes on behind the scenes and I’ve gotten to know many people throughout the radio, TV and digital media world.
While I’m a long time writer, 2015 was my first year actually covering the sport with www.nascarfemale.com . I also became a media correspondent for Raceline. I’ve been able to help the TV show gain recognition on social media. My current goal is to acquire more experience in covering NASCAR and move up the media ladder. Outside of motorsports, I have been an equine-sports statistician for 16 years.
I currently reside in Gillette, WY where I’m still involved with horses. I enjoy riding them, rodeo, swimming, traveling and meeting people.
Email Me
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