TONY STEWART

D.O.B. : May 20, 1971

Residences: Columbus, Ind. & Cornelius, N.C.

Marital Status: Single

Hobbies: Racing, Pool, Bowling, Boating, Fishing

In two full seasons of competition in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Tony Stewart has compiled one of the most impressive records in series history.  Nine wins, four poles, 25 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes are numbers that will surely be improved upon as the 2001 Winston Cup season unfolds.

Which is why Stewart is again being mentioned as a serious threat to become the next Winston Cup champion.   But Stewart knows all to well that to become a champion, one must first become consistent.

“If we’re going to win the championship, then we need to have consistency – the same kind of consistency Bobby (Labonte) showed last year,” said Stewart.  “He was consistently good, and he didn’t have any DNFs.  That’s what we have to do.  While we won six races last year, we had five DNFs, and there were some other tracks where we struggled more than we should have.  What we need to do this year is eliminate the DNFs, and work to better ourselves at some of those tracks where we just weren’t that good.  Bobby’s laid out a pretty good blueprint of what it takes to win a Winston Cup championship.  We just have to go out and execute it this year.”

“Bobby” is Stewart’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing – an eight-year Winston Cup veteran who earned his first championship last season.  Labonte and Stewart are consummate teammates, helping each other on and off the race track.  Having the defending Winston Cup champion as an ally in the Winston Cup garage is a huge benefit to Stewart.

“I know that I’ve got Bobby,” said the Rushville, Ind., native.  “He’s only a phone call away or he’s right there in the garage area.  Knowing that he’s always close by and has the experience of going through a championship chase is a big help.  But if it comes down to him and me for the championship, then it’s every man for himself.  I can’t think of a better situation than to race him for the championship.  It would be great for our team altogether.  We could keep it in the family that way.”

Stewart’s quick ascension up the Winston Cup ladder has been likened to another superstar – Jeff Gordon.  The fellow Hoosier from Pittsboro, Ind., earned the Rookie of the Year title in 1993, won two races and finished eighth in points the following year, then went on to win the first of three Winston Cup championships in 1995.

With two Winston Cup seasons under his belt, Stewart’s statistics are looking eerily similar to those of Gordon.

Stewart won the 1999 Rookie of the Year award in record fashion, winning three races and two poles along with 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes – good enough to place the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing operation fourth in the series point standings.  It was the first time since 1966 that a rookie had finished his season within the top-five in points.

Year two brought six wins, two poles and a sixth-place point standing.  Stewart won two more races than anyone else on the Winston Cup circuit, and eclipsed Dale Earnhardt’s mark for the most wins by a sophomore driver, a record previously set by the seven-time champion in 1980 with five victories.

And what about this year?

“I feel like I’ve hit the lottery with this Home Depot team,” said Stewart.  “We’ve won nine races in two years together.  To be able to do what we’ve done in such a short period of time – I’m very excited about what the future holds for me.”

To understand the possibilities that lie in Stewart’s future, one must look to the past.

Stewart’s racing career began at age seven behind the wheel of a go-kart, with his father, Nelson, serving as car owner and crew chief.

“He never let me settle for second,” said Stewart of his dad, who still frequents races whenever his schedule permits.  “He didn’t like it when we ran second, and he knew that I didn’t like it when we ran second.  If he saw that I wasn’t giving 100 percent, then he was on me pretty hard about it.  He pushed me to be better.

“He never pressured me to be the best race car driver in the world, but he did pressure me to be the best race car driver that I could be.  He never compared me to anybody else.  He expected that what I could was what I could do.  He never said that because this guy over here could do something, that I should be able to do it, too.  He pushed me hard, but he was fair about it.  That’s probably why you see so much fire in me today, because he always wanted me to be the best that I could be.”

In 1983 at the age of 12, Stewart had won his first championship – the International Karting Federation Grand National championship.  Another karting championship was won in 1987, when Stewart collected the World Karting Association National championship.

In 1989, Stewart began the transition from go-karts to higher-horsepower open-wheel machines.  He raced Three-Quarter Midgets before turning his attention to the USAC ranks in 1991 where he won Rookie of the Year honors.

Stewart notched his first USAC championship in 1994 by winning five times in 22 starts in the National Midget category.  It was a prelude to even bigger things, as 1995 was the year Stewart made USAC history by winning the Triple Crown.  He won the National Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown titles all in the same year, a feat never accomplished by anyone before Stewart, or since.

After earning the Rookie of the Year award in Indy Racing League (IRL) competition in 1996, Stewart won the IRL championship the following year.

While 1997 bore an IRL championship, it also bore the seeds to Stewart’s current NASCAR success.  A slate of 22 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division races with Joe Gibbs Racing in 1998 prepared Stewart for his assault on the Winston Cup ranks in 1999.

During that remarkable rookie season, Stewart also competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.  The grueling trek, known as “Double Duty,” saw Stewart compete in a Home Depot-sponsored Dallara/Aurora IRL entry at Indianapolis before flying to Concord, N.C., to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 that evening in his Home Depot Pontiac.  He became the first driver to complete both races in the same day, finishing ninth and fourth respectively.  All told, Stewart drove a total of 1,090 miles. 

Stewart recently repeated his Double Duty feat this May when he drove a Target/Home Depot G-Force Aurora for Chip Ganassi at Indy.  He bettered his mark from two years ago by finishing on the lead lap in sixth before jetting off to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.  He improved that finish as well, coming home third in the 600 miler.  When it was all said and done, Stewart completed all 1,100 laps.

While there was no commuting between Indianapolis and Concord during last year’s Memorial Day weekend, there was double duty of a different sort for Stewart.  In November of 2000, Stewart became a team owner upon the announcement of Tony Stewart Racing, a World of Outlaws team.  In the role of car owner only in this new venture, Stewart named Danny Lasoski as the driver.

When asked whether he would try his hand at driving, Stewart responded, “I’ve pretty much decided that winged sprint cars are not my bag of tricks.  I do a lot better without the wings on top.  So, I’ll leave it to the trained professionals.  I’ll just be the guy who writes the checks and scrapes the mud off the car each night.”

Thankfully preserving Stewart for a full-throttle run at the 2001 Winston Cup championship.

Career Highlights

2001

·      In his first year as a team owner in the World of Outlaws, earned the championship with driver Danny Lasoski (11/3). 

·      Made 100^th career Winston Cup start at Phoenix on 10/28.

·      Won USAC Midget race at South Boston (Va.) on 10/13.

·      Earned his 12^th career victory at Bristol (Tenn.) and his first in a 500-lap event on 8/25.

·      Earned his 11^th career victory as well as his first win on a road course at Sears Point (Sonoma, Calif.) on 6/24.  This was also the first road course win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

·      Won Round III of IROC XXV at Michigan for his first career IROC win (6/9).

·      Completed 1,100 racing miles in one day – more than any one driver in racing history – by competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on 5/27.  Finished sixth and third, respectively.

·           Earned his 10^th career victory at Richmond (Va.) in the Pontiac Excitement 400 on 5/5.

·           Won the non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) for his first win ever on a superspeedway.

2000

·      Was the winningest driver on the Winston Cup circuit, scoring six victories – two more than any other driver. Those wins came at Dover (Del.) on 6/4, Michigan on 6/11, New Hampshire on 7/9, Dover on 9/24, Martinsville (Va.) on 10/1 and Homestead (Fla.) on 11/12.

·      Two back-to-back victories were earned – Dover and Michigan in June, and later at Dover and Martinsville in late September and early October.  Swept both Dover races, the first driver to do so since Jeff Gordon in 1996.

·           Scored third and fourth career poles, respectively, at Pocono (Pa.) on 7/21 and Martinsville on 9/29. 

·      Won two USAC Midget races – the Copper World Classic at Phoenix on 2/6 and “Turkey Night” at Irwindale (Calif.) on 11/23.

·           Became owner of a World of Outlaws team with driver Danny Lasoski (11/1).

·      Named to the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) All America First-Team for the fifth time.

1999

·      Debuted on front row of first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race – the Daytona 500.

·      Won first Winston Cup pole at Martinsville, eighth race of the season.  Second career pole came at Bristol on 8/27.

·      Earned first victory at The Winston Open, finished second in The Winston – both at Charlotte (N.C.).

·      Became first rookie in Winston Cup history to win three races in his first year on the circuit.  His first Winston Cup win came at Richmond in September (9/11), followed by back-to-back wins at Homestead (11/14) and Phoenix (11/7).

·      Completed 1,090 racing miles in one day by competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600.  Finished ninth and fourth, respectively.

·      Named to the AARWBA All-America First Team for the fourth time.

1998

·      Ran 22 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division races for Joe Gibbs Racing.  Scored two poles, five top-five and five top-10 finishes.  Finished second twice at Rockingham (N.C.) and New Hampshire.

·      Ran full Indy Racing League (IRL) schedule.  Won two races and four poles.  Finished third in final point standings.

1997

·      Ran five Busch Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing - Indianapolis, Richmond, Rockingham, Charlotte and Homestead.  Finished in the top-10 twice and once in the top-five.

·      Finished third in the October Busch Series race at Charlotte.

·      Won IRL championship.

·      First IRL victory came in the inaugural event at Pikes Peak (Colo.).

·      Won poles for IRL races at Orlando (Fla.), Phoenix, Texas and Charlotte.

·      Currently holds the fast lap record at Walt Disney World Speedway (Orlando, Fla.) for the IRL.

·      Won first USAC Silver Crown Championship Series race at Las Vegas.

·      Earned podium finishes in seven NASCAR Modified Tour events at New Smyrna (Fla.) - one win, three second-place and three third-place finishes.

·      Named to the AARWBA All-America First Team for the third time.

1996

·                   Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

·                   Started on the pole for the Indianapolis 500.  Ran fastest qualifying lap (235.837 mph) and led 44 laps.

·         Finished eighth in IRL final point standings.

·         Ran nine Busch Series races for Ranier/Walsh Racing.

1995

·         Won USAC National Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown championships, becoming the first driver ever to win the “Triple Crown” (all three titles in the same year).

·         Won six USAC National Midget feature races, including the Hut Hundred at Terre Haute (Ind.), Mel Kenyon Classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park and 4-Crown Nationals at Rossburg (Ohio).

·         Named for the second consecutive year to the AARWBA All-America First Team.

·         Received the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Driver of the Year Award.

1994

·         Won USAC National Midget championship with five wins in 22 starts.

·         Named to 25th anniversary AARWBA All-America First Team.

·         Captured Midget victory at the Eagle (Neb.) Pepsi Mid-Summer Nationals.

·         Finished sixth in USAC Silver Crown points.

·         Won first USAC National Midget race in Hut Hundred at Terre Haute.  Made 17 USAC National Midget starts and finished fifth in points.

·         Two wins out of eight starts in USAC Sprints - Salem (Ind.) and Indianapolis Raceway Park.  Finished 10th in points.

·         Finished second in USAC Silver Crown race at Copper World Classic at Phoenix.

1992

·         Won USAC Sprint feature at Lebanon (Mo.).  Finished fourth in points after 15 starts.

·         Five USAC Midget starts.  Best finish was second at Lebanon.

·         Received Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Most Improved Driver Award in Sprints.

1991

·         Named USAC Sprint Car Rookie of the Year.

·         Named Rookie of the Year at Indianapolis Speedrome Midget Series.  Finished fifth in points.

·         Won first USAC Midget race at Indianapolis Speedrome (Aug. 9).

·         Named Sprint Car Rookie of the Year by Hoosier Auto Racing Fans.

·         Seven USAC Sprint starts.  Best finish was fourth at Kansas City (Kan.).

·         Two USAC Midget starts.  Best finish was 10th at Winchester (Ind.).

1989

·         Won four feature races and finished seventh in points in Three-Quarter Midget competition.

·         Won Hoosier Auto Racing Fans First-Year Driver Award in Three-Quarter Midget category.

1987

·         1987 World Karting Association National Champion.

1983

·         1983 International Karting Foundation Grand National Champion.