Yeah, you reach for the golden ring, reach for the sky; baby just spread your wings. We’ll get higher and higher straight up we’ll climb.— "Dreams" by Van Halen
It’s not hard to listen to these song lyrics, and know that there is one driver who has been steadily making that climb to the top.
Step by step, he continues to ascend into the secret places, which have been set apart for those drivers who choose to find success beyond their wildest imagination.
In an era where NASCAR is still searching for that one driver that the fans can readily call the next big superstar, all you have to do is look into the eyes of a driver who has had more then his share of problems, as well as controversy while making a name for himself in one of the toughest racing series that is out there today.
Tony Stewart's dream began back in 1987, when he won the World Karting Association Championship at the age of 16.
Ever since he got his first taste of what winning was all about, it turned into a passion that would see his racing career flourish while racing in the U.S.A.C. series, and at the same time he would begin to rapidly stockpile award after award that almost seemed endless.
It became more then evident, that any time Stewart would get behind the wheel of these open wheel gasoline burning beasts, victory was waiting for him at every track that he traveled to across this great country of ours.
Stewart only knows one way of approaching each race, and that is to be as aggressive while at the same time having that rough and tough style of driving that has also fueled his troublesome attitude since he made his Series debut in 1999.
By the time he was 31 years of age, Stewart had already won championships in the Winston Cup, Nextel Cup, and Indy Car Series.
He has also won championships in USAC, and the IROC Series which just added even more to the impact that Stewart would have on the entire racing world.
What exactly was it that fueled the desire within this Columbus, Indiana native to excel at a sport that is not only very dangerous, but also is very hard to make stay on top especially when you look around at all the talent that is out there?
Many of auto racing's biggest superstars have made at least one stop during their own journey, to test the waters of what new adventure driving a stock car would bring, whether it was a brief stint in the now defunct I.R.O.C. series, or stopping by to test their skills behind the wheel of a late model, on one of the many short tracks across the country.
Stewart ran with his dream, while at the same time taking the same path that Frank Sinatra took when he wrote his award-winning song, “My way.”
"I planned each charted course; each careful step along the byway, but more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall, and did it my way."
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