Bleacher Report - Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart Stirs the Stuff With His Third Annual Stewie Awards

David Yeazell — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:07:26 -0500

Tony Stewart and Matt Yocum took to the Sirius Satellite air waves in Las Vegas Thursday night to present winners of the third annual Stewie Awards.

The star-studded event kicked off at the Rio Hotel and Suites and featured guest appearances by Robin Leach, serving as show announcer, Carrot Top and 10 of this year's Chase drivers, including four-time champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus.

Up for grabs were awards in nine categories, with winners in each decided by fan voting.

This year also featured the first time a sitting U.S. President was nominated for an award. It also featured two special awards, one for lifetime achievement given to Rick Hendrick and the Golden Stewie Award was given to David Pearson.

Rolling through the two-hour comedic award show with the grace of Vanna White and the physique of Drew Carey, Stewart seemed humbled after hearing his name announced for the "Best Vocal Performance" award.

Stewart's “in awe” comments about Jeff Gordon at Kansas beat out Michael Waltrip, President Barack Obama and Kyle Busch, who was nominated in a record five categories.

Juan Pablo Montoya’s comments about NASCAR screwing him at Indianapolis bested four other nominees for the award in “Driver2CrewChatter” category. Montoya's domination of the race, leading by as much as seven seconds at one point, came to an abrupt end with a pit road speeding penalty on his final stop, all but handing the win to Jimmie Johnson.

Chad Knaus’ offer to kiss Jimmie Johnson on the lips after qualifying on the pole at Phoenix was conveniently left off of this year’s nomination list.

Jeremy Mayfield’s final opportunity to salvage something from this year’s season was stifled by none other than Kyle Busch.

Busch won the “Bonehead Move of the Year” award for smashing the one-of-a-kind Sam Bass guitar after winning the Nationwide race at Nashville.

According to voters, Carl Edward’s spectacular ride on the last lap at Talladega in the spring race was good enough to win him the award for “Best Stunt Sequence.”

Given the other three nominees in this category, Kasey Kahne and Sam Hornish Jr. at Watkins Glen, Joey Logano at Dover and Ryan Newman at Talladega in the fall, this award should really be changed to “Best Supporting Roll Cage.”

Other notable awards for the night were: Mark Martin, “Best Original Drama;” Denny Hamlin vs. Brad Keselowski, “Best Original Comedy;” Kevin Harvick, “Feels Like the First Time;” Marcos Ambrose, “I Got Dumped;” and Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, “Best Engineering and Special Effects.”

The Annual Stewie Awards celebrate the strangest and funniest moments during the year of NASCAR racing. Be sure to nominate and vote for your favorite moments in the 2010 season.

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Just Out of Reach: Will the Gates at Daytona Ever Open for Tony Stewart?

Kelly Crandall — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:14:39 -0500

Daytona.

Nothing else needs to be said because everyone knows what that one word means. Everyone wants to make it to Daytona, and everyone wants to win there.

It’s the greatest race in NASCAR.

It’s the biggest race in NASCAR and one that if you win it, you’ll be among racing’s elite.

All the greats have won the 500: Petty, Allison, Pearson, Earnhardt, Waltrip(s) and all the eventual greats have won it, too: Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr.

It’s a difficult race to win and one of the most coveted.

Dale Earnhardt had to wait 20 years to get his hands on the Harley J. Earl trophy. That happens to be the longest current streak of a Daytona 500 winner.

Buddy Baker had to wait 18 years, Darrell Waltrip 17, Michael Waltrip and David Pearson 15, and Sterling Marlin 13 years.

Others haven’t had to wait as long.

Ward Burton did it in eight years. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson won it in five.

Ernie Irvan and Derrick Cope were the quickest to win the 500 in just three attempts.

Those are just some of the 51 Daytona 500 winners that will go down in history.

Except, the list is still missing names.

When Rusty Wallace retired in 2005, he did so without ever winning the Daytona 500, although he gave it 22 great tries.

Mark Martin will have at it for the 25th time in February of next year; he’s still never captured the big event.

And then there is the man that might be following in Dale Earnhardt’s shadow: Tony Stewart.

Every which way that you could lose the Daytona 500, it has been accomplished by Stewart.

He’s lost it by leading on the last lap, being passed down the backstretch by Ryan Newman and then teammate Kurt Busch in 2008.

A year later, Stewart hired Newman to drive one of his Stewart-Haas cars.

He’s lost it by dominating; in 2004 he led half the race, 98 of 200 laps, and finished second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. after being passed with 19 laps to go.

"I think his father is proud today," Stewart said after that race. "I wanted to win the race. Trust me, if I could have held him off, I would have. But there was no holding that kid back. Today was his day."

He’s lost on lap one with a blown engine in 2002 and finished 43rd—dead last. Ironically, he started the year 43rd in points but would go on to win the championship, going from 43rd to first.

He’s lost it by being in the “Big One” such as 2001 when he went flipping down the backstretch.

Stewart has yet to create a good memory in the Daytona 500, but that doesn’t mean he can’t think of anything pleasant when it comes to the track.

“You know, I think probably still I was watching,” he said of the things he remembers most.

“I remember the race that Dale Earnhardt lost on the last corner on the last lap with a flat tire, and I remember Darrell Waltrip winning his first race and watching Dale Earnhardt Sr. get his win.”

Others would be, “Obviously Dale Jarrett with Joe Gibbs Racing; Petty, Pearson; Allison and Yarborough at the end of the backstretch with the fistfight and everything…they’re all pretty cool.”

What would be really cool is for Stewart to finally create his own memory of the Daytona 500, and win the one that keeps escaping him.

Like Earnhardt, Stewart has won everything there is at Daytona—except the 500.

Earnhardt is the all-time win leader at the track, with 34 victories, and Stewart too has picked up victories in the Budweiser Shootout, Gatorade Duels, Nationwide, and July race for a total of 12 wins at the speedway.

There is just one thing he has yet to cross off the list, the most important one.

When he takes to the track in February it will be his 12th attempt at taking home the Harley J. Earl trophy.

He’s won championships, he’s won road courses, Martinsville, Indianapolis, and everywhere in between. There’s just one more that he wants to win, one more that would mean everything.

Will this be the year come that Tony Stewart no longer has to answer the question: When are you going to win the Daytona 500?

Read more Tony Stewart news on BleacherReport.com

Danica Patrick: You Are the "Dangling" Queen

Mary Jo Buchanan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:01:38 -0500

Love her or hate her, the Danica Patrick "coming to NASCAR buzz" continues without ceasing or final resolution. The most recognized female race car driver in the country seems determined to keep the NASCAR world dangling in anticipation of her announcement of whether or not she will join the ranks of NASCAR racing.

The Associated Press today reported that one day after signing her three year contract extension with team Andretti in the IndyCar racing league, Patrick is still trying to finalize a deal to also drive part-time in NASCAR.

"I can’t say. I’ve made no mystery about the fact that I’m curious about it, and I’m interested, and I want to do it," Patrick said. "I’ve been to Charlotte a few times. But as a driver, if I got the chance to race in both series, that’s what I would want to do."

Yet again, however, Patrick seems to be toying with NASCAR nation. In fact, each time her IndyCar contract comes due, Patrick seems to magically appear in the world of NASCAR, dangling her potential interest in stock car racing in front of NASCAR teams as well as her current IndyCar team.

This summer, with her IndyCar contract up for renewal, Patrick once again began to tantalize the NASCAR world with her interest in at least driving part-time at one of the lower levels of the sport. She reportedly wants to put her "toe into the water" to test her ability and capacity in the sport.

Throughout the summer, Patrick continued her blitz of visiting many NASCAR teams, from JR Motorsports to Michael Waltrip Racing. She also talked with some of the sport's most notable drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart.

"She doesn't have some misguided idea that it's going to be easy," Stewart said. "She wants to do it the right way. She has the intention of doing everything right."

"She's looked me straight in the eye and said, 'Hey, this is what I want to do,'" Stewart said.

Patrick continued to toy with the world of NASCAR throughout the fall. The most persistent rumor being dangled recently is that Patrick is close to signing with JR Motorsports to drive a limited schedule in the Nationwide Series.

In a visual tease, an image of Patrick in a JR Motorsports fire suit briefly made an appearance on the team website before just as quickly disappearing. Both JR Motorsports and Patrick herself, however, deny that either have formally "signed on the bottom line."

Negotiations have been so secretive in fact that Patrick's father is not even sure what is going on. Although he has urged his daughter to go to NASCAR due to increased ratings, money, and sponsorship, he too has been under a gag order from his daughter during the negotiation phase.

Patrick has made clear that she intends to balance NASCAR racing with her IndyCar responsibilities. Her intentions are to run about a dozen NASCAR races before and after her IRL season, probably kicking off her stock car season by jumping into an ARCA car at Daytona in February 2010.

While Patrick has dangled herself as a potential prize in NASCAR before, this time seems a bit different and definitely more serious. She has done her homework, is bringing some lucrative sponsorship dollars with GoDaddy.com, and most important, is adding into the equation her own unique combination of sexiness and powerful racer to the table.

At a time in NASCAR history when the recession has hit hard, sponsorship dollars have dried up and the sport's favorite driver, Dale Jr., has had a most miserable season, the possibilities of Danica Patrick coming to NASCAR has set tongues wagging and rumors flying.

NASCAR leadership is most likely salivating at the thoughts of not only attracting increased media attention, improving sagging television ratings, and putting more fans in the seats if this "racing queen" comes into the racing series.

So, Danica, what is it going to be? Are you coming to NASCAR or not? It is now time to stop tantalizing NASCAR nation and seal the deal already one way or the other.

In the immortal words of ABBA in their song "Dancing Queen" , with a bit of poetic license a la Danica:

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on

Leave them burning and then you're gone

Looking out for another, anyone will do

You're in the mood for a dance

And when you get the chance...

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life.

See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the "dangling" queen.

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Stewart's Popularity Boost Proof That Anything Is Possible

Aaron Rosser — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:51:59 -0500

The focus of the coming week's "Championship Week" festivities will be, of course, Jimmie Johnson and his fourth-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup title.

There will be other awards and accolades to be handed out this week, though, including the Chex Most Popular Driver Award. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has owned the award since perennial fan favorite Bill Elliott permanently pulled himself from the ballot after winning the prestigious, fan-selected award for a 16th time, including every year from 1991-2000, in 2002.

Should the driver affectionately-known as Junior claim the award thanks to his colossal "Junior Nation," it will come as no surprise. In spite of his worst season ever in terms of on-track performance, Earnhardt's fans remain immensely loyal.

However, there is one driver who, based on 2009 souvenir sales, could potentially dethrone Driver #88—Tony Stewart.

Yes, THAT Tony Stewart.

There was a time when, if the long-held sentiment that the NASCAR community, from drivers to team owners to crew members to officials to fans, is one great big family is true, the theme song for Stewart and his many fans would have been country music star John Anderson's "Black Sheep."

The talented and tempestuous driver cut from the same mold as one Anthony Joseph Foyt piled up fines and penalties along with his numerous wins and a championship in 2002. He also did what was previously considered unthinkable heading into the new century: routinely out-performing Jeff Gordon, at least among the boo-birds during pre-race intros.

And Stewart wasn't the only one who caught heat for his blunt and brash nature.

Those who dared to call themselves Tony Stewart fans also found themselves squarely in the line of fire from the partisans of nearly all of his competitors.

I should know—I have been a die-hard Stewart supporter dating back to May of 1998, when he was in the midst of his final full season as an Indy Racing League competitor, long before most racing enthusiasts who only follow NASCAR's Cup series had even heard of Stewart. I have incurred my share of scorn for my choice of driver from fans of nearly a full grid's worth of speed merchants, including Dale Jarrett, a noted friend and supporter of Stewart's, and even Tony's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Bobby Labonte.

One only needed to browse the internet for proof of NASCAR Nation's love-hate relationship with Tony Stewart. As many fans called him their absolute least-favorite driver as did those who called him their hero. The mere mention of Stewart's name could spark heated debates that sometimes found itself on a personal, juvenille level. Again, I should know.

If there has been a low-point in all of this, it was probably 2004. On-track incidents with fellow veterans such as Gordon and Rusty Wallace, as well as four of that season's rookie of the year contenders (Scott Riggs, Scott Wimmer, and most notably, Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers) resulted in calls for Stewart's suspension from fans and members of the media alike.

Between reading that Tony should be suspended every week and arguing endlessly with fans of Kahne, NASCAR's newest young star, all combined with Stewart's worst season performance-wise made for a daunting year. However, support among die-hard Stewart fans never wavered.

But now, something has changed

It didn't happen suddenly, like the seemingly-overnight shift in the public's opinion of Stewart from bold breath of fresh air to spoiled punk. Rather, over the gradual course of the last few seasons, the boos that, as recently as that 2004 season, routinely outnumbered the praise for the hard-nosed racer, became fewer and fewer as the cheers became louder and louder.

Flash forward a half-decade, and another championship, later. The same driver, with pretty much the same attitude he brought with him to Cup racing in 1999, that was once regarded by most as little more than a cocky, loudmouthed kid (though in actuality Stewart is nearly four months Jeff Gordon's senior) rivals the sport's favorite son in popularity. If Earnhardt, Jr. continues to struggle on the track, it is possible that the aging All-American boy from small-town Indiana could become the face of NASCAR.

That is something that few would have considered possible as recently as last year. I certainly didn't. In fact, during the height of the Stewart Haters movement from 2001 through 2004, I came to enjoy that Stewart and his fans were "the black sheep of the family" and that finding another Stewart fan without cheating and getting online at TonyStewart.com or other sites dedicated to Stewart devotees was like playing NASCAR's version of "Where's Waldo?" My own parents even were among Stewart's detractors, though he and I have managed to win them both over.

It is unlikely that Stewart will top Earnhardt in the MPD voting. Earnhardt's fans are notorious for making certain, through mass voting with a blevy of email accounts, that their driver comes out on top in the final rundown. That is plenty fine with me, as I much prefer Stewart's two championships and 37 victories, including four this season, a winless year for Junior, to Earnhardt's six, potentially seven, Bill Elliott Trophies for winning the award. I'm sure most of my fellow Stewart fans feel the same way.

It is the mere fact that Stewart, not Gordon or Johnson or even the ageless wonder Mark Martin, is perhaps Earnhardt's stiffest challenge for the 2009 honor that is intriguing.

Even though, no doubt, his increase in popularity has been assisted by those "fans" who change allegiances as often as Casey Mears changes teams and considered Stewart to be the flavor of the day, that he has BECOME the flavor of the day is proof, when looking back upon his past popularity, that hey, in the world of NASCAR, anything is possible.

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