Rick Mast (born March 4, 1957, in Rockbridge Baths, Virginia) is a former NASCAR driver. He competed in both the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) and Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) before retiring in 2002. He holds a business administration degree from Blue Ridge Community College.

Early & Busch career[link]

Mast grew up in racing as his father and uncle were both race team owners. He began racing at age 16 at Natural Bridge Speedway and Eastside Speedway, after he traded an Angus cattle for his first car. After racing at the local track level for the decade, Mast began running the Busch Series in 1982, and had four top-ten finishes in 11 eleven starts in his #22.^[1] Mast's first full-time season came in 1985, where he had fifteen top-ten finishes and seventh in the season points.^[1] Two years later, he would win his first NASCAR race at the Grand National 200, then followed it up with another win the next week.^[1] He finished 11th in points that year.^[1] He improved to eighth positions in 1988 the same year he made his Winston Cup debut for Buddy Baker at the Busch 500, finishing 28th at that race.^[1] Mast won five Busch races while running full-time the next two years, before focusing his efforts on Cup.^[1]

Car #1 years[link]

Mast ran 13 races for Mach 1 Racing in 1989, finishing sixth at the Daytona 500 in an unsponsored car,^[1] which Mast called his proudest achievement in racing. He still believes he would have won had his team been willing to gamble on fuel mileage. Mast ran selected races in 1990 for D.K. Ulrich before finishing the year with Travis Carter Motorsports.^[1] In 1991, Mast signed to drive the #1 Skoal Classic Oldsmobile for Richard Jackson's Precision Products Racing.^[1] He started out the season by leading 14 laps in the Daytona 500 and finished fourth.^[1] He had three top-tens and finished 21st in points. That year, the Talladega Superspeedway produced a couple of highlights for Mast. In the Winston 500, he pushed a fuel-deficient Harry Gant (driving for Leo Jackson, Richard's brother) during the final lap of the race, helping Gant win (Mast was one lap down in 10th). This action is prohibited after the white flag by NASCAR rules, regardless of who the individual drivers are, but he was not fined money or points. With less than 25 laps to go in the DieHard 500, Mast was tapped by Buddy Baker entering the tri-oval and flipped over. He slid to a stop a few hundred feet beyond the start-finish line and soon climbed out of the car, much to the delight of the crowd. He was not injured, but half-jokingly said afterwards, "I'm okay but I need another pair of underwear". The next year, Mast won his first career Cup pole at the final race of the 1992 season, the 1992 Hooters 500, which was Richard Petty's final race, Jeff Gordon's first race, and the day that Alan Kulwicki won the championship by one race position over Bill Elliott.^[2] Mast's race ended on the first lap in a crash.^[2] The team switched to Ford in 1993. Mast had a career year in 1994, with ten top-ten finishes and a career-high-tying eighteenth,^[1] finishing a career-best second at Rockingham Speedway, a race where he slide sideways while racing side-by-side with winner Dale Earnhardt coming out of the final corner.^[2] In August of that season, he won the pole position at the inaugural Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway^[2] (a race for which 90 cars were entered), finishing eighteenth in points.^[1] 1995 was disappointing in comparison, with only three top-tens. Skoal left at the end of the season, and Hooters replaced them, as the team switched to Pontiac. He had three top-tens late in the year, but when the season came to a close, he and Hooters left PPR.

Late 90s[link]

Mast's #75 racecar from 1997

Mast signed to drive the #75 Remington Arms Ford for Butch Mock Motorsports in 1997. An omen of what was to come appeared early as Mast failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, and rumors started about Mock firing Mast after the race. Those rumors were later proved to be unfounded, but the season was a struggle, and Mast finished 32nd in points that year. 1998, started off better as Mast won the pole at the GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400, but the struggles continued, and he left the team when the season came to a close.

After rumors spread that Mast would return to Travis Carter to drive a car sponsored by Kmart, he joined the #98 Cale Yarborough-owned team, despite the fact that the team did not have sponsorship. Midway through the season, the team got sponsorship from Universal Studios, and Mast posted two top-tens and became the first driver since Yarborough to go the whole season without failing to finish a race. Unfortunately, Universal did not renew their contract, and with questions surrounding Yarborough's plans on continuing to own the team, Mast was out of work again.

Final years[link]

During the early part of 2000, Mast climbed on board to drive the #41 Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Larry Hedrick Motorsports. But after the Food City 500, Mast departed for A.J. Foyt Racing, and had two top-ten finishes.

Mast began 2001 with Midwest Transit Racing, but due to sponsorship issues, they only ran part-time, and Mast soon left to drive the #27 Sauer Pontiac Grand Prix for Eel River Racing, but late in the season, the team closed down, and Mast was out of work once again. He made a deal with Donlavey Racing for the final races of the season.^[3]

Retirement[link]

In May 2002, Mast began feeling ill suddenly.^[3] He had lost weight and was forced to miss races to take medical tests to find out what was wrong. It turned out that he had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and Mast was forced to retire.^[2] He officially retired on January 22, 2003 at age 45.^[2] At retirement, he spoke with NASCAR President Mike Helton about having teams redesign their air intake systems to get less exhaust fumes into driver's helmets.^[2] When NASCAR completely redesigned its race vehicle with the Car of Tomorrow, it changed the exhaust exit location to be away from the driver and it cited carbon monoxide poisoning cases like Mast's as a reason for the change.^[4]

After retirement from racing[link]

As of 2007, he currently resides in his hometown of Rockbridge Baths, Virginia.^[2] He owns and operates RKM EnviroClean, Inc. (www.RKMenviroclean.com) which specializes in environmental clean-up services, underground utilities contracting, and site demolition.^[2] Additionally, Rick also remains actively involved with his charitable organization, the Rick Mast Foundation www.RickMastFoundation.com.

Movie Credits[link]

Mast drove the Rowdy Burns car for scenes shot at the Daytona motor speedway. The footage was shot during qualifying and during the Dual qualifying races.

Personal life[link]

Mast and his wife Sharon have three children: Ricky, Kaitie, and Sarah.^[2] He did some announcing after he retired from racing, but decided that he wanted to stay home to help raise his daughters after missing out on most too much of Ricky's upbringing.^[2]

When I got sick, I spent six or eight months forced to stay at home. I didn't have no choice in the matter. I laid in the bed the biggest part of the time, laying there ready to die. Those six or eight months ... I started seeing a different lifestyle, a life that I had never had. I started getting acclimated to that. As time went on, less and less did I want to have to travel.^[2]

References[link]

• First Brickyard Pole Winner Breathing Easier These Days

Anthony Wayne Stewart
Born	(1971-05-20) May 20, 1971 (age 41) Columbus, Indiana, United States
Achievements	1995 USAC Triple Crown Champion 1997 Indy Racing League Champion 2002, 2005, 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Champion 2006 IROC XXX Champion NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXV Winner 2005, 2007 Brickyard 400 Winner
Awards	1996 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1996 Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Inductee
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
476 race(s) run over 14 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 14 (Stewart-Haas Racing)
2011 position	1st
Best finish	1st - 2002, 2005, 2011
First race	1999 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	1999 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 (Richmond)
Last win	2012 Auto Club 400 (Fontana)
Wins Top tens Poles 46 271 13
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
93 race(s) run over 13 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 33 (Richard Childress Racing)
2011 position	95th
Best finish	21st - 1998
First race	1996 Goody's Headache Powder 300 (Daytona)
Last race	2012 DRIVE4COPD 300 (Daytona)
First win	2005 Hershey's Take 5 300 (Daytona)
Last win	2011 DRIVE4COPD 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 10 40 6
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
6 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Best finish	61st - 2005
First race	1996 Cummins 200 (IRP)
Last race	2005 MBNA RacePoints 200 (Dover)
First win	2002 Virginia Is For Lovers 200 (Richmond)
Last win	2003 Virginia Is For Lovers 200 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 5 0
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career
1 race(s) run over 1 year(s)
Best finish	69th - 2002
First race	2002 Canada Day Shootout (Cayuga)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of May 24, 2012.

Tony Stewart's 1999 Indianapolis 500 car
IndyCar Series career
26 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Team(s)	Team Menard Tri-Star Racing Chip Ganassi Racing
Best finish	1st - 1997
First race	1996 Indy 200 (Disney)
Last race	2001 Indianapolis 500 (Indy)
First win	1997 Samsonite 200 (Pikes Peak)
Last win	1998 New England 200 (Loudon)
Wins Podiums Poles 3 7 8

Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart (born May 20, 1971) is an American auto racing driver and owner.^[1] Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."^[2]

Stewart currently owns and drives the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1/Burger King Chevrolet Impala in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing under crew chief Steve Addington. From 1999 until 2008, he drove the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing car, under crew chief Greg Zipadelli, with The Home Depot as the primary sponsor. His ten year tenure with the same team, sponsor, and crew chief is a NASCAR record. Stewart is also the only driver to win both the Winston Cup under the old points system and the Nextel Cup under the chase playoff format, winning those championships in 2002 and 2005 respectively. In 2011, Stewart became the first owner-driver since Alan Kulwicki to win the Cup Series championship, which ended Jimmie Johnson's streak of consecutive championships at five. He is the only driver to win the NASCAR championship under three different sponsorship titles (Winston in 2002, Sprint Nextel in 2005, and 2011) as well as being the only driver in history to win a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR. He is also the first driver in Cup to win the championship by virtue of a tie breaker (number of wins during the season is the first level tie breaker, Stewart had 5 while eventual runner up Carl Edwards had 1).

Early life[link]

Tony Stewart was born in Columbus, Indiana, on May 20, 1971, and attended Columbus North High School during his youth. He grew up racing go karts and was successful very early, winning a World Karting Association championship in 1987. He moved up to the United Midget Racing Association (UMRA) where he raced TQ (three quarter) midgets until 1991, when he again moved up this time to the United States Auto Club (USAC) series with help from one of his karting sponsors and friend Mark Dismore. Stewart was the USAC Rookie of the Year in 1991, fifth in 1993 after winning the Hut Hundred,^[3] and was the National Midget series champion in 1994.

In 1995, Stewart became the first driver to win USAC's version of the Triple Crown, earning championships in all three of USAC's major divisions, National Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown. His winning the Hut Hundred and 4-Crown Nationals were the highlights of the year.

When he was not racing IndyCars, he raced stock cars. In 1996, Tony made his NASCAR Busch Series debut, driving for car owner Harry Rainer. In nine races, he had a best finish of 16th place. He had more success in a one-time ride in the Craftsman Truck Series with Mueller Brothers racing, where he finished 10th.

Stewart was poised to improve his Indy Racing League (IRL) standing in 1997 but at times he struggled to finish. He failed to finish the first three races of a ten race schedule, but recovered to come in second at Phoenix. At that year's Indy 500, Stewart's car was good enough to enable him to win his first IRL race, leading 64 laps. However, he trailed off near the end of the race and settled for 5th place. He finally got his first career win at Pikes Peak, where he led all but seven laps of a 200 lap race. He became the leading contender for the series' championship after a bad slump knocked points leader Davey Hamilton out of first place. Despite an average end to his season, finishing 7th, 14th, and 11th, and five DNFs, Stewart did just enough to beat Hamilton for the IRL title. He also raced in a few midget events, finishing thirteenth and eleventh in the 1997 and 1998 USAC national points, and winning the Copper Classic both years. Between his time in USAC and the IRL, Stewart earned the nickname of "Smoke", first for slipping the right rear tire during dirt races and then for blowing his engine often during his '97 championship run.^[3]

As he had done the previous year, he raced a handful of Busch Series races in 1998. This time, he was racing for Joe Gibbs, NFL Hall of Fame head coach of the Washington Redskins who was having major success with driver Bobby Labonte in Winston Cup. When Stewart was able to finish races, he finished in the top 10, and had a 3rd place finish at Charlotte. Stewart so impressed Gibbs that he was signed to drive the majority of the Busch schedule in 1998 to go along with a full-time IRL schedule. The double duty did not affect his performance in either series. In the IRL, he won twice and finished 3rd in the championship. His season was a disappointment as he finished last in the Indy 500 because of an engine failure.

On the Busch side, he finished in the top-five five times in 22 starts. He came close to winning his first Busch Series race at Rockingham, but was beaten on a last lap pass by Matt Kenseth. Stewart finished a solid 2nd place in 2 (of 31) starts, ahead of six drivers with more starts, and had an average finish that was comparable to some of the series' top 10 finishers. Gibbs had enough confidence in Tony that he was moved into Cup for the 1999 season. With that move, Stewart ended his three year career as a full time IRL driver.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series[link]

Joe Gibbs Racing (1999–2008)[link]

1999 season[link]

Stewart started his Winston Cup career in 1999 with a bang, as he qualified his No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac in second place in his first Cup race, the Daytona 500. He showed courage in one of the Gatorade Twin 125 races, when involved in a battle with Dale Earnhardt for the win. Earnhardt came out on top, but Stewart had nonetheless impressed quite a few people with his performance. In the 500, Stewart ran near the front until problems with the car relegated him to a 28th place finish.

Stewart spent most of his rookie season wowing people, as his car was often in the top 5. He won a pair of pole positions at short tracks, and set a series record for victories by a rookie with three, Richmond, Phoenix and Homestead. (Stewart's record would hold until 2002, when Jimmie Johnson duplicated the feat by winning three times; Carl Edwards won four times in his first full Cup season but was not regarded as a rookie by NASCAR standards.) He finished his first year an unprecedented 4th in points, the highest points finish by a rookie in the modern era (which held until 2006 when his then-teammate Denny Hamlin finished 3rd), and only bested by James Hylton, who finished 2nd as a first-timer in 1966. Not surprisingly, he ran away with the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award.

Stewart also attempted to race 1,100 miles (1,800 km) on Memorial Day weekend, as he competed in both the Indy 500 during the day and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C., at night. He finished in the top 10 at both races; ninth in the 1999 Indy 500 and fourth at Lowe's Motor Speedway. However, he only completed 1,090 miles (1,750 km) of the scheduled 1,100.

2000 season[link]

Stewart showed no signs of a sophomore slump in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, winning six races at Martinsville, New Hampshire, Michigan, Homestead and two at Dover. However, he fell to sixth place in the standings because of a handful of (Did Not Finish) DNFs and an increase in the number of competitive drivers, among them his teammate Labonte, who won the Cup championship. Tony also began to get some bad press for his on-track incidents. The best known of these came at Watkins Glen, when he and Jeff Gordon tangled and crashed. Stewart made his displeasure toward Gordon known in an obscenity-laden tirade. Stewart won the Turkey Night Grand Prix midget car event at Irwindale, California, which he called, “one of his greatest wins ever."^[3]

2001 season[link]

Stewart's 2001 season got off to a frightening start, as he was involved in a spectacular crash in the Daytona 500 where his car violently flipped over several times in a wreck on the backstretch during lap 173 (the wreck itself was shadowed by the final-lap crash that killed Dale Earnhardt). He walked away unscathed, recovered to win three more races at Richmond, Infineon and Bristol, and, as he'd done before, ran near the front most of the season. Statistically, he had a worse season than 2000, but he was the runner-up to Gordon for the Cup championship.

For the second time he ran "The Double" on Memorial Day Weekend, in spite of a 17 minute rain delay at Indianapolis. He finished 6th in the Indianapolis 500 and 3rd in the Coca-Cola 600, running all 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of the two races.^[4]

The 2001 season was not without controversy. Jeff Gordon pulled a "bump and run" on Stewart to gain a better finishing position in a race in Bristol, and it resulted in Stewart retaliating in a post-race incident by spinning Gordon out on pit road. Stewart was fined and placed on probation by NASCAR. He got into further trouble at Daytona, when he confronted a Winston Cup official after ignoring a black flag. At the same race, he also got into an incident with a reporter, kicking away a tape recorder. He confronted the same NASCAR official at the race in Talladega after he refused to wear a mandated head-and-neck restraint. Stewart was not allowed to practice until he wore one and only managed to practice after his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli intervened. His fines and probation periods resulting from these incidents have earned Stewart a reputation of having a hot-temper, and he became NASCAR's "bad boy".

2002 season[link]

Tony started 2002 even more inauspiciously than in the previous season, as his Daytona 500 lasted just two laps due to a blown engine. He went on to win twice early in the season at Atlanta and Richmond but was only seventh in the points standings at the halfway point of the season. The second half of his season was plagued by an altercation with a photographer after the Brickyard 400. NASCAR put Stewart on probation for the rest of the season. He went on to win the very next week at Watkins Glen, and went on a hot streak in the final races, finishing consistently in the top five. At the end of the year, Stewart held off a charging Mark Martin to win his first Winston Cup championship.

2003 season[link]

As defending champion, Stewart managed to have a relatively incident-free 2003. Driving a Chevrolet instead of his previous Pontiac (Gibbs switched manufacturers), Stewart actually had his worst Cup season (until the 2006 season), but it was still good enough for seventh in the points. He only won twice that season at Pocono and Charlotte but led more laps than he had the previous year and was highly competitive in the final races of the year.

2004 season[link]

The 2004 season was highlighted by first victory coming at Chicagoland as well as his second victory at Watkins Glen. Stewart qualified fourth for the first ever Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. However an incident at the first race of The Chase at Loudon dashed hopes of a second series title.

In November, Stewart became the owner of one of the most legendary short tracks in America, Eldora Speedway. Located in New Weston, Ohio, Eldora is a half-mile dirt track known to many as "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954." Stewart began racing there in 1991 and continues racing in special events alongside other Sprint Cup drivers and dirt track legends.

In 2004, Stewart teamed with Englishman Andy Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in a Boss Motorsports Chevrolet to take fourth in the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race. The result does not show the trio's performance, however: They had dominated the race until the last two hours, when the suspension cracked. With 15 minutes left in the race, and with Stewart at the wheel, one of the rear wheels came off, finally ending their run. In addition to placing fourth overall, the trio placed third in the Daytona Prototype class.

2005 season[link]

Tony Stewart's 2005 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winning car on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum.

2005 was one of Stewart's most successful years in the Nextel Cup. He won five races, at Infineon, Daytona, New Hampshire, Watkins Glen and the Allstate 400 at his hometown track, a race that Stewart said he would give up his championship to win, and took with it the No. 1 seed heading into NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup 10-race playoff.

On August 16 Stewart was fined $5,000 for hitting the car of Brian Vickers, after the completion of the Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. Stewart was driving a Busch series car owned by Kevin Harvick Incorporated at the time. Stewart also was placed on probation until December 31.

Following his second win of the season, Stewart began climbing the fence separating the fans from the race track after each victory, borrowing IndyCar Series driver Hélio Castroneves' trademark move.^[5] After winning the 2009 All-Star race Tony was quoted as saying "I'm too damn fat to be climbing fences," and recently purchased $17,000 worth of exercise equipment to remedy the problem. It also led to sponsor Home Depot cashing in on Stewart's success with some promotions reminiscent of Stewart's Eldora Speedway drivers. After his second full climb of the fence in Loudon, N.H., they ran a discount on ladders and fencing at the stores with a campaign named, "Hey Tony, we've got ladders", where anyone who presented the advertisement in national newspapers in their stores earned the discount. After his victory in Indianapolis, Home Depot presented fans who presented the advertisement of his Allstate 400 win with a discount on purchasing bricks. He mentioned in a press release from his sponsor, "I plan to keep winning races and helping to drive down the cost of home improvement for The Home Depot customers."

On November 20, Stewart won his second NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship, joining Jeff Gordon as the only active, full-time drivers at the time to have won multiple championships. Jimmie Johnson afterward did so from 2006–2010. He also is one of the youngest drivers to win multiple championships and the only driver to have won championships under both the Chase and non-Chase formats. During the 2005 season, Stewart won a total of $13,578,168, including $6,173,633 for winning the championship, the largest season total in NASCAR history. Stewart also went through training to become a deputy sheriff in Alabama.^[6]

2006 season[link]

Stewart's 2006 season was very much up and down. He had competitive cars and scored early wins at Daytona and Martinsville. However he also had strings of bad luck. He also suffered a shoulder injury due to two heavy crashes in both the Busch and Cup races at Charlotte during the Memorial Day Weekend races (Stewart's Busch car hit the Turn 4 wall so hard it even knocked the rear end off the car). During the Dover race, he was substituted by Ricky Rudd, and in later weeks had to drive in pain.

Additionally he has once again been involved in several on track controversies.

Following a rough Bud Shootout on February 12, Stewart expressed concern to the media about the possibility of aggressive driving resulting in the serious injury or death of a driver. It came during a week in which the racing world remembered the fifth anniversary of the death of legend Dale Earnhardt, who died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Just a few days after Stewart's comments to the media, during the 48th running of the Daytona 500, he was involved in a number of incidents with Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, who he chased halfway across the track to run into the grass. "He has no room to complain," Stewart said of his brush with Kenseth. "He started it, and I finished it".

On May 20 during NASCAR's All Star Race, Stewart and Kenseth wrecked again. Each driver claimed it was the other one's fault with Stewart saying, "if (Kenseth) thinks it's my fault and I (caused the wreck) he's screwed up in his head." Following the wreck, several media outlets proclaimed the new Stewart-Kenseth rivalry as must-see TV.^[7] The so-called rivalry was short-lived as Kenseth and Stewart participated as friends in a joint promotional tour for DeWalt and The Home Depot;^[8] Kenseth also appeared in September at Stewart's Eldora Speedway in the NEXTEL PRELUDE with NASCAR drivers, as well as the ARCA Truck Series event there.

On July 23, Stewart once again was at the center of a media storm. On lap 31 of the Pennsylvania 500, Stewart was accidentally squeezed against the wall by fellow driver Clint Bowyer. Stewart responded by waving his hand in anger, then purposely hitting Bowyer's car. This contact sent Bowyer spinning down the front stretch where he collided with Carl Edwards. Stewart was promptly held one lap by NASCAR for rough driving. He did however pass leader Ryan Newman to get back on the lead lap and eventually rallied to finish 7th and get back in the top 10 in the point standings. After initially refusing to take responsibility for the incident he apologized the next day.^[9]

Tony Stewart missed the cut to qualify for the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup by 16 points.^[10] He finished poorly at Richmond after wrecking his primary car in practice, and was displaced in the top ten by Kasey Kahne. As a result, he finished the 2006 season 11th in points, his worst thus far in his career, as he had completed each of his seven previous seasons in the top ten in points. Commenting on not being in the 2006 Chase, he says: “It lets us have the ability to take chances and try things ... that we've been wanting to try but just haven't had the luxury to do it. If we were in the Chase we wouldn't have that ability”.^[11] Stewart won three races in the 2006 Chase (Kansas, Atlanta, and Texas).

The season wasn't totally unkind to Stewart, however. He was a participant in the 30th season of IROC and won 2 of the 4 races (Texas, and the Daytona road course) on his way to capturing the series championship. He won a million dollars for the effort, but made an offer to return his prize money if IROC would hold one of its events at his Eldora Speedway. This offer was not entertained as IROC folded in 2007. In addition, Stewart's three wins in the Chase races gave him five total for the season, tying him with Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick for second most in Nextel Cup behind Kasey Kahne's six.

2007 season[link]

Tony Stewart races by at Texas Motor Speedway in 2007.

His 2007 racing season started out with Stewart winning his second Chili Bowl Nationals midget car feature. Tony started off the Daytona Speedweeks with a win in the 2007 Budweiser Shootout. It was his third win in the race. ^[12] He also won his qualifying race for the Daytona 500.

On lap 152 of the Daytona 500, the rear of Stewart's car slid up the track, and when he tried to cut down the track, he smacked the front of Kurt Busch's car knocking both of them out of the race. Tony and the Busch brothers (Kurt and Kyle) were the three leaders for the majority of the race.

On March 22, 2007, it was released that Stewart would be on the cover of the official NASCAR video game published by Electronic Arts, "NASCAR 08". This would be the third time this honor was given to Stewart (2001, 2004, 2008).

In his first Car of Tomorrow race with the Impala SS, Stewart was dominant at Bristol, leading 257 of 504 laps (green-white-checker finish), before he experienced a fuel pump problem. At the third Car of Tomorrow race at Phoenix, Stewart lead a race high 154 laps, but a late race caution moved Stewart to second, where he finished behind Jeff Gordon. In the following week, Stewart implied the cautions were "bogus" and that NASCAR is rigged like professional wrestling.^[13]

On June 4, 2007, Stewart and Kurt Busch had an incident on pit road in the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover. Busch passed Stewart on the inside. Busch then slid up, which caused contact, sending him into the wall, knocking out Busch, but with Stewart staying in the race. Under the caution, Stewart was on pit road in his pit box when Kurt Busch pulled alongside to express his feelings over the incident. One of Stewart's crewmen had to jump out of the way of Kurt's car to avoid being hit.

At the All-Star Challenge at Charlotte, he finished 5th behind Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Jeff Burton. At the Coca-Cola 600, Stewart finished sixth, after having to come in to pit for fuel.

On July 15, 2007, Stewart led a race high 108 laps and recorded his 30th career NEXTEL Cup win at the USG Sheetrock 400 at Joliet.

On July 29, 2007, after leading a race high 66 of 160 laps, Stewart won the "Allstate 400 at the Brickyard" race at Indianapolis, just 45 minutes from where he grew up. During the victory lane interview, Stewart was penalized 25 points and fined $25,000 for violating NASCAR's policy on the use of obscene language during interviews during the race.

On August 12, 2007, he won the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen after Jeff Gordon spun his car around after wheel hopping in turn 1 with two laps to go.

2008 season[link]

Stewart began the 2008 season starting 6th for the 50th running of the Daytona 500, and was only able to come up with a 3rd place finish after being passed on the last lap by Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch.

On lap 109 of the UAW-Dodge 400, Stewart cut a tire and slammed into the turn 3 wall. Stewart came out of the car under his own power, but was helped to the ambulance where he was taken to the infield care center. Stewart had complained about a sore foot from a wreck which occurred the day before in the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas. Stewart was later announced okay and ripped on Goodyear for not bringing quality tires. The next week at the Kobalt Tools 500, Stewart commented that "Goodyear doesn't give a fuck about tire quality."

With 3 laps to go in the 2008 Coca-Cola 600, Stewart cut a tire and saved it from contact with the wall. However, Stewart had to give up the lead to future race winner Kasey Kahne in order to take pits.

In the Best Buy 400 Stewart was involved in another crash with Elliott Sadler in which Sadler was turned by David Gilliland and Sadler's no. 19 collected Stewart and 11 other cars including Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Stewart said, "I take 100 percent responsibility – it's my fault for being anywhere close to Elliott. If I'm within half a lap of him, I expect that to happen. It's my fault – I'm the one that hit him. When I hit him it caused all the guys behind us to wreck, so it's my fault."

On July 5, during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Tony began feeling ill and turned the car over to former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate J. J. Yeley, who finished 20th after getting involved in two wrecks in the last 5 laps. ^[14] Stewart earned his first & only win of the season in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega on October 5. On the final lap Stewart was passed by Regan Smith. NASCAR declared that Smith had made an illegal pass and awarded the victory to Stewart.^[15]

Stewart Haas Racing (2009–present)[link]

2009 season[link]

Tony Stewart pits his No. 14 Impala at the 2009 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte

On July 8, 2008, it was reported that Stewart was released from the last year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, primarily because JGR had switched from Chevrolet to Toyota. Stewart was vocal about his loyalty to Chevrolet (which sponsors his USAC Midget, Sprint Car, and Silver Crown teams), and would move to Haas CNC Racing to drive a Haas Chevrolet, with sponsorship from Office Depot (relocating from the No. 99 Roush Fenway team) and Old Spice. Stewart took half ownership of the team which was renamed Stewart-Haas Racing, and Stewart became the highest paid NASCAR driver. Stewart's car at Haas has the number 14 as homage to his hero A.J. Foyt. To date, he is the most successful driver for Joe Gibbs Racing with 33 wins and two championships (2002 and 2005).

On August 15, 2008, fellow Indiana native Ryan Newman signed a multi-year contract to drive the second car for Stewart-Haas Racing, originally to be designated No. 4 but changed to his USAC No. 39, with sponsorship from the U.S. Army (relocating from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing).

As the most recent series champion not among the Top 35 in owners' points, Stewart was first in line for past champions' provisionals for the first five races of 2009. He completed those races without needing to use the provisional, ending up well inside the Top 10 in points. Stewart won his first race as a driver/owner in the non-championship NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXV, winning more than $1,000,000, his first win in the event in 10 attempts. He followed that victory with his first points race win as a driver/owner at Pocono in the Pocono 500 on June 7, 2009, the first owner-driver in the Cup series to win a race since Ricky Rudd in 1998.^[16] Stewart also won the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona after a controversial finish involving a wreck with Kyle Busch, his former teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart's season overall was his best showing since his rookie year, with another win coming at Watkins Glen International.

Stewart qualified for the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup as he finished the first 26 races as points leader. He fell to second in points following reseeding when Mark Martin, who won more races than Stewart, moved ahead of him. On October 5, 2009, Stewart won the Price Chopper 400 and moved to fourth in the standings, ending the season in sixth place.

2010 season[link]

On April 16, 2010, Stewart won his first Sprint Cup pole position in five years at Texas Motor Speedway, with a lap speed of 191.327 mph. The race was the 400th in the Sprint Cup for Stewart, and was his first starting from the pole since October 2005 at Martinsville Speedway.^[17]

On May 9, it was reported that Stewart would lose Old Spice as a sponsor after 11 years with them.^[18]

Stewart won two races in 2010, the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 5 and the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10.

On October 12, Mobil 1 announced a sponsorship deal with Stewart-Haas Racing to sponsor Stewart's car, starting in 2011. It would be the primary sponsor for 11 races, while Office Depot would be the primary sponsor for the rest of the season. Mobil 1 would also sponsor Tony in the Budweiser Shootout and the All-Star Race.

2011 season[link]

In 2011, Stewart returned in the No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet. Following a crash intentionally caused by Stewart on Brian Vickers at Infineon Raceway in June 2011, Vickers intentionally wrecked Stewart as payback. In an interview when asked about the crashes, Stewart said, "It was payback, but, you know, I dumped him first, and I dumped him because he was blocking..."^[19] Stewart and his teammate, Ryan Newman, started the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 first and second, and they finished it where they started as Newman won that race. Entering the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup portion of the schedule winless, Stewart won the opening race of the Chase at the Chicagoland Speedway and jumped up seven spots in the points, securing second place and extending his streak of consecutive years with a win to 13. Stewart made it two for two in the Chase after Clint Bowyer ran out of fuel in the closing laps of the Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Stewart took the win and the points lead after New Hampshire. At Talladega, Stewart struggled to lead a lap, and eventually did so; with assistance from Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, and Joey Logano, he led an additional 29 laps and captured the two-point bonus for leading the most laps. On October 30, at Martinsville Speedway, Stewart won the Tums Fast Relief 500, leading three times for 14 laps and moving into championship contention in second place in the points standings.

Stewart during the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

The next week, Stewart led 173 laps en route to winning the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, bringing him to within three points of championship points leader Carl Edwards with two races to go in the 2011 season. On November 20, 2011, Stewart won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship by winning the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway while Edwards finished second.^[20] Stewart and Edwards were tied on total points, but Stewart claimed the tiebreaker by having five race wins to Edwards's one.^[21]

2012 season[link]

On February 11, Stewart was beat coming to the finish line on the last lap in the Budweiser Shootout by Kyle Busch. Stewart won the 1st duel of the Gatorade Duels at Daytona, when Danica Patrick hit the wall hard on the backstretch on the final lap, which brought out the caution. Stewart started 3rd in the Daytona 500 and ran well throughout the race, but was caught up in a late race accident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. On March 11, Tony Stewart won the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway beating Jimmie Johnson. It is his 45th career win, and brings his streak of consecutive Cup seasons with a win to 14.

On March 25, Stewart won the rain-shortened Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. It is his 46th career win, and second of the season.

Other racing series[link]

Stewart frequently makes appearances on dirt tracks, appearing regularly at an ARCA race on dirt and at many prominent midget car events, USAC's Turkey Night Grand Prix, and the indoor Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.

Along with Matt Kenseth, he has appeared at Madison International Speedway, a non-NASCAR half-mile track located in Wisconsin on Highway 138 between the cities of Oregon, WI and Stoughton, WI.

Tony also races on rare occasions in the World of Outlaws Series and on July 27, 2011, Stewart won his first ever World of Outlaws race at Ohsweken Speedway.

On September 21, 2011, Stewart and fellow drivers Jamie McMurray and Austin Dillon attended the grand opening of Bass Pro Shops in East Peoria, Illinois. The store ended up bringing in as many as six thousand people that night, but not without saying thanks to the drivers, who signed autographs for fans.

"Smoke" nickname[link]

Tony Stewart told NASCAR.com of his nickname: "I wasn't very good about not slipping the right-rear tire, initially. So it started as 'Smoker,' then it got shortened to 'Smoke.' Then when I got in the Indy Racing League it was 'Smoke' because one of the guys on the crew who was my roommate, and knew the nickname, carried it over to the IndyCar team. But then when I started blowing engines, 'Smoke' really stuck. I've had it ever since."

During his NASCAR career, Tony Stewart once was told by No. 20 team owner Joe Gibbs that he could no longer compete in races outside of his Sprint Cup obligations. Stewart worked around this by entering a USAC National Midget race under the pseudonym "Smoke Johnson" with the crowd at the track none the wiser. After winning the feature, "Smoke Johnson" got out of his car and revealed himself to the crowd under his real name. He also once entered himself in a race, driving the infamous "Munchkin" midget chassis, as "Mikey Fedorcak Jr." after buying the Munchkin from Mike Fedorcak during a card game. In 2010 he raced several Modified races under the name Smoke Johnson.

Racing record[link]

IndyCar results[link]

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Rank	Points
1996	Team Menard	WDW 2	PHX 11	INDY 24													8th	68
1996–1997	Team Menard	NHM 12	LVS 21	WDW 10	PHX 2	INDY 5	TXS 5	PPIR 1	CLT 7	NH2 14	LV2 11						1st	278
1998	Team Menard	WDW 1	PHX 2	INDY 33	TXS 14	NHM 1	DOV 8	CLT 21	PPI 3	ATL 5	TX2 20	LVS 14					3rd	289
1999	Tri-Star Racing	WDW	PHX	INDY 9	TXS	PPIR	ATL	DOV	PPI2	LVS	TX2						33nd	22
2001	Target Chip Ganassi	PHX	HMS	ATL	INDY 6	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	KTY	STL	CHI	TX2			39th	28

Indy 500 results[link]

IRL statistics[link]

NASCAR statistics[link]

Data as of Wednesday, May 16, 2012^[22]

Racecar owner[link]

Stewart is the owner of various open-wheel short track racing cars, most of them being sponsored by Chevrolet since 2007.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2009)[link]

In the end of 2008 Tony was given a 50% stake in Haas CNC Racing which became Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009. Haas CNC Racing, previously fielded the No. 66 and No. 70 cars, now fields the numbers 14 and 39 as Stewart-Haas Racing. This decision involved parting ways with long-time crew chief Greg Zipadelli, sponsor The Home Depot, car number 20, and owner Joe Gibbs, with all of which he had spent 10 years. He drives the No. 14 Chevrolet Impala owned by Gene and Margaret Haas. He is the owner of the No. 39 Impala, which is driven by Ryan Newman.

United States Auto Club[link]

Stewart has won USAC car owner titles in the Silver Crown division in 2002 and 2003 with J. J. Yeley, and in 2004 with Dave Steele. He also collected owner titles in USAC's National Sprint Car Series with Yeley in 2003 and Jay Drake in 2004. He also won an owner title in the USAC National Sprint Car Series in 2007 and 2009 with Levi Jones of Olney, IL

Stewart's USAC midget and sprint cars carry No. 20 and No. 21, while his Silver Crown car carries #22.

Other entities[link]

Stewart owns a dirt late model Chevrolet Impala that carries No. 14 which he races frequently. Stewart has also won a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Championship as an owner with Donny Schatz in 2008. The team is now a 2 car operation with Schatz and Steve Kinser. He is also the owner of Custom Works, a company that manufactures radio controlled oval track cars, and has had a degree of success as a r/c racer himself.

Stewart is also the driving force behind the Sprint Sponsored "Prelude to the Dream" which features drivers from various sports driving late model dirt cars at Eldora Speedway. Since 2005 the "Dream" has showcased a who's who in NASCAR and NHRA, featuring such drivers as Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Pedregon and others. The inaugural race was won by Kenny Wallace, followed by Carl Edwards in 2006. As of late the race has been nicknamed "The Smoke Show" due to Stewart winning back to back to back since 2007. The events have raised over 4 million dollars for various NASCAR and driver charities including The Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Racetrack owner[link]

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart purchased Eldora Speedway located near Rossburg, Ohio in late 2004 from Earl Baltes.^[23] Tony Stewart is currently a co-owner of Paducah International Raceway near Paducah, Kentucky. He also co-owns Macon Speedway in Macon, Illinois along with Kenny Schrader, Kenny Wallace and Bob Sargent.^[24]

Tony Stewart Foundation[link]

Founded in 2003 by Tony Stewart, the principal purposes of the Tony Stewart Foundation are to raise and donate funds to help care for chronically ill children, drivers injured in motorsports activities and to support other charitable organizations in the protection of various animal species. The Tony Stewart Foundation will raise and donate funds to charitable interests, specifically those that support the aforementioned groups. ^[25]

TV & radio[link]

• Stewart hosted a two-hour weekly radio show, titled Tony Stewart Live, broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio.^[26] Stewart co-hosted the show with Matt Yocum, and takes listener calls. The show ran through 2007–2008.
• In 2007, Stewart appeared in commercials for Subway with their spokesman, Jared Fogle. Tony Stewart worked at McDonald's while attending Columbus North High School. Former coworkers said he was a great worker — when he showed up.
• Appeared with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the music video for 3 Doors Down's song "The Road I'm On".
• Appeared in a 2008 Toyota commercial where the cars of Toyota Sprint Cup drivers, including Stewart's, are driven by kids with remote controls. When his kid driver spins his car out of control, he crawls out, yelling to his crew chief, "Zippy, run for your life!" Stewart then throws his helmet at his car, a homage to his habit of throwing helmets and other racing gear in anger.
• Stewart appears in commercials as a member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family of drivers and a Coca-Cola vending machine with Tony Stewart's picture on it sits in Columbus North High School to this day.
• In 2010, Stewart appeared in the commercial for the Burger King Steak House XT, which he endorsed. This video entered the Top 10 of the Ad Age / Visible Measures Top Viral Ad Chart on Aug. 12, 2010.
• Appeared as host in the 2003 production of NASCAR Images Adrenaline Vol 1
• On February 14, 2012 Stewart guest-starred on the ABC series "Last Man Standing"

Video games[link]

• Stewart has been included in Electronic Arts' NASCAR sim racing series from 2000–present mostly driving his No. 20 Home Depot car, he drives for Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR 09 only.
• Electronic Arts announced that Stewart would appear in person for the first time on the cover of NASCAR Thunder 2004 in late 2003,^[27] however he is not new to the concept having his Home Depot Winston Cup car appear on NASCAR 2001's cover.^[28] Stewart also appears on the cover of NASCAR 08.^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tony Stewart

• Official website
• Tony Stewart Foundation
• Tony Stewart at Racing Reference
• Stewart-Haas Racing
• Tony Stewart at NASCAR.com
• Tony Stewart at The Coca-Cola Racing Family