NASCAR

Tony Stewart exits NASCAR on his terms as driver, champion

Brant James, USA TODAY Sports
Tony Stewart, beloved by fans who called him 'Smoke', will run his final Sprint Cup race Sunday.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Tony Stewart isn’t sure who he told first. Maybe longtime manager Eddie Jarvis. Or his father, Nelson.

But he knows he told them. He didn’t ask them whether he should follow through on his notion that after 18 seasons at NASCAR’s highest level and three in IndyCar, it was time to step away from full-time professional racing.

When you know, he said, you know. At least he does.

“I think deep down you know when it’s time to do something to make a change like this,” Stewart said upon officially announcing his intentions more than a year ago.

And so when Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet with the logo “Always a Racer, Forever a Champion” emblazoned on it rolls to a final stop Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the 45-year-old will take the next step toward his life beyond the wheel.

Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson airplane ride goes to the dogs

His life behind it as arguably one of the greatest racers of any generation has yielded three Sprint Cup championships (2002, 2005, 2011), one in IndyCar (1997) and the United States Auto Club Triple Crown (1995).

If he somehow is able to craft the storybook ending that eluded retiring Jeff Gordon last season, the next step of the rest of his life would occur in victory lane, sending him off into a retirement of dirt racing, minding the clay at Eldora Speedway and indulging in some Formula One races with Cup team co-owner Gene Haas, with whom he will continue to oversee their NASCAR operation. If not, he’ll just as happily take the wheel of his motor coach for the meander north so he can be ready for off-road riding in Georgia on Monday.

Stewart’s departure, past the aquamarine trimmings and through the tunnel of the South Florida track, will be in keeping with the way he approached and executed his arrival. Both happened on his timetable.

And although his NASCAR debut was a source of intrigue that involved multiple manufacturers, teams and even racing series, his exit figures to be more understated.

His farewell entourage is expected to be decidedly more low-key than the group invited by Gordon last year, which included Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and racing legend Mario Andretti. A spokesperson for Stewart friend and childhood idol A.J. Foyt said the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner would not be in attendance this weekend.

Stewart doesn’t think there’s an aquifer of emotion underneath the scruff and behind the dark sunglasses waiting to pour forth come Sunday afternoon. But seeing the emotion emitting from his normally staid father after his win at Sonoma Raceway in June — Stewart’s first since 2013 and probably his last — pushed him past an expected threshold.

“I hope not,” he said of the prospect of more tears. “It was embarrassing watching my father sobbing. It made me tear up when I saw him tear up after I saw the replay of the race.”

'Tremendous passion'

Going out when ready was appropriate for Stewart. The Indiana native’s final years in Sprint Cup were beset by performance shortfalls, injury and tragedy, the last two depriving him from participating in his first racing love — sprint cars.

He struggled to adjust as NASCAR made changes to the cars that didn’t align with his driving style. He suffered a badly broken right leg during a sprint car race in Iowa in August 2013, sidelining him for 15 races, ending his streak of 521 consecutive Cup starts and leading to months of painful surgeries and rehabilitation.

A month after he returned to moonlighting in sprint cars, he struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr., who was walking toward Stewart’s car under caution during a race in New York in August 2014. Stewart missed three Sprint Cup races while he grieved. A grand jury did not indict Stewart; a wrongful death suit filed by the Ward family is ongoing.

How Tony Stewart has fared at Sprint Cup tracks

Then, before he could begin his final season, he broke his back in an off-road accident in the sand dunes of Southern California, delaying his retirement tour until late April and denying him a final chance to win the Daytona 500, the crown jewel of NASCAR that eluded him.

But he was able to muster a dignifying flourish by winning at Sonoma and qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and one last run at a fourth title.

And so there is a bookend to a successful, eventful, historic career that also began when it was time.

In the fall of 1996, after he competed in the inaugural Indy Racing League season and readied for a follow-up campaign in which he would win the championship for owner John Menard, Stewart was offered a chance at a Sprint Cup ride. Rick Hendrick, whose team was made up of 25-year-old defending series champion Gordon, 39-year-old Terry Labonte, who was closing in on his second title, and Ken Schrader, 41, wanted Stewart in his fold. (Hendrick now has won 11 Cup championships).

“I’d only ran eight Busch Grand National races with Harry (Ranier), and I crashed out of probably two-thirds of them,” Stewart said. “I was fairly certain I wasn’t ready to jump in a Cup car quite yet. When you sit there, at that time I was making all the decisions on what I was doing with my future as far as racing was concerned. You get to a scenario where you get to the IRL and at that time the Busch Grand National Series and you’ve got one step to go to get in a Cup car, and the last thing you want to do is make that move too soon or not in the right deal.

Tony Stewart leaving his mark on Sprint Cup Series

“Obviously, the Hendrick deal was a dream deal. But if I moved too soon or didn’t do a good job, then next thing you know, you’re going back down the ladder, not up. So as hard as it was to make that decision to not do that ... it may have worked out fine, we’ll never know. But I felt like it was safer to make that decision and make sure I was taking the time to make sure I was ready before I went.”

Hendrick replaced Schrader with Ricky Craven as Stewart returned to the IRL for two more seasons, winning the championship in 1997. Stewart signed with Joe Gibbs Racing that year and contested two partial Busch (now Xfinity) campaigns before launching his full-time Cup career with the team in 1999.

“I think Tony, the biggest thing about him, he has a tremendous passion for what he does,” Gibbs said. “I can remember the very first time I talked to him. We sat down. He said, ‘I want to tell you something right now, I’m not ready for Cup.’ It was a shocker for me. He said, ‘I want to run (Busch) for at least a year, maybe two years.’ I think he had a real strong feeling about himself.

“I think that’s one thing I remembered right off the bat, he said, ‘Hey, I’m not ready.’ ”

It took 18 years until he was ready to move on. But he’s there now. And he’s sure about it.

Follow James on Twitter @brantjames