Tony Stewart: 'The whole day was awesome'
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Tony Stewart made it, and he made it the way he intended.
It took an extra half hour or so because of a lengthy red flag period that extended his final Sprint Cup race on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but the three-time series champion ended his 18-year NASCAR career surrounded by a close group of friends, swathed in the admiration of his peers and with a special souvenir for his collection.
Climbing from his No. 14 Chevrolet, he reflected on a day gone perfectly, one that couldn’t even be soured by an uncompetitive 22nd-place finish.
“It’s still hard to digest it all right now,” Stewart said. “The whole day was awesome. You couldn’t ask for a better day.”
Stewart’s most cherished memory, he said, came before the race when dozens of crewmen lined pit road to shake his hand through his window in a scene reminiscent of the celebration following Dale Earnhardt’s first win in the Daytona 500 in 1998.
“Humbling,” he admitted. “I’ve said all year I just want to be one of the guys racing and to be put out there, it’s an honor but it’s humbling at the same time.”
Then it got better, as Jimmie Johnson presented him with the “Chasing 7” helmet he wore Sunday in winning to claim his record-tying seventh Sprint Cup championship.
Whereas the celebration of four-time series champion Jeff Gordon at Homestead last year felt like a retirement party, Stewart’s felt more like a graduation party.
As had been his wish since announcing his retirement last September, Stewart worked through a relatively low-distraction, no-fuss regular season culminating in an understated pre-race celebration. Gordon’s car had been mobbed by hundreds of fans near Turn 4 last season but the group was smaller and better contained for Stewart, thanks in part to a nifty metal fence that cordoned off a sparkle-flecked No. 14 Chevrolet, parked at the word “Smoke” chalked into the asphalt. Whereas Gordon was feted by the likes of Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and Mario Andretti, Stewart was visited by just a few peers including Marco Andretti and Brian Vickers. Vickers joined in a team photo because he’d served as a replacement driver for Stewart when he missed the first eight races of the season with a broken back because of an offseason off-road wreck.
Stewart posed for several rounds of photos mostly with family and long-time business associates like manager Eddie Jarvis, who wiped away tears and sniffles as the most openly emotional member of the party.
“I’m just happy for him,” Jarvis told USA TODAY Sports. “He was very overwhelmed with all the gifts he got from the drivers and the crew, the guys throughout the garage. He had a great weekend.”
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He also got to lead the field one final time on Sunday.
Before the race, he moved into the front of the field during warm-up laps to pace the field behind a truck pulling a banner that read 'Thank you Smoke.' Most of the crowd rose to its feet as he passed, just as they did during driver introductions.
NASCAR paid tribute to Stewart with a video in the pre-race drivers meeting, after which the hundreds packed into a warm tent in the speedway's infield gave Stewart, who won titles in 2002, 2005 and 2011, a lengthy standing ovation.
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Mike Helton, NASCAR's vice chairman, began his remarks by pulling out a Stewart bobblehead. He said it would have been nice if Stewart couldn't speak and just nodded his head like the bobblehead, "but that's not our Tony."
"And we're fortunate that it's not," Helton added.
Stewart, a colorful character on and off the track that is known for his run-ins with NASCAR brass, fellow drivers, fans and the media, will be active in the sport through his role as co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.
"Godspeed, Tony," Helton said. "And you understand -- we still invite owners to the (NASCAR) hauler sometimes, too, right?"
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