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| Birth Name(s) : Tony Stewart |
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Full Tony Stewart Biography
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart (born May 20, 1971) is an auto racing driver who was born in Columbus, Indiana. He has won championships in sprint cars, Indy cars, and stock cars. He currently drives the #20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Chevrolet Impala SS in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and is sponsored by Home Depot. He also drives in the NASCAR Busch Series part-time in multiple cars, most notably, the #33 Old Spice Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Kevin Harvick Inc.
Born in Columbus, Indiana, on May 20, 1971 Stewart grew up racing go karts and was successful very early, winning the World Karting Championship in 1987. He raced three-quarter midgets until 1991, when he moved up 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, 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. The highlights of the year were winning the Hut Hundred and 4-Crown Nationals.
When he wasn't racing Indy Cars, he raced stock cars. In 1996, Tony made his NASCAR Busch Series debut, driving for car owner Harry Rainer. In nine races, however, he had only a best finish of 16th place. He had more success in a one-time ride in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he finished 10th.Tony Stewart's entry from the 1999 Indianapolis 500.
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 something of a disappointment, especially as he finished last in the Indy 500 because of an engine failure.
The 2001 season was not without controversy, however. 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 refusing to wear a mandated head-and-neck restraint. Stewart was not allowed to practice until wearing 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".
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 was one of Stewart's most successful years in the Nextel Cup. He won five races, including the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, 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.
Tony Stewart missed the cut to qualify for the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup by 16 points. 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”. Stewart won three races in the 2006 Chase (Kansas, Atlanta, and Texas).
In his first Car of Tomorrow race with the Impala SS, Stewart was dominant at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading 257 of 504 laps (green-white-checkered finish). But a fuel pump problem spoiled his shot at the win. At the third Car of Tomorrow race located at Phoenix International Raceway Stewart was again the man to beat leading a race high 154 laps, but a late race caution moved Stewart to second, where he finished behind Jeff Gordon. In the week following the caution Stewart implied the cautions were "bogus" and that NASCAR is rigged like professional wrestling. |
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