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It’s Tony Stewart Again at Daytona in Nationwide Photo Finish

February 19, 2011   Geoffrey Miller   No comments

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The venerable Daytona International Speedway may as well be classified a completely new venue for the Nationwide Series this season.

The victory lane celebration, however, remains much the same.

Tony Stewart pushed by Clint Bowyer in the final feet of Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 to win his sixth checkered flag of the season-opener in his last seven tries. The winning margin of .007 seconds was the third closest in series history.

“We just got a great run,” Stewart said. “We had a good push from Landon Cassill there at the line.”

Cassill, a young driver without a full-time ride this season, finished third to take the Nationwide Series’ points lead.

The path to success again for Stewart had plenty of reasons to derail this time around.

 

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Ten Years After: Inside Daytona Hospital, Tony Stewart Was a Witness to Grief

February 09, 2011   Holly Cain   No comments

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More often than you’d guess, Tony Stewart calls up the YouTube video of his wild, death-defying crash in the closing laps of the 2001 Daytona 500. But not for reasons you might think.

In the short video clip, he watches his orange No. 20 get hit from behind on the massive Daytona International Speedway backstretch, turning it directly toward 200-mph oncoming traffic. As the rear of Stewart’s Chevrolet catches air and starts to launch vertically, cars take evasive action.

That’s where Stewart pauses the video. He even has a still photograph of this very moment (right).

Just as Stewart’s car lifts off the ground — seconds before he endures violent barrel rolls and smashes into a half-dozen cars — the black No. 3 Chevrolet escapes through the smoke and frenzy unscathed. Its driver, Dale Earnhardt, heads to the front of the field to contend for the win. As usual.

“That’s the part that bothers me the most,” Stewart explained in an exclusive interview with AOL FanHouse, speaking in depth about that fateful Feb. 18, 2001 afternoon when NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500.

“It’s like, if I could have just nicked him on the way by, would it have changed things just enough to keep his accident later from happening? There’s no way anyone would ever wreck and think about hitting someone else believing it would do any good. I was along for the ride.

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“But, it was just like, what if?” Stewart adds, shaking his head, lowering his voice and making eye contact for emphasis. “If you looked at the two wrecks, you would have swore I was the one. … that if one of the guys passed away, you’d have swore it was from my crash, not his.

“Like a parent or, really, any person that loses a loved one, it makes you think of things that aren’t realistic, but I always see that picture and think what would have happened if I had clipped him just a little then, would it have changed all this?”

 

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A New NASCAR Season Spawns Hope, Optimism and Nervousness

January 24, 2011   Bob Zeller   No comments

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KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Painted high on the walls of the sprawling setup room at the Stewart-Haas Racing team shop here are inspirational quotes from Winston Churchill, Thomas Paine, Lyndon B. Johnson and Vince Lombardi, among others, as well as Satchel Paige, the legendary African-American baseball player who made his name as a pitcher rather than a great politician or statesman.

Yet it is Paige’s quote — “Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you” — that seems to best typify the dead-of-winter mood in the race shops scattered around the greater Charlotte area.

Nearly all the teams and drivers are once again filled with hope and enthusiasm, but everyone has to be wondering nonetheless how their season will play out. Will they be competitive right out of the box? Have other teams gained some kind of a little advantage?

“It’s just who made the bigger gains” during the off-season and preparing for 2011, said Tony Stewart as the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway media tour, with some 200 media members in attendance, made a stop at his Kannapolis shop Monday afternoon for a visit with him and teammate Ryan Newman.

Chip Ganassi, co-owner of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, echoed the thought earlier Monday during a luncheon with the team. Although both of his drivers, Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya, won races in 2010, “there are lots of places we can improve,” he said. “You’re looking at that all the time. It’s a constant process of looking at yourself and looking at the team.”

 

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Tony Stewart: ‘I’m Embarrassed’ About Scuffle at Australian Track

January 20, 2011   Holly Cain   No comments

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two-time NASCAR champ Tony Stewart said Thursday during a break in preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway that he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” about an altercation with a race track owner in Sydney, Australia, during the last night of a recent month-long vacation there.

Calm, smiling at reporters and speaking in subdued tones, Stewart sported a near full beard, but showed no signs of a “black eye” that was widely reported by Australian media last weekend. According to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, Stewart received a black eye in a brief physical altercation between himself and Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.

Stewart did not reveal the details of the incident, but confirmed he went to a local police station to give a statement and was released with no restrictions on his plans to travel back to the United States the following day. The issue between him and Morris was the condition of the track.

“I’ve always been one to speak up for what is right, especially when it comes to the safety aspect,”said Stewart, one of 40 drivers participating in a three-day test on Daytona’s new $20 million pavement. “It’s not uncommon to see drivers and track operators have disputes, but this one went a little farther.”

“I’m definitely not proud of what happened. …. I’ve lost a lot of sleep over it. I’m embarrassed. I made it all the way through a trip and the last night get in an altercation. I’m ashamed.”

 

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2010 Team Reviews: Stewart-Haas Racing Steps Back

January 19, 2011   Geoffrey Miller   No comments

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Not everyone doubted Tony Stewart when he announced his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 to form his own Sprint Cup team, Stewart-Haas Racing.

But he will certainly note, as will anyone else around at that point, that so many people from so many corners of NASCAR thought the two-time champion was committing career suicide.

Instead, 2009 proved to be about as far from the gloomy predictions as possible when both Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman qualified for NASCAR’s championship battle. Their campaigns in the 2009 Chase to the Sprint Cup were to little avail, but seemed to paint a soon-to-be-dominant future for the race team.

Comparatively, 2010 was a step back for the SHR team — back to about the level most thought Stewart would be competing at by now.

 

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Tony Stewart on Way Back to US After Reported Scuffle in Australia

January 16, 2011   Holly Cain   No comments

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Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart is reportedly en route to the United States a day after reports that he scuffled with a track owner during his final weekend racing in Australia.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Stewart threw his helmet at track co-owner Brett Morris during an alleged dispute over track conditions at Sydney Speedway. The newspaper said Stewart received a black eye in return from Morris, who the paper described as “not slight in size.”

Stewart’s public relations manager Mike Arning said Saturday he was still trying to sort through the news but had spoken with Stewart, who was reportedly detained briefly by the local Rosehill police department for questioning about the incident. Although he was released and cleared for his already-scheduled departure Saturday, the paper says a local official confirmed there is ongoing investigation..

Stewart has been in Australia for the past four weeks — the second consecutive year he and several other prominent American sprint car drivers have spent the off-season racing sprint cars.

The owner-driver is scheduled to drive his No. 14 Mobil 1-Office Depot Chevrolet in a three-day test session at Daytona International Speedway beginning Thursday.

 

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Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia

January 15, 2011   FanHouse Staff   No comments

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NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.

Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.

The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after hot laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While Stewart was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.

Saturday evening, Stewart public relations representative Mike Arning told FanHouse in an email, “We’re attempting to gather whatever information we can get our hands on in an effort to separate fact from fiction.

“However, we can say that Tony Stewart is not being held anywhere and is resting in his hotel in Australia. While we have spoken with him, he’s still half-a-world a way, so figuring out what did or didn’t happen is going to take some time.”

After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return to the U.S. on Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.

Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.

 

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Tony Stewart Gives FanHouse an All-Access Pass: Part One

November 09, 2010   Motorsports FanHouse   No comments

Holly Cainby Holly Cain

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EDITOR’S NOTE: On Oct. 27-28, two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart gave FanHouse Senior Writer Holly Cain a rare 48-hour All-Access Pass. She spent two days behind the scenes, following Stewart through a typical mid-week routine that started at a sponsor photo shoot in Mooresville, N.C., and finished the following night 900 miles away at Talladega, Ala., after other stops to paint the new Daytona International Speedway start-finish line and sign autographs at an appearance in Orlando, Fla.

In this two-part story, you’ll get an in-depth look of the professional and private side of Stewart beyond the racetrack. The first installment gives you a snapshot of the frantic schedule Stewart keeps. Strap in.

Considering Tony Stewart is a two-time NASCAR champion, household name and sports hero who stars in television commercials, has celebrity phone numbers on speed dial and is greeted most places he goes with cheers, high-fives, women fawning and kids wanting autographs. .. you might expect to find him with an entourage of personal assistants, chauffeurs and chefs and plenty of fun-filled down time before each upcoming race weekend.

Instead, Stewart, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and a new pair of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers, drove himself to work — as he does every day — to a photo shoot in a nondescript building located in the back of an industrial complex in Mooresville, N.C.

There was no fawning, no celebration when he ambled in the door — still needing a shave. As for fun, well that depends on your definition of it. Down time? Never saw it.

Tony Stewart Gives FanHouse an All-Access Pass: Part One originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Tony Stewart, All-Access Part Two: A Champion Opens Up

November 09, 2010   Holly Cain   No comments

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On Oct. 27-28, two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart gave FanHouse Senior Writer Holly Cain a rare 48-hour All-Access Pass. She spent two days behind the scenes following Stewart through a typical mid-week routine that started at a photo shoot in Mooresville, N.C., and finished the next night 900 miles away in Talladega, Ala.

In this two-part series, you’ll find an in-depth look at the professional and private side of Stewart beyond the track. The second installment is a revealing look at Stewart who talks about his image, lessons learned and his hope to start a family.

Tony Stewart ducked into the photography studio’s tiny make-up room, quickly stripped off his driver’s suit and stood in his underwear and T-shirt while two ladies from a Brooks Brothers fine clothing store in Charlotte, N.C., rolled in a rack of dress shirts and pants samples.

They sized him up and took measurements for an order of new suits while Stewart relentlessly teased them and made wisecracks every time they checked his inseam and backside or adjusted his shirt collar to find the right fit.

Blushing a bit and smiling a lot, the women admitted afterward that they had been nervous about this assignment on the 45-minute drive from Charlotte, N.C. Neither followed NASCAR much, but they both knew of Stewart.

“We’d seen him on TV and knew he could be feisty, but he just made us feel so comfortable,” one of the tailors confided with a wide grin. “It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It was fun.

“He was just great, better than most all of our reg-u-lar customers,” she added in a dramatic Southern drawl, clearly smitten with Stewart.

 

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Tony Stewart Gives FanHouse an All-Access Pass: Part One

November 09, 2010   Holly Cain   No comments

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EDITOR’S NOTE: On Oct. 27-28, two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart gave FanHouse Senior Writer Holly Cain a rare 48-hour All-Access Pass. She spent two days behind the scenes, following Stewart through a typical mid-week routine that started at a sponsor photo shoot in Mooresville, N.C., and finished the following night 900 miles away at Talladega, Ala., after other stops to paint the new Daytona International Speedway start-finish line and sign autographs at an appearance in Orlando, Fla.

In this two-part story, you’ll get an in-depth look of the professional and private side of Stewart beyond the racetrack. The first installment gives you a snapshot of the frantic schedule Stewart keeps. Strap in.

Considering Tony Stewart is a two-time NASCAR champion, household name and sports hero who stars in television commercials, has celebrity phone numbers on speed dial and is greeted most places he goes with cheers, high-fives, women fawning and kids wanting autographs. .. you might expect to find him with an entourage of personal assistants, chauffeurs and chefs and plenty of fun-filled down time before each upcoming race weekend.

Instead, Stewart, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and a new pair of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers, drove himself to work — as he does every day — to a photo shoot in a nondescript building located in the back of an industrial complex in Mooresville, N.C.

There was no fawning, no celebration when he ambled in the door — still needing a shave. As for fun, well that depends on your definition of it. Down time? Never saw it.

 

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