September 13, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
Anyone watching the national TV broadcast of last Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race witnessed the outward manifestation of Tony Stewart's massively frustrating season.
After leading 23 laps late in the race at Richmond, Stewart's team came up short on pit road, getting him out behind eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson. Despite hammering down and pulling alongside Johnson's door more than once as he attempted to regain the lead, Stewart was unable to complete the pass and finished the race second.
It was the third time Stewart has finished second in the past six races, and the fourth overall this season.
Bringing his car to a halt after the race, Stewart threw his gloves and helmet in anger, rebuking his team sarcastically over the radio: "Good job, guys. We gave another one away today. Great job!"
"Great attitude there, Smoke," crew chief Greg Zipadelli snapped back. "Remember, we win and lose as a team. It was a great effort, okay? That's enough of that crap."
The incident created quite a buzz in NASCAR circles this week, much to Stewart's astonishment. "I guess it's kind of blown me away how much it's been such a big deal to everybody, because I didn't think it was really that big a deal," he told me Wednesday via satellite in Phoenix. "If you listen to driver/crew chief conversations during the race, there's a lot of times and a lot of other drivers that absolutely are in shouting matches with their crew chiefs on the radio during the race."
Winless so far in 2008 despite nine top-5 finishes and over 500 laps led, it's understandable that tensions were high in Richmond - especially as another opportunity to win slipped agonizingly from Stewart's grasp.
"We're all competitive and nobody likes to lose, especially when you know that you had the fastest car on the racetrack," he said. "We should have gotten our first win of the season the other day."
Still, Stewart believes the post-race incident was evidence of the tight bond he shares with Greg Zipadelli, the only crew chief he's had during his tenure in the Cup series. "For guys like Zippy and I - I mean, we've known each other for so long. He's like a big brother to me and I'm like the little ornery brother. We're used to that."
Stewart notes that his frustration seldom reaches the boiling point after a race, but as racing professionals, he and Zippy have already moved forward. "There's not very many times in the ten years that we've been in a position where I've even been that mad to say something on the radio like that. But it's easy to put it away and get ready for this weekend. That's what we do every week."
"It's a lot easier to let both of us vent it out on the radio before we get out of the car," Stewart said. "That way, it kind of gets us back in the mode of recovery. It lets us get it all out there, and we left it at Richmond."
Sunday's race was supposed to mark the Cup series debut of Stewart's replacement in the Home Depot Car, 18-year-old Joey Logano. The young driver was selected by team owner Joe Gibbs to pilot the No. 20 car after Stewart announced plans to leave the team and become an owner-driver at Stewart-Haas Racing next season.
Logano would have been logging seat time in a fourth JGR car on Sunday, but rain in Richmond forced cancellation of qualifying, thwarting his chances to make his first Cup race.
Still, fans got a look at Stewart and Logano together during the race in the premiere of a new Home Depot commercial. In the sentimental ad, Stewart is portrayed Mr. Miyagi-style, training up Logano in his home improvement skills. At the end of the commercial, he passes a symbolic torch to the young driver in the form of a ceremonial steering wheel.
"It was kind of tough, knowing it was going to be the last commercial I was shooting for Home Depot," Stewart said of the shoot. "But it was so much fun because we were kind of laughing - I mean, Joey would struggle with a line here and there. It is something that I take for granted - I've been doing it for so long that you kind of breeze through our part. They kind of had to coach Joey throughout and I was like, 'Man, that's exactly the way I was when I started here, too.'"
Stewart expressed genuine fondness for the racing phenom and satisfaction with the selection of Logano as his replacement. "He's a good kid and he deserves an opportunity like this. He deserves to go into an organization with an established team and an established crew and with two good teammates. I'm really excited and I'm proud that he's going to be the guy that's taking my place at Gibbs. I don't think it could have gone to a better guy."
Looking ahead to next season, I asked Tony if he's identified any specific goals for himself or soon-to-be teammate Ryan Newman at Stewart-Haas Racing. "I don't really even know. I don't know what to expect," he replied. "I think the big thing is just getting the key people in place right now and letting it go through it's course. I don't know that I have an expectation or have set a goal, necessarily, for what I think this team could do next year. It's a first time deal for me, so I don't know what to expect. I'm not sure I know how high to set the bar for our first year."
Stewart's eyes really light up when he talks about his 2009 venture, but with ten races left this season, he knows he's facing an uphill battle in the his quest for a third Cup series title. "There's no pattern and there's no equation that says you can win the championship or can't win the championship if you do or do not win a race during the year. But it's hard to believe that whoever wins the championship is not going to win probably one race, if not more during the championship Chase."
A fierce competitor, Stewart will keep up the fight until there's simply no fight left.
"It's obvious that there's three drivers that are standing out over the other nine drivers in the Chase so far this year," he said, referring to statistical favorites Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.
"But one race can totally change the complexion of the Chase for the Championship. Until they say you're mathematically out, you're still in it."
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