chas I agree with you. honestly, I seldom think of tony as being in his forties. he really is in the retirement phase of his racing career based on age alone. add the sprint car issues and shenanigans and I can see him atop the pit box.
He's also struggled since his friend Ryan Newman was ousted by Haas. Stewart relied heavily, HEAVILY on Newman's engineering education and feedback to setup his own car. I could see in interviews he trying not to air his unhappyness with Haas as best he could. He was not happy with losing Newman. Broken leg, lack of friend co-driver on the track, lawsuit hanging, part team owner...distracted guy for sure.
you're right, forgot about the Newman thing. Haas hired Kurt Busch without Tony's knowledge too IIRC. interesting business partner....
We've seen lots of drivers come back from broken legs (Schumacher and Haywood come to mind immediately) so it isn't that so much. The Ward, Jr. incident however will always be a black cloud hanging over Stewart. Whichever, he's done after 2016. So, we get to see speedways rename themselves Tony Stewart International Speedway the same way they're doing for Jeff Gordon this year right? BHW
look at the stats, the results speak for themselves. he hasn't been the same since his leg injury. just 3 top 5's in 2 years... I'll also note that Hurley, Schumi and others were younger and in better shape () when they had their injuries, so their recovery was easier.
You've perhaps not seen anything of Tony's injuries? He did a lot more than just snap a bone in one spot and have it all stay in the skin...
Tony's age and injuries have caught up with him, plus the Ward issue, but looks like Clint will be behind the wheel of the #14 after 2016, I would put Clint in the car at the BEGINNING of 2016.
not worth going into any detail other than "joke" from peter...followed with a "yep" from chas. nascar founding father continues to roll over in his grave
but the green went out. that's an "attempt" at a restart. and then, they knew Harvick was having trouble and left him out there, should have black flagged him. tore up a lot of cars and ruined the chance for a proper finish (on the second g/w/c attempt). then they tried to pull the ol' "we'll wait to throw the yellow until Joonyer is leading" trick, but it didn't work. amateur hour.
Oh, my goodness. What did I miss? More NASCAR shenanigans for a contrived finish? Say it ain't so! BHW
Okay, so now up to speed no what happened... Looks as though some drivers, namely Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Jr. got shafted. So, here is Kenseth who has apparently won five races this year eliminated from the championship and he's talking. Welcome to 1983 Kenseth... Eliminated Chase drivers sound-off: "This is not what racing is all about" - NASCAR Sprint Cup News BHW
You mean it's the re-occuring nightmare that becomes part of your life? Swell........pass the bottle!!!
Total BS ! When it works to their advantage they all sing and dance to how wondeful it is. Simply stated.....Kenseth.........grow a pair !!
If, from what I'm reading on this and other sites this AM is any indication, NASCAR really messed up yesterday. Long time fans are up in arms. Fans who've been on the fence are now jumping ship. Not sure what it takes for some people to wake up sometimes. BHW
For me - it was a 13 car chase when the rules clearly were 12. It should of been 12 cars in a 12 car chase, and I haven't watched a season or followed the points sense. Of course, they've changed the rules where often, points matter little providing you have wins. I went to watch the F1 race, they were on at the same time, NASCAR race finished later so I watched it end. Pretty sure if Jr had of come out on top of attempt #1, there wouldn't of been an attempt #2. Wins do count - but you have to keep winning. Joey won all 3 of this round, and he's advancing. That meant everyone else had to get in on points alone instead of a magic win. (Which Kenseth *almost* had.)