Tony Stewart taking checkers at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 2011. Photo Credit: NASCAR Media
The crowds of autograph seekers and fans at the NASCAR Acceleration weekend in Charlotte had long since departed, but 2011 Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart wasn’t ready to fire out of his chair and race off like so many of his fellow drivers. Some guys looked bothered to be there, but not Smoke. He met with the ushers, security staff and other event workers, thanking them for their time and hard work. He even joked with one grandmother who worked the event for extra money, and she ended up taking home an autographed photo of Stewart and his teammate Ryan Newman for her little fans.
For a guy who is likely being asked for every nanosecond of his time, Stewart seems to enjoy the moment and he has the patience of a saint.
It’s ironic too, because he would be described as anything but a saint on the race track. Just ask any of his competitors from the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, or years past.
It was a strange and magical year, at least during The Chase, for Stewart. And he is working hard during the offseason to make sure he is right back on top in 2012.
For instance, midway through The Chase, Smoke informed crew chief Darian Grubb that he wouldn’t be retained in 2012. There was no change of heart after the championship run, and Stewart turned to Steve Addington, who worked with Kyle Busch from 2005-09, and Kurt Busch from 2010-11.
Then, back in mid-December, Joe Gibbs Racing released Greg Zipadelli from his contractual obligation as Joey Logano’s crew chief so he could join Stewart-Haas Racing as the team’s competition director. Stewart is reunited with Zipadelli, who served as his crew chief for 10 years at JGR. The two won 33 races, including two championships.
Stewart isn’t resting on his laurels after 2011′s championship run.
“Everyone is trying to improve every year. Jimmie Johnson won five times in a row, but was still constantly trying to improve,” Stewart said. “We changed the crew chief. We added Zippadelli. We’re hoping for good improvement in every department. You can always build the car faster, lighter – more horsepower.”
Stewart started out with a respectable 13th place finish at Daytona, which was pretty solid considering since he isn’t the strongest at Restrictor-Plate Racing. He then managed a seventh place finish at Phoenix, and a runner-up at Las Vegas. It was a bit disappointing at Vegas, too, as that is just one of two tracks Smoke has not enjoyed checkers at least once in his illustrious career. Still, he has no ill-will toward the place.
“I like Vegas. And Darlington. It is very challenging, but I always look forward to going there even though we don’t have any wins at either track,” Stewart said.
Then, the bottom dropped out and he started digging his hole.
Stewart was 12th or worse in five consecutive races from March 20-April 17, and he did not crack the Top 5 in eight straight races. After the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Raceway, about a third of the way through the season, Smoke was in a freefall in the standings. He dropped three spots to 10th place, 88 points behind Carl Edwards for the top spot.
Fast-forward to the two-thirds pole, after Race 24 at the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Stewart again turned in a poor finish, starting 42nd and finishing 28th, sitting at 10th place in the overall standings.
And getting back to what a strange season it was, consider Stewart, a road course extraordinaire, finished 39th at Infineon, and 27th at Watkins Glen. Those are two tracks, if nowhere else, Stewart is a lock for a Top 5 finish.
After the two-third pole, that’s when Smoke’s season took a most impressive turn. From Sept. 4 through Nov. 20, he had seven Top 5s. During the run, he racked up a third-place finish at Atlanta, and a seventh-place finish at Richmond, leapfrogging Dale Earnhardt Jr. into ninth place overall, and building momentum toward The Chase.
For Fantasy purposes, remember Stewart at Richmond April 28, and then again Sept. 8, this season. He is often overlooked due to the dominance of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin at RIR, but he turned in a ninth-place run in the spring, and a seventh-place run in the fall of 2011. In 26 career starts in Richmond, he has three wins, nine Top 5s and 17 Tops 10s. It’s no shock that he loves the place.
“I have fond memories of Richmond. It was where I won my first Cup race (Sept. 11, 1999),” Stewart said. “It’s our only three-quarter mile oval, and very unique.”
Not surprisingly, Stewart also mentioned Atlanta as one of his favorite tracks, and he expressed a little disappointment that last season’s schedule cut one race from Atlanta. After all, he has three wins, 10 Top 5s and 15 Top 10s in 25 career races there, for an 11.2 average finish spot. Again, Fantasy owners, take note.
And boy, did he ever start out on fire in The Chase?
In the first two races of the final 10, Stewart claimed wins at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, the latter being more impressive since he led just two laps.
At Dover, he qualified poorly, and ended up in 25th place, halting his momentum temporarily. Not surprisingly, Dover is one of his least favorite tracks on the circuit.
“Dover. Definitely Dover. It just seems we have a hard time getting started there,” Stewart responded, when asked of his least favorite track.
It was a bit surprising to hear that, too. Stewart has two career wins at Dover, with 10 Top 5s and 15 Top 10s in 26 career runs at ‘The Monster Mile’.
After a 15th place run at Kansas, Stewart was able to right the ship at Charlotte, starting on the pole, and ending up a respectable eighth. His championship run was back on track after being slightly derailed.
He turned in a surprising seventh-place run at Talladega, and then won at Martinsville and Texas. Again, not surprising, but Stewart mentioned Texas as one of his favorite runs. In 20 career starts at the track, he has two wins, five Top 5s and 11 Top 10s, posting an average finish of 12.5.
Stewart wrapped up his magical run with a finish for the ages at Homestead-Miami, nipping pole-sitter Carl Edwards to claim checkers and the Sprint Cup Series title, the third of his career.
Going forward, it is foolish to count Smoke out, or think he’ll be fat and happy after winning the title. He has as big of a competitive fire as anyone, and he’ll be gunning for title number four in 2012. Remember, where there is Smoke, there is fire.
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Daniel E. Dobish is the 2011 FSWA Racing Writer of the Year. Are you a gearhead? Or just want to talk Fantasy Racing? Email Dan at danieledobish@rotoexperts.com or follow Dan at http://twitter.com/danieledobish. Follow RotoExperts on Twitter or check us out on our Facebook page.
