The Season is On for Stewart
I’ll admit it right up front: I don’t like Tony Stewart.  I know there are plenty of NASCAR fans on both sides of the Tony fence, so I’ll not waste my space on justifying my dislike.

But, it’s partially for this reason that I’ve decided to embark on this journey.  I will spend the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season chronicling the ups and downs of the new Stewart Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet. 

I’ll make my prediction early that the only thing Tony Stewart will be holding at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November is the Juan Pablo Montoya Flash in the Pan Award.  You see, like Montoya, I think Stewart is going to be a lot of hype up front only to fade to the back of the pack by the time the Cup boys come back to Daytona in July.

If he’s going to leave behind all of the success he had with Joe Gibbs Racing – two Sprint Cup Series titles, 33 victories, 129 top fives, 207 top 10s and nearly $2.3 million in winnings – and set off as an owner-driver, he deserves what he gets.  The great ones stayed with their teams through good and bad; Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon, and others.  When Earnhardt and Gordon decided to dally in team ownership, they put other drivers in the cars and stayed with their teams.

But, I digress.

I will dedicate this space each week to reviewing Stewart’s most recent performance – good, bad or indifferent – much in the same spirit in which Winston Cup Scene (as it was then known) recapped Darrell Waltrip’s performance during his farewell season.

Despite my dislike of him, I will be fair.  If Stewart finishes in the top five in the standings come November, I’ll eat the paper on which this column is written.  So, good luck, Tony.  If you finish at least one spot ahead of Montoya in every Cup appearance in 2009, I think my diet will be safe.

Budweiser Shootout

Although it was not a points-paying race, drivers take it seriously.  If two drivers were sitting on Big Wheels, I think they would take it seriously.  And, Stewart wasn’t too shabby Saturday night.

As most probably know, the starting positions were determined in a draw Thursday night, so his 14th place on the grid was no reflection on Stewart.  He quickly moved from the middle of the pack to lead the Shootout briefly.  But, he was passed by Carl Edwards and dropped to 15th. 

Stewart spent much of the second half of the race in the middle of the pack where he was able to avoid several caution-inducing accidents.  He managed to move up to third with 25 laps to go, before falling back to 14th again.  But, he wouldn’t stay there.

With two laps remaining, Stewart was second, but fell to third as a final caution locked the field.

“I’ll take that for a debut night,” Stewart said after the race.

He qualified 10th in Sunday’s session to set the top two spots of the Daytona 500, which means he’ll start the first Gatorade Duel in sixth on Thursday.

I’ll see you after the Daytona 500.
Posted: 2/10/2009 2:15:23 PM
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