Stewart has competed full-time in the premier NASCAR division since 1999, spending 10 season with Joe Gibbs Racing before starting his own team with Gene Haas.
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Stewart has not officially announced his retirement, but a news conference has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in North Carolina to publicly announce his retirement plans.
Stewart’s public relations representatives on Sunday declined an opportunity to comment.
Motorsport.com first reported Stewart’s decision to retire.
Stewart, 45, is tied for 13th in career victories with 48. He struck and killed a sprint auto driver during a 2014 event in upstate New York, and the family has filed a civil suit against Stewart. In 2013, he missed the final 15 races of the season after suffering a severely broken leg in a crash during a race.
His passion for NASCAR racing has also waned in the last several seasons, in part because of an evolving rules package that he has struggled with.
The three-time NASCAR champion will call it a career after next season. He won two Brickyard 400s at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his home state.
While Stewart’s career has been filled with a number of triumphs and tribulations, he is surely bound for the Hall of Fame. He left JGR after the 2008 season and has been driver and part-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing ever since.
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Also missing this season – and perhaps because he has not found himself in many competitive situations on the track – has been Stewart’s sometimes fiery personality which has led to a slew of run-ins with NASCAR officials, media and competitors over the years. He last won in 2013 at Dover and failed to qualify for the 16-driver field for the Chase (he is now 25th in the standings) this year.
