News broke a couple days that the 2016 season would be Stewart’s last, but on Wednesday, he made it official with an emotional press conference. “There wasn’t any pressure from anybody”.
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“I am still going to race”, he said, per Fryer.
“In getting to know Tony Stewart the businessman, I found a very smart person with excellent people skills”, Haas said.
Along with NASCAR, Stewart has an impressive resume 1996 Indy 500 Rookie of the Race, 1997 IndyCar champion; he is the only driver to have both an IndyCar and NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. He said on more than one occasion that the money he made as a NASCAR superstar is what allowed him to do what he really loved, short-tracking.
However, he is winless in his last 69 Cup races.
“The great thing is, I’m not going anywhere”, Stewart said.
Stewart said he considered retiring at the end of this season, but stuck around for the fans and to try and win his first Daytona 500.
Stewart told AP in June that his confidence was shot and he was struggling to find enjoyment being in the race auto. That injury caused him to miss the final 15 races of the season.
Ward was killed August. 9, 2014, in an Empire Super Sprints race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park when, after crashing, he approached the other cars on foot as they were riding around under caution.
Subsequent years, however, have not been kind to the three-time champion.
Franke said he hopes to see a few more of Stewart around Columbus. “Not one percent of it has had anything to do with it. This is strictly what I want to do”.
Although cleared of any charges by a New York grand jury following the tragedy, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ward’s family is yet to be heard. It happened, but it’s not going to direct the rest of my life.
November 2005 – Wins his second NASCAR Winston Cup championship. Despite recording three victories the following season, he was uncompetitive in NASCAR’s playoffs. Gordon, also 44, will make his final racing appearance Sunday at Dover global Speedway, weather permitting, in light of the approach of Hurrican Joaquin.
The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports (http://bit.ly/1M1lr8B ) the judge rejected a request from Stewart’s lawyers to have the case transferred from Utica to Rochester.
“There’s always something, isn’t there?” he said that night. “I’m just changing positions”.
Stewart named veteran NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer to replace him in the No. 14 Chevrolet for the 2017 season.
Bowyer is now driving with Michael Waltrip Racing, but that team will cease competition at the end of the season.
“Next year is not a coast-and-collect year”, he said.
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“That makes this opportunity a ideal fit for me”. “He’s extremely valuable to our race team and a strong voice in our sport”.
