Now, as Stewart prepares for his final Brickyard 400, he is brushing aside any talk about nostalgic reflections so he can focus instead on making one more trip to victory lane.
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The tricky part was figuring out his role.
But the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won everything else, capping a phenomenal day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a victory in the Lilly Diabetes 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race-and he did so with tires that were 23 laps older than those of his pursuers.
“I have gained so much respect and admiration for Tony”, Gordon said.
The improbable comeback takes place just a short drive away from his childhood home of Pittsboro, Ind., and eight months after his official retirement.
WHO’S NOT: Hendrick Motorsports.
Gordon hadn’t driven a Cup auto since the 2015 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and he had less than three days to prepare after returning from vacation in France on Tuesday.
For the Rainbow Warrior, this week’s pace has been every bit as frantic. There’s also Poocno and it’s also smart to look at times from a test session last week at the Brickyard where a representative for each auto owner turned laps for two days.
“It was better than a year ago”, Gordon joked.
When he arrived at the track Friday, throngs of fans lined up to catch one more glimpse of Gordon. “I’ve tried and been successful at being able to do a lot of things that others haven’t been able to do before”. (Crew chief) Adam Stevens and the guys gave me a great piece this weekend.
“To me it’s special place to go because of it’s heritage”, said Busch. It’s going to be very hot on Sunday but there is only a 15 percent chance of rain for the race which is good. The heat index is expected to hit triple digits Sunday. “I had a little trouble there on the starts and I got down there, we were fighting really hard for the bottom and it felt like I got tight with whoever was on the outside of me”.
Johnson, a six-time champion and a perennial top-10 machine, has but one finish better than 12th in his last 10 races, and as a whole, the team have been plagued by an uncharacteristic spate of accidents.
Make sure that you have all of the information about the race and know when, where and how to watch it.
But concussion-like symptoms have forced Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the No. 88 Chevrolet and simultaneously pressed Gordon into unexpected service. “Seen small gains during my physical therapy as well”. The two-time Brickyard victor practiced well on Friday and has a little more zip in his step since winning at Sonoma in late June.
Just after the checkered flag flew at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, NASCAR’s two lions of winter, took a final lap around the fabled 2.5-mile track side-by-side.
“I didn’t think he was going to go in there, but it was my bad”. Stewart said this is a memory that will last a lifetime.
Gordon, who was with Stewart when he was injured riding an off-road vehicle, declined the invite because of his commitment to work on Fox Sports’ broadcast.
“That was cool”, Stewart said. “I got to the inside and kind of hit the chip and made a decision to hold the line up a little bit and try to get a run, and the 42 got stuck on the outside and that ruined my plan”.
Gordon also acknowledged it will be odd to race against Chase Elliott, who took over in Gordon’s familiar No. 24 vehicle after the 2015 season finale at Homestead.
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“I’m just glad [Gordon] is back”, Stewart said.
