November 16, 2011 -- By Tim MCKINNEY
As I look back over Tony Stewart's career thusfar, it's hard to imagine
how he got from where he started to where he is today. Through the
magic of 20--20 hindsight, many of Tony's fans and competitors on the
track claim that they knew from the start that Tony was going to be the
star that he has become. A few of them probably did know it. However,
most of them simply wished it so.
Like nearly all racers, Tony started out racing go karts, most of them
owned, maintained, and transported by Tony's father, Nelson Stewart.
Nelson was a passionate competitor in addition to being a real live
hero. He had been badly burned dragging a man from a burning car on
Interstate 65 north of Columbus. Nelson spent months in the hospital
having his burns treated; and he probably learned more about pain than
a young man should ever know.
Nelson pumped all of the money that he and Pam (Tony's mother) could
afford into the karts. However, they got their money's worth. Tony
fairly quickly became one of the fastest guys around in a go kart. In
go karts, it seems like there are as many "national champions" as there
are drivers. However, some of Tony's championships must have actually
meant something.
While racing karts, Tony is often said to have been short tempered and
sometimes prone to displaying poor sportsmanship. However, most of the
time Tony was said to be focused on the job at hand. Local racing
photographer Jack Wart recalls seeing Tony in the pits sitting in his
kart with his eyes focused on a spot a couple of feet in front of the
nose of his kart. Some people who coach young drivers concentrate on
helping a driver become a good loser. Neither Tony nor his father were
interested in Tony becoming any kind of loser. If you lost, you learned
from the experience and went on with determination not to let that
happen again.
When Tony graduated from karts, he was pretty much on his own. Some TQ
midget owners had seen Tony race karts and were impressed with his
talent. Roy Barker provided Tony with a ride for many of his early
races. However, he drove for other car owners as well. Among them was
Larry Martz, a Rushville auto dealer with whom Tony made his home for a
few months.
As Tony developed a reputation as a TQ racer, he began to get offers to
drive USAC National midgets. Probably his first top midget ride was in
Ralph Potter's V6. Potter was convinced that the V6 was the best engine
package for a midget. He spent a fortune developing the engine and
designing the chassis to fit around it. Admittedly, the Potter package
was not without its challenges; and Tony left to drive one of the Bob
East "9" cars. He later drove the Rollie Helmling midget out of Vincennes.
In the early 1990's Tony decided that he was ready to go sprint car
racing. He somehow landed a ride with Steve Chrisman of Flat Rock.
Steve ran both dirt and pavement; and there weren't many of those rides
around at that time. Steve's mother, Phyllis, remembers, "I saw Tony
standing by the shop with his skinny arms and legs; and I said, 'There's
no way that he's strong enough to drive a sprint car.' but he was."
Tony spent the rest of the season with the Chrismans. They looked after
him as if he were their own child. They made certain that he got enough
to eat; and, sometimes they made certain that had enough gas to get him
home.
Following the 1990 season Steve Chrisman made what I like to call "The
biggest blunder in the history of motorsports". He fired Tony and hired
Steve Butler, a multi-timed USAC Sprint Car champion with some sponsorship.
Tony drove for various sprint car owners until 1995 when he drove Bob
East's midgets and Willie Boles and Glen Niebel's sprint and Silver
Crown cars. Tony won all three championships for the first time in
history. Cary Agajanian, son of famed Indy Car owner J.C. Agajanian,
went to John Menard and pleaded Tony's case. It was the beginning of
the Indy Racing League and Tony was exacly the kind of driver that they
said that they had in mind. Menard agreed to give Tony a one race ride
at the season opener at Disney World. Tony drove a sparkling race and
wheeled the Menard car to a superb second place finish. The one race
part of the deal was forgotten.
As Tony ran more and more Indy Cars there was less time to race USAC;
but he still did it whenever he got the chance. He would often race
under an assumed name so that car owners and sponsors would miss it.
Following his IRL championship it became time for Tony to get serious
about running NASCAR, although he would probably have preferred to
continue open wheel racing. They didn't race nearly as often; and it
didn't pay nearly as well. In addition sponsorship duties and PR
appearances continued to demand more of his time.
Through his entire career Tony has attempted to make time for his long
time friends. He will often arrange to meet them where they won't be
disturbed. Tony's fans are very important to him; and, whenever
possible, he will make arrangements to meet with them, sign autographs,
etc. However, they would use 1000% of his free time if they could.
During Tony's time in NASCAR, Tony has made a lot of money; and he
hasn't been hesitant to use it, mostly to help those less fortunate and
to give something back to the sport. Through his foundation, he has
been able to contribute millions to programs for handicapped children.
He also contributes generously to funds for injured race drivers.
Anytime a track or racing organization holds an auction for charity,
there will be a large selection of Tony Stewart items for sale. In
addition Tony owns both winged and non winged sprint car as well as a
midget and a silver crown car. He also protected a lot of motorsports
history with his purchase of Eldora Speedway.
Few people probably has as good a few of Tony's transformation as does
his mother, Pam Boaz. She manages his charitable foundation and handles
a number of the other area of his business. She said, "Tony has
continued to be more professional without losing his passion for the
sport. Now that he owns his teams, his responsibilities have really
increased."
As I look back over Tony Stewart's career thusfar, it's hard to imagine
how he got from where he started to where he is today. Through the
magic of 20--20 hindsight, many of Tony's fans and competitors on the
track claim that they knew from the start that Tony was going to be the
star that he has become. A few of them probably did know it. However,
most of them simply wished it so.
Like nearly all racers, Tony started out racing go karts, most of them
owned, maintained, and transported by Tony's father, Nelson Stewart.
Nelson was a passionate competitor in addition to being a real live
hero. He had been badly burned dragging a man from a burning car on
Interstate 65 north of Columbus. Nelson spent months in the hospital
having his burns treated; and he probably learned more about pain than
a young man should ever know.
Nelson pumped all of the money that he and Pam (Tony's mother) could
afford into the karts. However, they got their money's worth. Tony
fairly quickly became one of the fastest guys around in a go kart. In
go karts, it seems like there are as many "national champions" as there
are drivers. However, some of Tony's championships must have actually
meant something.
While racing karts, Tony is often said to have been short tempered and
sometimes prone to displaying poor sportsmanship. However, most of the
time Tony was said to be focused on the job at hand. Local racing
photographer Jack Wart recalls seeing Tony in the pits sitting in his
kart with his eyes focused on a spot a couple of feet in front of the
nose of his kart. Some people who coach young drivers concentrate on
helping a driver become a good loser. Neither Tony nor his father were
interested in Tony becoming any kind of loser. If you lost, you learned
from the experience and went on with determination not to let that
happen again.
When Tony graduated from karts, he was pretty much on his own. Some TQ
midget owners had seen Tony race karts and were impressed with his
talent. Roy Barker provided Tony with a ride for many of his early
races. However, he drove for other car owners as well. Among them was
Larry Martz, a Rushville auto dealer with whom Tony made his home for a
few months.
As Tony developed a reputation as a TQ racer, he began to get offers to
drive USAC National midgets. Probably his first top midget ride was in
Ralph Potter's V6. Potter was convinced that the V6 was the best engine
package for a midget. He spent a fortune developing the engine and
designing the chassis to fit around it. Admittedly, the Potter package
was not without its challenges; and Tony left to drive one of the Bob
East "9" cars. He later drove the Rollie Helmling midget out of Vincennes.
In the early 1990's Tony decided that he was ready to go sprint car
racing. He somehow landed a ride with Steve Chrisman of Flat Rock.
Steve ran both dirt and pavement; and there weren't many of those rides
around at that time. Steve's mother, Phyllis, remembers, "I saw Tony
standing by the shop with his skinny arms and legs; and I said, 'There's
no way that he's strong enough to drive a sprint car.' but he was."
Tony spent the rest of the season with the Chrismans. They looked after
him as if he were their own child. They made certain that he got enough
to eat; and, sometimes they made certain that had enough gas to get him
home.
Following the 1990 season Steve Chrisman made what I like to call "The
biggest blunder in the history of motorsports". He fired Tony and hired
Steve Butler, a multi-timed USAC Sprint Car champion with some sponsorship.
Tony drove for various sprint car owners until 1995 when he drove Bob
East's midgets and Willie Boles and Glen Niebel's sprint and Silver
Crown cars. Tony won all three championships for the first time in
history. Cary Agajanian, son of famed Indy Car owner J.C. Agajanian,
went to John Menard and pleaded Tony's case. It was the beginning of
the Indy Racing League and Tony was exacly the kind of driver that they
said that they had in mind. Menard agreed to give Tony a one race ride
at the season opener at Disney World. Tony drove a sparkling race and
wheeled the Menard car to a superb second place finish. The one race
part of the deal was forgotten.
As Tony ran more and more Indy Cars there was less time to race USAC;
but he still did it whenever he got the chance. He would often race
under an assumed name so that car owners and sponsors would miss it.
Following his IRL championship it became time for Tony to get serious
about running NASCAR, although he would probably have preferred to
continue open wheel racing. They didn't race nearly as often; and it
didn't pay nearly as well. In addition sponsorship duties and PR
appearances continued to demand more of his time.
Through his entire career Tony has attempted to make time for his long
time friends. He will often arrange to meet them where they won't be
disturbed. Tony's fans are very important to him; and, whenever
possible, he will make arrangements to meet with them, sign autographs,
etc. However, they would use 1000% of his free time if they could.
During Tony's time in NASCAR, Tony has made a lot of money; and he
hasn't been hesitant to use it, mostly to help those less fortunate and
to give something back to the sport. Through his foundation, he has
been able to contribute millions to programs for handicapped children.
He also contributes generously to funds for injured race drivers.
Anytime a track or racing organization holds an auction for charity,
there will be a large selection of Tony Stewart items for sale. In
addition Tony owns both winged and non winged sprint car as well as a
midget and a silver crown car. He also protected a lot of motorsports
history with his purchase of Eldora Speedway.
Few people probably has as good a few of Tony's transformation as does
his mother, Pam Boaz. She manages his charitable foundation and handles
a number of the other area of his business. She said, "Tony has
continued to be more professional without losing his passion for the
sport. Now that he owns his teams, his responsibilities have really
increased."
