Despite an average end to his season, finishing 7th, 14th, and 11th, and five DNFs, Stewart did just enough to beat Hamilton for the IRL title.
#CREW 2 HOME DEPOT SERIES#
He became the leading contender for the series championship after a bad slump knocked points leader Davey Hamilton out of first place. He finally got his first career win at Pikes Peak, where he led all but seven laps of a 200 lap race. However, he trailed off near the end of the race and settled for 5th place. At that year's Indy 500, Stewart's car was good enough to enable him to win his first IRL race, leading 64 laps. He failed to finish the first three races of a ten-race schedule, but recovered to come in second at Phoenix. Stewart was poised to improve his Indy Racing League (IRL) standing in 1997 but at times he struggled to finish. He had more success in a one-time ride in the Craftsman Truck Series with Mueller Brothers racing, where he finished 10th. In nine races, he had a best finish of 16th place. In 1996, Stewart made his NASCAR Busch Series debut, driving for car owner Harry Rainer.
When he was not racing Ind圜ars, he raced stock cars. His winning the Hut Hundred and 4-Crown Nationals were the highlights of the year.
#CREW 2 HOME DEPOT DRIVER#
In 1995, Stewart became the first driver to win USAC's version of the Triple Crown, earning championships in all three of USAC's major divisions, National Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown. Stewart was the USAC Rookie of the Year in 1991, USAC National Midget Series Champion in 19, and USAC Silver Crown Series champion in 1988. He moved up to the United Midget Racing Association (UMRA) where he raced TQ (three quarter) midgets until 1991 when he again moved up this time to the United States Auto Club (USAC) series with the help of one of his karting sponsors and friend Mark Dismore.
He grew up racing go karts and was successful very early, winning a World Karting Association championship in 1987. Tony Stewart got his first competitive go kart in Westport, Indiana in 1979.
He is also the first driver in the Cup Series to win the championship by a tiebreaker. Stewart is the only driver to win the Cup Series championship under the old points system and the chase playoff format, and is the only driver to win the title under three different sponsorships ( Winston in 2002, Nextel in 2005, and Sprint in 2011). In 2011, Stewart became the first owner-driver since Alan Kulwicki to win the Cup Series championship, which ended Jimmie Johnson's streak of consecutive championships at five. While driving for car owner Joe Gibbs, Stewart won two Cup Series championships in 20. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing car, under crew chief Greg Zipadelli with The Home Depot as the primary sponsor. 14 Chevrolet SS for his team, Stewart-Haas Racing, under crew chief Mike Bugarewicz. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (now known as the NASCAR Cup Series) during the 2016 season, driving the No. He is the only driver in history to win a championship in both Ind圜ar and NASCAR. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won racing titles in Indy, midget, sprint, and USAC Silver Crown cars. As a team owner, he has won NASCAR Cup titles in 2011 with himself and in 2014 with Kevin Harvick as drivers. He is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion as a driver, winning titles in 2002, 2005, and 2011.
#CREW 2 HOME DEPOT PROFESSIONAL#
1994 USAC National Midget Series ChampionĢ001, 2002, 2007 Budweiser Shootout WinnerĢ006, 2008, 2009 Prelude to the Dream Winnerġ999 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the YearĢ001 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inducteeĢ018 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame inducteeĢ019 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee ġ999 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 ( Richmond)ġ996 Goody's Headache Powder 300 ( Daytona)Ģ002 Virginia Is For Lovers 200 ( Richmond)Ģ003 Virginia Is For Lovers 200 ( Richmond)Īnthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience.