NASCAR's No. 14 history goes beyond Stewart, Foyt (cont'd)

Foyt won seven NASCAR races, but never in the No. 14. In fact, he didn't start using the No. 14 on his stock cars until the 1983 Daytona 500, and his only top-five finish with that numeral came at Talladega in 1985.

However, Stewart will continue a tradition of Indianapolis 500 starters who have driven the No. 14 in NASCAR. Starting with Troy Ruttman -- who won the 500 in 1952 -- no fewer than 11 drivers can claim that feat. Allison and LeeRoy Yarbrough were exclusively stock-car drivers who crossed over to the Brickyard in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

14 is for Foyt

Tony Stewart made official his car plans for the Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet for 2009, and his number will honor his hero.

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Jim McElreath and Jerry Grant raced in several different forms of motorsports, as did Dave MacDonald, who had a sports-car background. Robby Gordon, who drove A.J.'s No. 14 at Indy, drove a No. 14 stock car for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Coca-Cola 600 in 1996.

In addition, several prominent racing families -- all Indy 500 winners -- are part of the No. 14 heritage: John Andretti (nephew of Mario), P.J. Jones (son of Parnelli) and Larry Foyt (son of A.J.).

So how did Super Tex come to use the No. 14 in the first place? Wilbur Shaw, Bill Vukovich and Tony Bettenhausen had success with the numeral well before Foyt came on the scene. He used it for the first time at Sacramento in 1962 -- and won.

After a dismal 1966 season in which he failed to win a race, he tried the No. 14 the next season and won Indy for the third time. He returned to the No. 14 for good in 1973, and his fourth Indy 500 victory came in 1977. Kenny Brack won the 1999 Indianapolis 500, driving for Foyt, taking the lead on the final lap when Gordon ran out of fuel.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.