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SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The same guy happily and anonymously steering a tractor around his Eldora Speedway in Western Ohio earlier this week — carefully tending to the dirt surface, readying the facility for Wednesday’s annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event — will be celebrated this weekend two hours away at racing’s most historic venue, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
And no matter how tough Tony Stewart is — and he is tough — or how humble the Hoosier native may be, the three-time NASCAR champion and Eldora Speedway proprietor can expect to be moved by the overwhelming reception his home state will bestow as he makes his final start at the great speedway.
His track.
“I have no doubt it will be the most emotional (of any starts),” said Stewart, who is retiring from full-time NASCAR competition at the conclusion of the season. “It’s hard not to think you’d be emotional when it’s home. It’s your home track, your home race. My family comes. My friends come. It would be impossible to think it’s not going to be an emotional weekend.
“I think my schedule for the weekend is probably the best thing that could happen to me. Being busy at the all-star races (in nearby Kokomo) on race weekend is the best thing that could happen, to keep me in check. It doesn’t give me time to think about it, dwell on it.
“The Monday when it’s all over (at Indy) would be the perfect time to think about how the weekend was. We’ll still be in the moment for sure, but having those (other) races to keep you busy takes a lot of the time you’d sit there and worry and think about things that don’t really help you for the weekend anyway. I think it will be a benefit for us.”
Impending NASCAR retirement aside, Indianapolis has been an emotional ride for Stewart right from the very beginning.
His very first start at the facility came from the pole position in the 1996 Indianapolis 500. Stewart had qualified second but moved up a starting spot after his teammate, pole winner Scott Brayton was killed during an accident in practice the week before the race. Stewart finished the race 24th.
He started from the front row (second) the next year, too, and finished fifth — his best ever in the 500. In all, he made five IndyCar starts at the speedway with three top 10s, two of them coming in amazing double-dip action — racing at Indy in the afternoon and in NASCAR’s Charlotte 600-miler in the evening.
Stewart still boasts the best ever Indy-Charlotte double (2001) with a sixth-place finish at Indy, then a third-place result in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 that same day, completing all 1,100 miles.
And Stewart’s NASCAR resume at Indy is even more enviable. It will be reflected in the ovation he surely will receive Sunday afternoon before the start of the Crown Royal Presents The Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMS, SiriusXM). And it will show not only the fans’ utmost respect, but their true love for the hometown hero.
Stewart won the Brickyard 400 in 2005 and 2007. He has 11 top-10 finishes in 17 starts including seven top-five finishes. And he won the pole position in 2002.
Five of Stewart’s seven Indy starts for his Stewart-Haas Racing team have been top 10s.
Stewart’s success at the track has been important. For him. for his fellow Hoosiers, and for NASCAR in general.
He is the only driver to win both an IndyCar and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship — a fact especially appreciated in Indianapolis, where the region is also fond of the fact that Stewart still lives nearby in his hometown of Columbus.
He is one of them — and they have always loved him because of it.
He is not just the hometown favorite, but he is “theirs” — an Indiana treasure — bred here and residing here still.
And that’s where things may get a little difficult for Stewart this weekend.
He is intent on approaching this race as the next step necessary for ensuring his postseason place in the 16-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. However, he acknowledges, his final start at his home track will be the truest test of heart so far.
“I know it’s our last year and I know people want to do things for us, and I greatly appreciate that but what I want to do is focus on driving the race car and doing the best job I can, trying to get best result I can each weekend,” Stewart said. “I have to be focused on that, not the other stuff. I’m content going to the race track and racing all weekend.”
Stewart has three top-five finishes in the last four Cup races and the very thought that he go to this famous Victory Lane in his final start is almost too much emotion for the brain to bear.
His No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet team has turned the corner in performance. And Stewart, who missed the first eight races recovering from an offseason injury, says he and crew chief Mike Bugarewicz are starting to gel in their first months working together.
His win at Sonoma in June places him in the Chase, and should he maintain a position in the top 30 in points, his long goodbye will be playoff style.
A win at Indianapolis this weekend, however, would be oh-so-different. And it will be harder to see who is happier about it — Tony Stewart or the fans who love him so.
“I’m still under same principle of taking it one week at a time and trying to get more consistent,” Stewart said, underplaying the very thought of an Indy celebration. “If we can do that, the rest takes care of itself.
“We’re not quite where we need to be yet, but we have a lot of momentum and we’re gaining on it and have a lot to look forward to.
“But literally, that one win changes the whole complexion of our season now. I want to approach racing at Indy just like I do anything else, but even before I had planned on retirement it was emotional here so I don’t know how I can say it would be less than that.
“It will be more.”