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SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Tony Stewart wrapped up day two of his final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by qualifying third-best for the 40-car field that makes up Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard.
It will be Stewart’s best starting berth at Indy since winning the pole for the annual race at the legendary 2.5-mile track in 2002. It also equaled his best qualifying effort of what’s been an abbreviated season, matching his third-place start earlier this year at Michigan International Speedway.
He announced last September that the 2016 season would be his last as a competitor in the Sprint Cup Series.
Stewart put up the sixth-fastest lap in Saturday’s opening round, enabling him to advance to the second round where he posted the second-fastest lap overall.
In the final round of 12, his 184.328 mph lap was bettered only by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch (184.634 mph) and Carl Edwards (184.547 mph).
Stewart, 45, credited crew chief Mike Bugarewicz with making the appropriate changes between Friday’s two practices and Saturday’s qualifying attempts.
“I just wish I could do a lap … one more time and not clip the apron in (Turn) 4; I think we could have been on the pole,” Stewart said after climbing from his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
“What we learned today for qualifying, we are going to have to take some of that and try to make a car a little better for tomorrow.”
Starting position can be crucial — the benefits ranging from optimum track position to a clear entry into and out of one’s pit stall during the race. To start third, Stewart said, “is a big deal here. It always has been.”
The rules package in place for this year’s race is 180 degrees from the high drag package implemented at Indy a year ago. Stewart said the difference is evident and positive.
“It seems like the more downforce they take off these cars, the easier it is to race around each other,” he said. “That is what you need, but it always helps when you can start up front. When you can get up there and really get working on your car in cleaner air and plan for the end of the race, that is really an advantage.”
Stewart sat out the first eight races of the 2016 season while recovering from injuries sustained in an off-road accident on Jan. 31. A victory last month at Sonoma Raceway and his ascension into the top-30 in points have put him in line for one of the 16 positions that will make up this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
“We just have been plugging away,” he said. “Everybody thinks Sonoma was the game changer and it wasn’t. I mean it was Pocono, it was Michigan — those two races leading up to Sonoma were probably as big if not bigger than what we did at Sonoma.
“Sonoma just gave us the opportunity to hopefully use what we are doing to get going in the Chase now.”
With his final start at Indy less than 24 hours away, Stewart, who has 49 career wins in NASCAR’s premier series, was ready to turn his attention elsewhere.
“Tonight I’m going to go to Kokomo Speedway for our All-Stars race and go to work there,” he said. “Then come here tomorrow and have fun with our friends.”
Sunday’s race is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m. ET. TV and radio coverage will be provided by NBCSN, the IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.