NASCAR doubles restart zone for Dover

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Staff Report

The restart zone for this weekend’s NASCAR races at Dover International Speedway will double from 70 feet to 140 feet, according to NASCAR.

The sanctioning body will also lengthen the restart zone for the 2015 season’s remaining races post-Dover — the exact increase will be determined by an at-track basis.

The restart rules have not changed. Drivers will still line up double file, with the leader being the “control car,” meaning the second-place car can’t take off before the leader in the restart zone located before the start/finish line.

NASCAR re-emphasized the restart rules during the drivers’ meeting before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway.

In that race, NASCAR reviewed a questionable restart by Jeff Gordon before determining there was no penalty. Last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski was penalized after NASCAR ruled he jumped the restart.

Restarts were a hot topic among drivers prior to the postseason beginning. When asked at Chase Media, Denny Hamlin gave the following answer: “I think drivers want longer restart zones. Ultimately now it’s so short that if you don’t go right away the second-place guy does and knowing that he can beat the first-place guy to the line … I think it would be better to open that zone up two, three times the size of it right now.”

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Staff Report

The following are team press releases previewing the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

Joe Gibbs Racing:
Kyle Busch | Team preview
Carl Edwards | Team preview
Matt Kenseth | Team preview

Stewart-Haas Racing:
Kevin Harvick | Team preview
Kurt Busch | Team preview

Hendrick Motorsports:
Jeff Gordon | Team preview
Jimmie Johnson | Team preview
Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Team preview

Team Penske:
Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano | Team preview

Richard Childress Racing:
Paul Menard | Team preview
Ryan Newman | Team preview

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates:
Jamie McMurray | Team preview

Furniture Row Racing:
Martin Truex Jr. | Team preview

Michael Waltrip Racing:
Clint Bowyer | Team preview

Note: Not all Chase teams provide a press release.

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Zack Albert

RELATED: Chase-clinching scenarios | Weather updates

If there’s any consolation for Kevin Harvick to be sitting just one rung up from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup basement, it’s that he’s been there before and still managed to extricate himself — all the way to his first premier-series title last year.

The defending champion’s task is no less difficult this year, but it’s an almost all-or-nothing scenario, a circumstance where Harvick seems to thrive.

“Obviously, for me personally, I like these types of situations,” Harvick said in a Thursday morning teleconference as he made media rounds in New York. “I think they’re different and fun and it’s all in the approach and how you react to them. So I think as a team, we’ll do everything in our … from a preparation standpoint the same. But I think if you can get the result and get that sensation of winning and all the things that come with the type of situation that we’re in, it’s even more fun.”

That situation comes to a head this weekend at Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday’s weekend’s AAA 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Live Extra, MRN, SiriusXM). Harvick enters the elimination event — the finale to the Chase’s opening three-race Challenger Round — staring down a 23-point deficit from the 12th-place cutoff point for advancement. Barring mathematical dives from a significant number of the remaining 15 drivers in the Chase field, a victory Sunday and the accompanying automatic berth seem to be Harvick’s best route to the next round.

Harvick staved off elimination in 2014, rising from last place among the eight title-eligible drivers remaining by winning the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix International Raceway to keep his title march rolling. Though he has recent history to rely on, his sense of perspective in dealing with pressurized situations goes back much further, all the way to his debut in NASCAR’s major leagues.

“I think as you look at the things that we have been through as a team over the past couple years, we have been in a lot of pretty intense situations, but for me personally, I think that these things are kind of a, they’re kind of a walk in the park compared to the Earnhardt situations of taking over his car and having to deal with that and all the things that we dealt with back in 2001,” Harvick said in a nod to his inheritance of Dale Earnhardt’s ride after his death in a crash at Daytona International Speedway.

“It kind of makes these scenarios a little bit easier to deal with because you’ve dealt with things that are on a much bigger scale than the current things of just performing on the race track.”

As for the here and now, Harvick finds himself in his precarious plight after successive weeks of trouble. A tire rub after midrace contact led to his subsequent crash, saddling him with a 42nd-place finish in the Chicagoland opener. That tumble in the standings was exacerbated by a fuel gamble gone wrong last weekend in New Hampshire, leaving him with a 21st-place result after leading 216 of the 300 laps.

Harvick said Thursday that he didn’t see either of those situations as risks, nor has he played the blame game with crew chief Rodney Childers or any of his Stewart-Haas Racing team. For now, the focus remains on performance at Dover.

“It’s a really, really tight knit bunch of guys and we’re all going to support each other, because we’re all going to make mistakes in different situations and I don’t think we have necessarily made a mistake, but I think we have definitely had to react to some situations throughout the last couple years and I think it’s made us stronger as we move forward and better from on a weekly basis as a team,” Harvick said. “So, it’s just part of what we do, and I think when you look at the performance of the race cars on the racetrack is really, it’s absolutely unbelievable.

“I mean, I’m just lucky to drive the cars and to let certain situations affect something like that would be absolutely crazy on any of our parts.”

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Zack Albert

As drivers and teams prepare for this weekend’s elimination race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, they’re also bracing for the effects of Hurricane Joaquin as it churns toward the Eastern United States.

The storm, rated as a Category 4 hurricane as of 5 a.m. ET Friday, threatens to bring damaging winds, torrential rain and possible flooding to the Mid-Atlantic area and Dover International Speedway, site of this weekend’s AAA 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Races for NASCAR’s XFINITY Series and the K&N Pro Series East developmental circuit are also on the schedule.

Haulers for both national series were scheduled to load into the 1-mile Delaware track Thursday afternoon, but a hauler parade scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET was canceled. Despite the threatening forecast, a NASCAR spokesperson said Thursday morning that series officials would be flexible with any changes in weather conditions.

“NASCAR will continue to work closely with Dover International Speedway and monitor the weather for the weekend,” the spokesperson said. “At this time, all schedules remain intact.”

The Dover track, approximately seven miles inland from the Delaware Bay, is among several areas in the state under a coastal flood watch that remains in effect through Sunday. The National Weather Service has predicted gusty winds and major rainfall amounts — between 5-7 inches over the next five days — for the Mid-Atlantic area, even if Joaquin’s center fails to make landfall.

A statement made by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday said that Joaquin’s path was uncertain to predict, but that “it is reasonably sure that the tropical system will have an impact of some kind on Delaware over the weekend. It is too early to tell exactly what that impact will be.”

A tripleheader of racing makes this weekend an especially busy one for the Dover track. Besides staging the third event of the 10-race Chase on Sunday, the Monster Mile will also host the XFINITY Series’ Hisense 200 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) and the season-ending Drive Sober 125 presented by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety for the K&N Pro Series East.

The track said in a Thursday release that it was “full steam ahead” with preparations for the race weekend.

“We work closely with NASCAR, the National Weather Service and our on-site meteorologist to monitor weather during our major events,” a track spokesperson said in the release. “We are currently tracking this weekend’s weather and will update fans via social media, and our website, as information becomes available.”

The last time a tropical disturbance dramatically altered a race weekend schedule was in September 2008, when Tropical Storm Hanna and a declared state of emergency in Virginia postponed two days of on-track activity at Richmond International Raceway, forcing a rare Sprint Cup–XFINITY Series doubleheader on a Sunday.

NASCAR officials worked with the track, opting to postpone all events early in the interest of safety for campers and other fans. The decision also weighed that law enforcement officials normally involved in security and traffic management at the race track should be dedicated to disaster relief at the height of the storm.

Posted on October 1, 2015 by George Winkler

RELATED: Chase Stats page

Jimmie Johnson technically doesn’t own Dover International Speedway, but he certainly has “owned” the competition there over the years.

Johnson ranks first with 10 wins at the “Monster Mile” and in average finishing position at 7.9. He’s also second among active drivers with 15 top-five finishes at the track and an average starting position of 10.1.

With six championships in tow, it’s easy to take for granted Johnson’s greatness. But if the above stats aren’t a cause for you to pause, then better check your pulse.

Better yet, why not check how Johnson’s numbers stack up against other drivers in the field for the race at Dover? And now with NASCAR.com’s Chase stats page, it’s easier than ever to do side-by-side comparisons with other drivers.

Simply select the track and the drivers you want to compare from the dropdown menus, and in no time flat you’ll get a snapshot view of how those two have performed. It’s the perfect tool to use before setting your lineups in NASCAR Fantasy Live, or before making your pick in Streak to the Finish.

Did you know Jeff Gordon was second to Jimmie with five wins at Dover? Or that Carl Edwards was runner-up to ‘Six-Time’ with an average finish of 10.6? All of that information is easily attained through the driver comparison tool. So have some fun and take it for a test drive.

Then, come back Sunday when the Chase stats page transforms to include live Lap-by-Lap updates of the race to go along with driver stats, the most up-to-date Chase Grid and other must-know information to make you the most knowledgeable one in your group of NASCAR fans.

Posted on October 1, 2015 by RJ Kraft

RELATED: See how Blaney won at Kentucky

On the surface, it’s a bit of an unorthodox NASCAR schedule for Ryan Blaney.   

The 21-year-old is running part-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Wood Brothers Racing in the No. 21 Ford and the NASCAR XFINITY Series with Team Penske in the No. 22 Ford, all while making a handful of starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski Racing in the No. 29 Ford.

 ”By the time all the races are added up, it’s almost a full schedule,” Blaney told NASCAR.com last weekend at Kentucky Speedway. “It has its positives and negatives to be running part-time in everything. The great thing is I get to run three great series with amazing race teams that I know will go out and have a fast car or truck every weekend or every time I get in them. Those are big positives that I can drive different things every single week.”

And the negatives? 

“It’s hard to get in a rhythm of running the same car, so that’s kind of tough,” Blaney said. “That takes myself and the team time to get back acclimated to the driver and me to the race car. It has its ups and downs, but I’m fortunate to be with three great race teams and be able to do what we love and be competitive.”

  Blaney did not have trouble finding a rhythm as he wheeled the No. 22 Ford to Victory Lane in the XFINITY Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway. He led a race-high 81 laps and used a strong restart on a green-white-checkered finish to take home the win. The victory was the second time in three years that Team Penske has swept the season’s two Kentucky XFINITY races.

 ”Honestly, I’ve never seen a team be so dominant at a race track,” Blaney said after the win. “It feels like every time we come here, the 22 car is one of the favorites to win and usually does it.”

Greg Erwin, the No. 22 team’s crew chief, has noticed Blaney’s growth firsthand since seeing him in 2013. In addition to the Kentucky win, Erwin and Blaney teamed up for a win in August at Iowa Speedway.

 ”He’s certainly a little more polished,” Erwin noted of Blaney’s development as a driver. “I think his communication is a little more precise. I think his confidence is certainly high and I think he’s got the talent, certainly that it takes, and the rest of that will come with time behind a steering wheel. That’s the hardest thing right now I think, is jumping in, running in all three series and getting as much time on the race track as he can.”

In his young career, Blaney has four wins each in the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series. And in his first part-time Sprint Cup Series season, he scored his best Sprint Cup finish in May at Talladega with a fourth-place result. His Wood Brothers No. 21 team has had speed, but qualifying rainouts have been the bugaboo.

RELATED: Blaney discusses ‘very frustrating’ Cup qualifying rainouts

Along the way to becoming a rising young talent in the sport, Blaney has had some guidance, namely from his dad, Dave, as well as 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski.  

“Brad’s been one of the biggest mentors for me right after my dad,” Blaney said of Keselowski’s impact on his career. “He gave me an opportunity in 2012 to drive his trucks for him and I did that for a couple years, which opened the doors at Penske and it opened the doors at the Wood Brothers. He’s kind of been the main guy that’s started me off in my career getting racing in the top three series and I can’t thank him enough for that. He’s taught me so much on the race track, off the race track. He’s been really helpful to me.

 ”Brad’s a unique teacher. To be able to drive for him has been really cool too, because you can kind of see the owner in him. And then when he would drive the other truck sometimes and I could race against him that was really, really neat. … You’d ask him a question and he’d give you part of an answer and then you would kind of have to figure the rest of it out, and I really liked that. It’s kind of the way my dad did it.

  ”He’s obviously one of the smartest racers out there, I feel like, when it comes to strategy and always thinking inside the car. That’s something I’ve tried to take from him. … Not only on the racing side, just thinking of other things too, whether it’s underneath the car to try to make it faster, things like that.”

Dave Blaney, a veteran of 473 Sprint Cup Series starts and the 1995 World of Outlaws Champion, has impacted his son’s career as well. Ryan credits his dad with teaching him a lesson that has become invaluable to him with extended seat time and longer races in the Sprint Cup Series.  

“Patience is one of the biggest things in racing, especially now that I’ve gotten started doing some Cup stuff,” Ryan Blaney said. “Five-hundred-mile races, one 600-miler that we do … those are long races. A lot longer than Truck and XFINITY races and that’s really been a big learning curve for me of how you have so many opportunities to work on your race car and you have to be really precise with how you change things.   

“That was the biggest change to me. Running Trucks for a couple of years, the races are so short. You only have a couple of chances to work on your truck, so you take huge swings. In the Cup car, you can’t really do that, you have to take littler steps and kind of fine-tune things. That was one of the biggest things he taught me early and now I’m kind of figuring it out for myself.”

And with silly season talk running rampant throughout the garage and in the media, Blaney remains focused on finishing out 2015 strong. With a Kentucky win in his pocket, Blaney is on the entry list for Saturday’s XFINITY Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

  ”Honestly, we’d like to do more races but that’s a lot easier said than done,” he said. “I think the best thing we can do is try to focus on winning races in this 22 car, try to bring home a (owner’s) championship (in XFINITY) and finishing out the season strong with the Wood Brothers is going to be really big for our cause. We’re working on it. Hopefully, we will know something soon.”

Posted on September 30, 2015 by

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered the appeal of a P4 penalty issued on Sept. 23 to Rob Kauffman (owner), Clint Bowyer (driver), and Billy W. Scott (crew chief) relative to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicle #15 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The penalty concerns the following sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book: Sections 12.1, 20.14c, 20.14.2.1.k, 12.5.3.4.d, 12.5.3.4.1.d&f, 12.5.3.4.2.

The original penalty assessed included a $75,000 fine, three-race suspension and six months’ probation for Scott and loss of 25 championship car owner and 25 championship driver points to both Kauffman and Bowyer.

Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:

1. The Appellants violated the Rule or Rules set forth in the Penalty Notice.

2. That the Panel affirms and upholds the original Penalty assessed by NASCAR.

The panel consisted of the following three individuals:

Mr. Paul Brooks

Mr. Bill Lester

Mr. Bill Mullis

The Appellants have the right to appeal the decision of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer in accordance with Section 15 of the NASCAR Rule Book as the Expedited Final Appeal. The deadline for filing is 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 30.

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Nascar

MORE: Stewart announces that 2016 is final Cup season

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — He was loose and smiling, joking and what, jovial?

Has Tony Stewart ever been described as jovial?

We’ve seen him laugh and cut up. Have fun from time to time.

We’ve also seen him drive the wheels off a race car.

Sadly, we’ve seen too little of those recently.

The smile was there Wednesday though, no doubt about it.

RELATED: Bowyer tabbed for No. 14 duty in 2017

It was there when he and co-team owner Gene Haas stepped out from behind the Carolina blue curtains and took their seats on the stage. And it was still there when Stewart, Haas and fellow driver Clint Bowyer departed approximately 50 minutes later.

On Wednesday, Stewart announced that the 2016 season would be his last as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. Bowyer is his handpicked replacement for Stewart-Haas Racing‘s No. 14 Chevrolet.

It isn’t a retirement, Stewart was quick to note, explaining that “I’m not walking away from something I’m passionate about; I’m just changing roles. … I’m not really retiring, I’m just changing positions.”

RELATED: Best quotes from Stewart press conferences

He expects to bring the same intensity to his ownership role as he has displayed on the track. He’ll be actively involved, probably to the displeasure of more than one NASCAR official, he added.

There have been plenty of opportunities of late for the 44-year-old to step aside. The broken leg suffered in a sprint car crash in 2013; his involvement in an on-track fatality during a sprint car race last summer; a 2015 season that’s shaping up to be the worst of his 17-year career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

But none of those were a factor, he said.

“It’s all about timing. There was not one thing that led to this other than I just felt like it was the right time.”

The opportunity to bring Bowyer in house played a huge role. “You jump on those opportunities,” Stewart said.

“It just all meshed.”

It wasn’t a knee-jerk decision. No “woe is me” tale of self-pity. Stewart looked and sounded as if it was a decision he had begun formulating long before his career suddenly became tabloid fodder.

He has nothing left to prove on the track. There are races Stewart would like to win — the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 have managed to elude him thus far. A fourth championship wouldn’t be a bad way to leave, either.

But with three titles (2002, ’05, ’11) and 48 career victories, Stewart’s NASCAR resume needs no padding.

RELATED: Stewart through the years

He was already well down the path to a successful career as a racer long before NASCAR became an option in the mid ’90s. And his career as a driver was nearly a decade old when Haas reached out with an offer to become partners prior to 2009.

Along the way, numerous enterprises have sprouted up — from track and team ownership to real estate and public relations companies. Piece by piece, an empire has been built. Opportunities became realities.

“Everything happens for a reason, and you look at my career and you look at all the different entities that we have, nothing was ever part of a master plan,” Stewart said. “It all just came about with opportunities coming at the right time and I think this was one of those as well.”

WATCH: Memorable moments from Stewart’s announcement

Other racing opportunities, in a variety of series, are out there, so Stewart’s ’16 season likely won’t be the last time fans see him behind the wheel. The when and where won’t be determined until later.

The Sprint Cup effort — SHR fields entries for defending series champion Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick and ’04 champ Kurt Busch as well as Stewart — will be his focus beyond ’16, though.

“You know, it’s kind of a bittersweet day,” he said. “I’m excited about it, but at the same time I’m sad about it as well. I love what I do with NASCAR and I love what I do as a driver, and the great thing is I’m not going anywhere.”

Folks that step away from the sport for any length of time will tell you that it’s the people that they miss most, and Stewart’s no different. He hasn’t forgotten the people that called or texted when he was injured; those that reached out last summer, and those that contacted him when word of his announcement broke earlier this week.

“It’s all the guys in NASCAR,” he said. “It’s all the guys at SHR, and it’s co‑owners and other owners in the series, other drivers, crew chiefs. Those are the people that I’m — that’s the reason I’m not going anywhere. I couldn’t stand to be away from that family.”

The 2016 season will be different as the end of his Sprint Cup career draws nearer, but in many ways it will be the same. There are still races to be run, to be won and a title to be decided. And Stewart’s not one to back down from an opportunity.

“I mean I still want to win races,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to go out than to go out on top and to win races and win a championship.

“We’re going to continue to put all of our effort toward that. … I can promise you, next year is not a coast and collect year.”

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Holly Cain

Three-time premier series champion Tony Stewart smiled and conceded it was a “formality at this point” in announcing Wednesday afternoon that he would step away from full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition following the 2016 season.

“It was a choice that is 100 percent mine, no pressure from anybody,” Stewart said of his decision not to compete full-time anymore. “If anything, it’s been the opposite, more people trying to talk me out of it.

“Everyone in their career makes a decision when it’s time for a change. I think deep down you know when it’s time to do something different and make a change like this.”

Appearing jovial and without a hint of second-thought about his career decision, Stewart joked he was bringing Harry Gant out of retirement to drive the the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevy in 2017, then confirmed that actually Clint Bowyer would be taking over his seat.

The news confirmed months of speculation and rumor about Stewart’s future and solidified Bowyer’s career path as well with Bowyer’s Michael Waltrip Racing team closing operations at the end of 2015.

“It’s all about people, all about culture for me, and I don’t think the fit factor could be any better,” said Bowyer, acknowledging the SHR ride was “one of the biggest powerhouses in the sport” and said an announcement is coming later this week about his 2016 plans.

Wednesday was clearly more about “the people’s champion” as Stewart is often referred.

One of the most popular and accomplished champions to ever compete in NASCAR’s marquee series, Stewart, 44, has won three premier series titles as a driver (2002, 2005, 2011) and two as an owner (2011, 2014), accumulated 48 victories and won over countless hearts as a kind of extreme throw-back talent garnering comparisons to racing’s all-time greats such as A.J. Foyt and Dale Earnhardt.

Quite simply, Stewart won in every car he drove. And NASCAR fans always appreciated that about the driver known by his nickname, “Smoke.”

Stewart won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 15 straight seasons from his 1999 rookie year through 2013, and he has 11 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins in 94 starts — roughly winning once every 10 times he tried. He won twice in six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and had five top-10 finishes.

“When I think of Tony Stewart, unmatched passion and a pure love of the sport come to mind,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said in a release. “He has won championships and millions of fans. But he has given back so much more, and that’s what I admire most. Today’s news was bittersweet for all, but we know Tony will continue to be a big part of our sport in his roles as a team and track owner. On behalf of the entire NASCAR family, I thank Tony for his many years of excellence and competitiveness, and wish him nothing but the best in his final season as a driver in the Sprint Cup Series.”

The 1997 IndyCar champion — and 1996 Indy 500 Rookie of the Race — proved his mettle against motorsports’ best drivers, winning four times in IROC competition, earning the 2006 IROC championship and finishing runner-up in 2001.

In 1999 he completed racing’s Memorial Day “Double,” finishing ninth in the Indianapolis 500 and fourth in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 later that same day in North Carolina. Stewart was the first driver in history to win all three major United States Auto Club national championships — Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown — in a single season.

So after essentially four decades behind the wheel fulltime, Stewart said he contemplated this decision for a while and said this week, he is completely at peace.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Stewart said. You run through the range of emotions. There’s days you’re like, I can’t wait, and then there’s days that are like, man, do I ‑‑ you battle back and forth.

“I’m not leaving the sport I love. I’m not walking away from something I’m passionate about, I’m just changing roles, which it’s like just moving to a different position in a company.

“I’m not really retiring, I’m just changing positions.”

It’s been an admittedly uphill climb for the champ after the last three seasons of horrible injury and extreme heartbreak.

He missed the last 15 races in the 2013 season after suffering a compound leg fracture while competing in a sprint car race. Then last year, while still mending from that injury, Stewart was involved in another sprint car accident. This time, another competitor, Kevin Ward Jr., was killed when, after approaching Stewart’s car on track during a caution period, the car struck Ward.

Stewart sat out three Sprint Cup races immediately after. No criminal charges were found to be justified against Stewart; the Ward family filed a civil lawsuit against him a year later.

On Wednesday Stewart stressed that his decision to stop driving in the Cup series full-time had “zero percent to with (the Ward situation)” and that physically, “my leg feels fine, there’s nothing wrong with my leg.”

He said he may even compete in Sprint cars again. He listed the Rolex 24 at Daytona as a possibility and mentioned racing modifieds and making sporadic starts in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series — all things he plans to do without the stress and full schedule of racing full-time in the Sprint Cup ranks.

RELATED: Tony talks toll on leg, life

In the past two seasons, Stewart has struggled to post the kind of top-shelf results both he and his fans had grown accustomed to seeing. But he has consistently insisted that was more to do with the current rules package than his off-track distractions.

He said earlier this year that NASCAR’s new high downforce, low horsepower car does not suit his style and is actually “the opposite of everything I’ve ever driven.

“It’s like I’m in the middle of a calculus equation and I didn’t take pre-calculus,” Stewart told NASCAR.com this May.

He is currently 25th in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings with a sub-standard two top-10 finishes in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet this year. But he was adamant that he would not be coasting in his final season and that this decision was not “performance based.”

Stepping away from his NASCAR driving duties, Stewart’s focus shifts to running his beloved Eldora Speedway in Ohio and to being a team owner. His resume out of the car is already as impressive as his work behind the steering wheel.

“It’s just time to do what we’re doing,” Stewart said. “I still fully anticipate we’re going to get things turned around. If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t waste my time next year for anybody. I’m not a guy that’s going to get in a car and ride. We’re full steam ahead.

“We’re going to keep working and try to win as many races as we can next year, and that goal is going to be ‑‑ when you guys get to February, go ahead and write this down, what our goals are for the year, we’re going to try to win races, try to win the Daytona 500, then the Brickyard 400, the Southern 500, and try to win a championship.”

Ultimately, stepping away from his NASCAR driving duties, Stewart’s focus shifts to running his beloved Eldora Speedway in Ohio and to being a team owner. His effort out of the car is already as impressive as his work behind the steering wheel.

His namesake Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 team is the reigning Sprint Cup owner champion thanks to Kevin Harvick‘s 2014 championship run, and two of his team’s four drivers — Harvick and Kurt Busch — are in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

This summer Stewart collected his 10th Knoxville Nationals trophy in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series fielding a car for driver Donny Schatz, who has also delivered five World of Outlaw championships for Stewart. He has 23 national titles as a team owner.

“I’ve won more car championships as an owner than a driver,” Stewart said “I’m definitely as competitive as an owner as I am a driver. …That fire’s still there and that’s what makes this transition easier.”

While his success driving and fielding cars is partly responsible for Stewart’s incredible popularity over the years, he is also one of the sport’s most robust personalities.

He’s not afraid to express his displeasure at his competitors’ blunders, and the other drivers have come to expect either face time or bumper time with him after on track run-ins.

And Stewart’s “no-fools” tolerance policy extends to the media covering his career. There are highlight reels devoted to showcasing him sparring with reporters in press conferences and on pit road — his wit and sarcasm legendary with the media corps.

He grinned broadly and warned the room of reporters on Wednesday that he will not follow the guide of four-time champ Jeff Gordon who has met with the press nearly every week during this — his last — year of NASCAR competition.

“Let’s establish this right now: I will not be coming to the media center every week to talk about it,'” Stewart said smiling and shaking his head. “You can save your gifts. I’ve got enough rocking chairs at home as it is. I bought those when I wanted to go sit on my own rocking chair. You don’t have to give me one.

“I’m content to go race and be around the racing community and the racing family and be around our fans,” he continued. “They can just send me a note from the track president and say, hey, thank you, and that’ll be sufficient for me.

“I think it’s been very fitting for Jeff [Gordon]. I don’t think I’m worthy of that kind of admiration because I think Jeff has really done so much for the sport that nobody will ever be able to do again. I think that kind of celebration is reserved for somebody like Jeff.”

One thing Stewart has across the board is respect — from his competitors, to the fans and to the media who will be watching closely to see how this next chapter in his career and life plays out.

He gave a couple hints on Wednesday afternoon. When it’s time to drop the green flag for the 2017 Daytona 500 – the first one run without Tony Stewart on the grid since 1999 – the champ says he hasn’t figured out quite yet where he’ll be, but spoke about one possibility.

“I’ll probably be on some fan’s motor home on the back stretch promoting our sponsors,” Stewart said laughing. “I have no idea where I’m supposed to be yet. I’ve got a whole year to figure that out.”

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Staff Report

RELATED: Official release on appeal

A three-member appeals panel upheld P4-grade penalties issued to Michael Waltrip Racing‘s No. 15 Toyota team Wednesday, severely hampering driver Clint Bowyer‘s hopes of advancing from the first round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel — which heard the team’s appeal at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina — ruled that the Waltrip-owned organization violated the rules set forth in the penalty notice and the panel affirms and upholds the original penalty assessed by NASCAR.

On Sept. 23, NASCAR handed down punishment for an illegally mounted track bar and suspension infractions as part of pre-race technical violations after the postseason-opening race Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway, stripping Bowyer of 25 points in the drivers’ championship standings, suspending crew chief Billy Scott for three races and fining the team $75,000. The penalties were issued at the P4 level of discipline in the NASCAR deterrence system, which went into effect in the 2014 season.

Scott, who was also placed on probation for six months, was atop the No. 15 team’s pit box last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after MWR deferred the penalty until after the appeals process.

Michael Waltrip Racing plans to cease operations at season’s end and it was announced on Wednesday that Bowyer will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017, while he hinted that light will be shed on his 2016 plans shortly.

The team announced later Wednesday that it would not appeal the ruling.

“We are disappointed with the outcome of today’s ruling and still feel our interpretation is within the guidelines,” according to the statement. “Rather than continue the appeals process, MWR is ready to focus 100 percent of our company’s resources on winning at Dover and trying to advance to the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”

With the penalty upheld, Bowyer remains last among the 16 playoff drivers in the Chase, 39 points behind 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr., who holds a tenuous grip on the final berth to avoid elimination and move to the next postseason segment. The title-eligible Chase field will be whittled to 12 after the Challenger Round finale, Sunday’s AAA 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Dover.

The three members on the National Motorsports Appeals Panel chosen to hear Wednesday’s appeal were Paul Brooks, Bill Lester and Bill Mullis.