Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 11, 2015 in Richmond, Va.Jerry Markland/Getty Images
On tap this week:
- Stewart losing his drive?
- Hinchcliffe comeback on?
- Auction for Wilson’s family begins
- F1 misses easy fix
- Quote of the Week: Sir Jackie Stewart on canopies
- NCATS finale and more
Five years ago this week, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart was about to go on a tear in the championship-deciding Chase for the Cup, winning five of 10 starts on his way to title No. 3.
As this year's version of NASCAR's playoffs begin, Stewart is not only nowhere to be found in the top 16 who made the 10-race playoff, but he also seems to be a shadow of his former self, mired in the mid-field most of the year and never really a threat to win.
It's difficult to blame the 17-year veteran for his woes. He never really got back to his old self following a badly broken leg in an August 2013 sprint car race that kept him out of the final 15 races that season. A year later, Stewart was involved in a fatal accident in another sprint car race that took the life of driver Kevin Ward.
Since the broken leg, Stewart has zero wins, only three top 5 finishes, and had a best finish of 25th overall in points last year. To put that in perspective, between 1999 – when he moved to NASCAR from the old Indy Racing League – and 2012, Stewart finished outside the top 10 overall in points only once. In 2006, the year that happened, he finished 11th overall but ended the season tied for the most race wins.
In 2015, his best result in 26 starts was a sixth in Bristol in April, which is one of only two top 10s all year. He is 26th in points.
To make matters worse, two drivers in the Stewart-Haas Racing stable – Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch – both made NASCAR's Chase playoff this year, finishing fifth and seventh respectively. The team's other driver, Danica Patrick, is also ahead of Stewart in the points standing as the Chase begins. She is 24th.
Unfortunately, the black clouds show no signs of breaking. While Stewart was not found criminally responsible for the accident that took Ward's life after the young driver was found to have had a significant amount of marijuana in his system, the family filed a wrongful death suit against Stewart.
It makes many wonder whether the leg injury and Ward accident has snuffed out the fire for a driver whose passion for the sport was once unparalleled.
When asked about his personal racing plans in Richmond, Va., over the weekend, Stewart simply said: "The future? I think about the future every day."
Random Thoughts
All James Hinchcliffe needs to get back into an IndyCar is his doctor's okay – something that should happen soon, he indicated in a television interview last week. The Oakville, Ont., driver has been out of action since a devastating accident in the run-up to May's Indianapolis 500, where a suspension part entered the cockpit of his car and pierced his leg. With a test coming up at Road America in two weeks, it's possible the four-time IndyCar winner will get medical clearance to make his return to action before the end of the month.
By the Numbers
IndyCar driver Graham Rahal hopes to raise $1-million for the family of late racer Justin Wilson through an online auction that begins today. Wilson died in an accident last month after being hit on the head by debris during an IndyCar race. The Rahal-Letterman driver has spearheaded the auction, which features race-worn gear from IndyCar, Formula One, and NASCAR drivers, among others. Auction website eBay has also agreed to waive all fees, so every cent raised goes to the Wilson Children's Fund, which benefits the driver's wife, Julia, and two young daughters, Jane and Jessica.
Technically Speaking
After tire failures apparently caused by drivers exceeding the track limits and running over curbs last month at the Belgian Grand Prix, Formula One's governing Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is talking with the teams to solve the problem. The favoured proposal so far is high-friction, raised painted lines that slow cars when they exceed track limits. Oddly, the strict application of the rule that requires drivers to have some part of their cars on or between the white lines painted at the edge of the track at all times and punishing those who flout it has not been suggested as a viable solution.
Quote of the Week
"There's a lot of things that you have to take into consideration ... It's a very complicated thing, it's not just a simple bubble. I think you have to be very, very certain that it's going to work."
– Three-time Formula One world champion Jackie Stewart says that there are many safety concerns that need to be addressed as the sport considers adding canopies to open cockpit cars in reaction to the death of IndyCar driver Justin Wilson.
The Last Word
The NASCAR Canadian Tires Series finale goes Saturday at Kawartha Speedway in Peterborough, Ont., with Scott Steckly, Jason Hathaway, Andrew Ranger and defending champion L.P. Dumoulin in a four-way battle for the title. Garett Grist, of Grimsby, Ont., took back-to-back wins in the Pro Mazda season finale at California's Laguna Seca Raceway, which helped him end the year third overall in the championship. In the 2015 Toyo Tires F1600 Series finale at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont., Reid Arnold of Barrie, Ont., took the "A" Class championship while Dundas, Ont's. Connor Wagland took the "B" Class title. Canada's Bruno Spengler got back into the title fight in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Series with a second and 10th on the weekend at the Oschersleben Circuit. He is fifth overall, 36 points adrift of first with a maximum 100 points still up for grabs.
Jeff Pappone