Know Your Driver: Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart

Name: Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart

            Nickname: "Smoke"

Date of Birth: May 20, 1971 (age 44)

Hometown: Columbus, Indiana

Family: N/A

First Career Start: February 12, 1999 (Daytona)

Car Number and Make: #14 Chevrolet SS

Primary Sponsors: 

• Bass Pro Shops
• Mobil 1
• Rush Truck Centers
• Code 3 Associates

Team: Stewart-Haas Racing

Teammates: Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch

Best Career Points Finish: 1st (2002, 2005, 2011)

Career Victories: 48

Notable Wins:

• 2005, 2007 Brickyard 400
• 2009 All-Star Race (not counted as a career win)

Description: There's no other driver out there quite like the Indiana-born Tony Stewart. He's been part of the best times and the worst times. But as he's always done, you can find him smiling regardless of the situation.

Much like Jeff Gordon, Stewart got his start racing open wheel sprint cars on dirt tracks across Indiana and dreamed of going onto the IndyCar Series and winning the Indianapolis 500. He became a legend in the USAC series growing up, winning championships in all three of the series major divisions which paved the way to earning an IndyCar ride.

A true racer at heart, Stewart was driving stock cars when he wasn't driving IndyCars and made starts here and there in what is now the XFinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.

It didn't take long for Stewart to find success in IndyCar, where he won the championship in his first full season in 1997, scoring a win along the way, although it wasn't at Indianapolis like he had hoped. He again tacked on a couple wins the following season and ended up finishing third in the points, but that would be it for Stewart's time in IndyCar, save for a a few starts at Indianapolis the following year or two.

At that point, Stewart moved up to NASCAR's premier series with Joe Gibbs racing and once again found success quickly, winning three times in his rookie season and finishing fourth in points. Wins would continue to pile up in the next few years and by 2002, Stewart would capture his first championship.

Stewart would finally capture his dream of winning at Indianapolis when he won the Brickyard 400 in 2005 and he celebrated in dramatic fashion, climbing the whole catch fence. He would capture another Brickyard win in 2007 and won another series title in 2005.

His most dramatic championship, though, came in 2011. Stewart had just formed his own team a few years prior, and while wins were there, he didn't feel the team was ready to compete for a title. Stewart hadn't won all year going into the Chase, but squeaked in thanks to his accumulated point total all year. Once in the Chase, Stewart would ignite and go on a run of epic proportions.

He had already announced his crew chief, Darian Grubb would be released at the end of the season, but that didn't stop he and Stewart from winning four out of the nine Chase races. Going into the final race of the year, Stewart and Carl Edwards continuously traded the lead all race, but Stewart was able to take his fifth win out of ten races and won the title. He actually tied in points with Edwards, but since Stewart had five wins to Edwards' one, he got the championship.

Stewart has experienced his fair share of controversy during his career. In his early years, he would go into fits of rage, arguing with drivers and eventually having to take anger management classes. In 2013, Stewart was participating in a sprint car race when his car flipped after trying to avoid another wrecked car. Stewart had a compound fracture of his leg and missed the rest of the season. And in 2014, a fellow driver who felt he had been wrecked by Stewart, Kevin Ward Jr., ran on the track to confront Stewart, only to be struck by Stewart's car and was killed. Stewart was cleared of any criminal offense.

Despite it all, Stewart's talent is unquestioned and his passion for racing burns brighter than almost everyone else. He'll be around for years to come as a driver and even longer after he retires since he owns a team. There's no doubt that Tony will be in the Hall of Fame when his career ends.

Fun Facts: Stewart owns Eldora Speedway, a dirt track in Ohio that now hosts Camping World Truck Series races. Additionally, he also owns a pit pig named Porkchop.