Stewart sliding out of title contention
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tony Stewart might be NASCAR’s most talented driver. He’s undoubtedly the most volatile.
His skill has helped him collect two championships, 32 victories and more than $62 million in winnings.
His raw emotion likely has cost him just as much, including a shot at a third Nextel Cup title.
Oh, sure, Stewart still can mount an incredible five-race rally that might put him back in contention. But with five races left in this Chase for the championship, he’s fourth in the standings and fading by the week.
A miserable three-race stretch that can be blamed on bad luck, mental error and a simmering feud with Paul Menard has dropped Stewart from two points out of first to a distant 198 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.
“It isn’t over until you tell me mathematically we can’t do it,” crew chief Greg Zipadelli declared after Saturday night’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
That kind of thinking might get Stewart and his Joe Gibbs Racing crew a win or two before the season ends. But the reality is it will take a miracle for Stewart to win the title, making him the biggest disappointment of this Chase.
When the Chase started Sept. 16 in New Hampshire, there was tremendous potential for an epic showdown between the top three drivers. Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Stewart – drivers with a combined eight championships – opened the 10-race title hunt ranked 1-2-3 with just 30 points separating them.
So long as they kept up the pace, there was no reason to believe they wouldn’t fight all the way to the Nov. 18 finish.
Gordon, with two Chase wins, and Johnson, with three top-10 finishes, have delivered. Stewart was right with them, until a crazy day in Kansas sent him into a downward spiral.
That race three weeks ago had two lengthy rain delays and a flurry of freak accidents. So when Zipadelli gambled to put Stewart in the lead before the second rain delay, they thought they had the win locked down.
But when racing resumed, Stewart got stacked up in traffic, and slight contact with another car crumpled his fender. Believing the damage minimal, they decided not to come in for a repair. That backfired horribly when sheet metal rubbed against a tire, causing it to blow.
Stewart’s temper wasn’t far behind. He angrily slammed equipment through his wrecked car before climbing out for a 39th-place finish.
Kansas was bad luck, but it changed Stewart’s strategy: He no longer could race conservatively if he planned to close the gap.
He’s had top-10 finishes the last two races – an eighth and a seventh – but has lost his composure and more ground.
Technically, Stewart and his team are still in it, but if the driver can’t get his head back in the game, they don’t have a chance.