By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Peacock-proud father Nelson Stewart made a bold prediction as the ecstatic crowd chanted his son's name - "Tony, Tony, Tony" - on Aug. 7 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"He will be back to try it," Nelson Stewart said when asked whether his son, the newest winner of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, would take another shot at adding a victory in the Indianapolis 500 before wrapping up his already record-setting auto racing career.
"If I had my way, he'd be here next year," Nelson Stewart said. "We talked about winning here for a long, long time. I always thought he would. I always thought he'd win the 500. I still think he'll win the 500."
Stewart, who was reared 35 miles south of the Speedway in Columbus, Ind., put on a gritty display of driving in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard to pass Kasey Kahne on a restart - right in front of the Turn 2 suites where his father was watching - with 11 laps to go and went on to take the checkered flag as the eighth different victor since NASCAR brought its top series to Indy in 1994.
It also fulfilled Stewart's lifelong dream of winning on his home track, the most famous in the world. He had come close in the past both in Indy cars and stock cars, but it took 10 years and 1,763 racing laps around the 2.5-mile oval before he could go bonkers with victory euphoria in front of an adoring crowd.
"This is everything," said Pam Boas, Stewart's mother. "It is everything for him. It's for him. It's not for us. It's for him. And this means everything in the world to him. So it means everything in the world to me.
"I always knew he would do it some day. When was the question."
Tony Stewart, who turned 34 on May 20, drove his The Home Depot Chevrolet around the track counter-clockwise, stopping in front of the Turn 2 suites to salute his family and fans there and then brought it around to the famed "Yard of Bricks" at the start/finish line. Though zapped by heat and the intensity of the race, he clambered up the fence in Helio Castroneves fashion as thousands chanted his name. Crew members joined him.
"It's just awesome," said tire carrier Tom Dean. "Before he passed (Kahne), he said, 'Don't worry guys, just give me a little bit of time.'"
Said another tire handler, Jody Fortson: "This is so amazing. He's been talking about this all week how bad he wants this. Being his first win here, it's just awesome."
Eventually in all the pandemonium, the track opened up, and Tony joined his father, sister, Natalie Repenning, mother and stepfather Mike Boas in kissing the bricks. He did likewise with his crew.
Nelson Stewart, who at 67 is back driving USAC open-wheel cars, remembers how his father took him to midget races as a boy but "quit cold turkey" when he was 7. At 18, Nelson started racing with a driver's license that said he was 21. When Tony turned 7, Nelson quit racing to start his son in quarter-midgets.
He took Tony to his first Indianapolis 500 about this same time, and they sat in the then-wooden bleachers north of the pits. He said Tony wasn't the least bit bored.
"Oh, no," Nelson said. "He liked those cars."
Tony won all three of USAC's open-wheel divisions - Silver Crown, sprint and midget - in 1995. Then when the Indy Racing League was formed, he joined the Team Menard IndyCar Series team and qualified for his first Indianapolis 500 in 1996 with a speed of 233.100 mph. He wound up on the pole when his teammate and pole winner, Scott Brayton, was killed before the race in a practice crash.
Stewart led 44 laps before falling out with an engine problem. He drove in four more Indy 500s, with finishes of fifth, 33rd, ninth and sixth. He drove 642 laps in an Indy car at the Speedway and led 122.
Joe Gibbs, now coach of the NFL Washington Redskins, owned a NASCAR team and saw Stewart's potential. Gibbs signed Stewart to a contract in 1997 that was announced at the Indianapolis Athletic Club. Stewart has rewarded Gibbs with a NEXTEL Cup championship in 2002, and the Allstate 400 was his 23rd career victory.
One of the keys to Stewart's victory was moving back home to Columbus, Ind., from the Charlotte area during the last offseason, Nelson Stewart said. The return to his roots has a played a key role in the maturation of his temperament. There have been instances of Tony's temper in the past that have drawn national attention.
"The move back to Columbus definitely changed Tony," Nelson said. "He's more at ease. When he's at ease, he's just as competitive, as you saw today, as he ever was, but he just handles all the adversity a little better."
When Nelson Stewart made his way to the victory celebration, he said his son looked at him and was grinning ear to ear. The chant of the crowd was drowning out anything his son might say.
The proud father then sighed in happiness.
"I knew he would prevail," he said.
***
2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard tickets: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office is accepting ticket renewals and new ticket orders for the 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 6. The renewal deadline is Monday, Aug. 22.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
Related Stories
| Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Talkback | Post Comment |
|
|
|