Never far removed from the spotlight, Tony Stewart once again found himself at the center of attention this past week in NASCAR.
The two-time former champion and mainstay at Joe Gibbs Racing, has had to field questions about rumors speculating that he may possibly leave the organization that he broke into the Sprint Cup with as a rookie driver back in 1999. In typical Stewart fashion, he has done nothing to diffuse to situation - in fact he has fanned the flames himself.
While Stewart is still one of the top drivers in NASCAR and will be a contender for the championship for years to come, as he grows older - he will be 37 this May - it is rumored that he is looking for more of an ownership role in racing's top series. Even though Stewart has ownership stake in some of the lower circuits in racing, it appears that he wants to have more front office control of his own organization or team in the Sprint Cup.
Since becoming a Sprint Cup driver, Stewart has only been about one thing and that is simply winning races and championships. He has his two championships in 2005 and 2007 and two Brickyard 400 victories - coincidentally in the same years. The only real thing that eludes him is a victory at the Daytona 500. So to say that his current affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing is not as committed to winning as he is, just is not true.
With three of the top drivers in the circuit in Stewart, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, in addition to the move to Toyota powered cars this season, Gibbs Racing is still one of the most successful and active teams in the Sprint Cup. To think Stewart would want to leave this because he thinks he could be better off somewhere else does not make any sense.
Joe Gibbs has always had Stewart's back, amidst all the controversy that he has created throughout the years. There have been many times in the past when Stewart has done or said something where he could have found himself without a job and looking for a new team the next day. However, Gibbs has seen the good in Stewart and as he has matured through the years, the confidence and belief that Gibbs placed in him as a younger driver had been paying off.
For Stewart to try and play the whole free-agent song-and-dance this early before his contract is up in 2009 is disrespectful to the organization that has been behind him since day one and provided him with the equipment to become a two-time champion.
At the end of the day, I doubt Stewart would leave Joe Gibbs Racing to either go to another team as a driver-owner or as just a driver in a different organization. Being a part owner would take too much of his focus off winning another championship in Sprint Cup and I just do not see him racing for anyone else besides Gibbs.
That being said, Stewart should consider what Gibbs Racing has done for him in the past and either have his contract extended or respectfully decline to discuss his future plans if he is in fact seriously contemplating moving on. Stewart has always been world-class on the track, but he needs to be that off the track as well.
Greg Sjovall's NASCAR column
runs every Tuesday. He can be contacted
at Gregory.Sjovall@UConn.edu.
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