Tony Stewart has never had a problem silencing his critics. In fact, he quite enjoys doing so.
As the Sprint Cup Series approaches the midway mark of their season, as well as closing in on the 10 races that will mark the race to the Chase, Stewart has silenced everyone. Five weeks ago he sat 21st in points and had many already questioning his possibility of making the Chase, before a win and back-to-back top five finishes catapulted Stewart to 10th in points entering Sonoma, where he’s won twice.
“It’s definitely been gratifying for sure. The thing is that, ‘A,’ we have to stay there and ‘B,’ we got to be consistent,” said Stewart Friday in Sonoma about his point position. “Getting there has been a lot of fun, it’s been very trying to get to this point, but it just shows how quickly you can get things turned around.
“There’s other teams that can make gains like that too. It’s a constant moving target. You have to consistently keep up with it and I’m proud of our group. The hard work that they’ve put to get us caught back up. The hard thing is that you can’t stop and they can’t stop with that intensity. We all have to keep working hard and keep that intensity up to get through the rest of the year.”
Stewart’s win in Dover came as a pleasant surprise, not so much for him – who proudly said the team had the ability just not the finishes – but perhaps his fans and others in the garage. Muscling his way past Juan Pablo Montoya with three laps to go, it began a hot streak for the team. Stewart-Haas Racing as company was the talk of the garage for their struggles and uncharacteristic performances.
It started to irk Stewart, who continuously defended his team and the work they putting in. Things didn’t get any better however, when rumors started swirling that crew chief Steve Addington should and would be fired. The owner-driver called it ‘unprofessional’ and said it ticked him off to have to worry about his race teams and what everyone else was saying.
Don’t wake the sleeping bear, a mistake that we made. Stewart’s awake now – with Addington still atop the pit box – and making his charge towards more visits to Victory Lane and another Chase appearance. And it’s got the attention of his competitors.
Clint Bowyer, who won this race last year, when asked what winning does for a race team simply noted what Stewart was doing.
“Look at Tony Stewart. I have no idea what it does, but you win a race, the confidence boost it gives you and your team and your organization – Stewart is a prime example,” said Bowyer.
“What was it four weeks ago, [the media] were hammering him to the point where he was fighting back, snapping back a little bit. He wins, now he’s running the top five ever since. He’s one to beat. He’ll be the one to beat here. He’ll be one of the cars you’ll have to beat to win the race.
“I don’t know what it does. It’s hard to explain momentum, the roll that you get on and probably all of sports, but this sport in particular.”
The Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet starts 11th on the grid Sunday for the Toyota-Save Mart 350. Stewart, looking to add another victory in the summer months where he’s often so strong, said he was encouraged with his machine because every time he’d been on track the team was making it better. Get him in the ballpark and Stewart can do the rest as he’s shown on more than one occasion.
Sunday should be no different. As he and his team continue to prove a little bad luck to start the season wasn’t enough to already be writing them off. For Stewart’s used to doing what has been said to be impossible, after all, he rewrote the Chase record book in 2011 on his way to a championship.
Since Charlotte in late May, he’s finished no worse than seventh. Before that Stewart only had one top 10 finish this season, an eighth at Phoenix in the second race of the year.
The Toyota-Save Mart 350 from Sonoma will air on TNT on Sunday, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
