After the season finale at Homestead Sunday
night, Mark Martin proclaimed Tony Stewart as the best driver of
our generation. That is a strong statement coming from Martin.
I agree that Stewart's second championship moves him even closer
to the elite drivers in NASCAR history as he joins Jeff Gordon
as the only active drivers with multiple championships. But to
say he is the best of our generation could be a bit premature.
Are we in the Tony Stewart era? Well, the
ingredients are there. His two championships have come within a
three year time period. He has 24 wins in just 7 full seasons
and he has never finished outside of the top ten in points. I
could go on and on about Stewart and his career accomplishments
but my point is that we may already be in the middle of the Tony
Stewart era and not even know it. Think about it, when Dale
Earnhardt won his second title in 1986 we had no idea that he
was about to rack up 5 championships within the next eight
years. When Darrell Waltrip dominated the 1981 season, did you
really think that he was going to win 2 more within the next
four years? When Jeff Gordon won the title in 1995, did you
honestly think that this kid was going to win three more titles
within the next six years? If Stewart can repeat as champion or
win his third title within the next few years, I would have to
say that 2002 and beyond could be the Tony Stewart era.
Some fans may disagree with Mark Martin's
remarks, especially Gordon fans, but I wouldn't take Martin's
opinion lightly. He's raced against Richard Petty, Bobby
Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and
Jeff Gordon. So I would say that Martin's opinion holds water.
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