Posted on April 3, 2007

Orange Crushing The Competition

Tony Stewart Has it Going On

by Ben Gunby About The Author	Email   Print

It may have started in 2006 when Tony Stewart and Greg Zippadeli saw their hopes of defending their Nextel Cup championship vanish at Richmond as they failed to make the Chase. Perhaps having the pressure and burden of defending their championship off their broad shoulders made racing fun again for the orange clad members of Joe Gibbs’ team. If it did, it’s made things a lot less enjoyable for the rest of the competition. Additionally, whatever they picked up during the fall stretch in 2006 has carried over into 2007.

In their first race out after missing out on the Chase, becoming the third big name driver to do such in a two year stretch, Stewart went to Loudon and finished 2^nd. Two races later he was in victory lane at Kansas. A month after that he would dominate Atlanta and Texas in a manner that was absolutely astonishing. Stewart led 278 of 339 laps at Texas en route to his fifth win of the year, and third of the Chase. If Stewart and “Zippy” were aiming to send a message to the rest of the teams in the garage that they would be back in 2007, consider the message sent, and received.

When the teams showed up at Daytona this February one car in particular proved itself to be the baddest cat in the alley from the get-go. Stewart won the Bud Shootout, won the Gatorade 150, and went into the Daytona 500 as the hands down favorite. Despite a pit road speeding penalty that forced the 20 to the rear of the field, Stewart marched his way forward and reclaimed his place at the front of the field. What transpired of course was one of the more remarkable turn of events in Daytona 500 history. So while Stewart finished a dismal 43^rd (the 2^nd time in his career he’s opened the season that way), there was little doubt throughout NASCAR circles that he had the best car there. The question of course was whether or not they would be that good on the downforce tracks.

A week later, the question was answered, with a resounding yes. Stewart didn’t win; in fact, he didn’t finish in the top 5. However, his march through the field to a top ten finish spoke volumes. Stewart led 28 laps, and by the mid point of the race had established himself as a very viable contender to win, and then came another pit road speeding penalty. This time the opportunity didn’t present itself for a full scale comeback, but Stewart’s march into the top ten served notice that this team was going to be just as big a threat on the downforce tracks as they were at Daytona. In Las Vegas two weeks later Stewart didn’t show the muscle he showed the previous two weeks, but he still managed to finish in the top ten.

It’s been the last two weeks where Stewart has done nothing but hammer home the fact that when it comes to preparation of a race car, and being able to go fast at any type of track, there aren’t many, if any, teams ahead of the Home Depot bunch. Stewart was at times the best car on the track at Atlanta, and was never worse than the 3^rd or 4^th best car on the speedway at any point in time. A late race battle with Jimmie Johnson foiled his bid for his first win of the new year, but once again, he’d showed his muscle. Just last week at Bristol Stewart was the most dominant he’s been all year, dominant in a manner that was similar to the fall Texas race last year. Stewart led 257 of the first 290 laps at the half miler and clearly was the class of the field. Then, just like at Daytona, disaster struck, only this time in the form of mechanical failure. Despite the fuel pump issues relegating him to a 35^th place finish, and leaving him 12^th in points, Stewart once again showed the prowess of his team.

Stewart is notoriously known for being a slow starter. In the year preceding his championship year Stewart finished 2^nd in points. However, after the seventh race of the year he was mired in 17^th in points, having led just four laps and finishing once in the top ten. In 2002, he left Fontana 10^th in points, and over 300 points off the lead after just ten races thanks to four finishes of 29^th or worse, including a 43^rd and 36^th in the first five events of the season. In Stewart’s most recent title run he was 14^th in points after 8 races. In fact, in 2005, Stewart finished 17^th or worse in five of the first eight races, and had a four race stretch where he didn’t even lead a lap. The fact that Stewart has gotten off to such a strong start this year just sends shivers through the spines of every owner, crew chief, and driver not affiliated with the Gibbs operation.

In summary, there have been five races thus far in the 2007 season. Tony Stewart has had a car capable of winning four of them, and in two of them, had hands down the best racecar on the track, all day. The only race he never really threatened to win (Las Vegas); he still finished in the top ten. When you are a threat to win in 80 percent of the races you enter, and flat-out dominate two of the five, you’ve served notice to the garage that the championship trophy goes through your pit stall and your transporter. When that number 20 Home Depot Chevrolet (Impala or Monte Carlo) rolls of the truck everyone in the garage knows that his car is the one to beat, and that if they have any championship aspirations they are going to have to beat him every week, or continue to hope for the bad luck that has befelled them early in the season. It's not likely this luck will continue throughout the year, so teams are going to have man up and beat Stewart and "Zippy". That’s no small order.

You can contact Ben at bengunby@speedwaymedia.com

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