Stewart Closes Another Chapter
Assistant Editor
Tony Stewart will close out another chapter of his success with Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend when he makes his final NASCAR Nationwide Series start with the team driving a specially painted car in the CARFAX 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
Although Saturday will be Stewart's last Nationwide ride with the No. 20 Nationwide team, he leaves after establishing quite a record with the team.
During his nine-year career driving for JGR, Stewart brought the team seven wins, 24 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes, and six pole awards. This season alone, Stewart has five wins, two poles, and 501 laps led in just eight races.
"When you can win five out of eight races with an organization, that in itself, is impressive. Just to be part of a record breaking year for the organization is something that I'm really proud of," Stewart said.
If Stewart pulls off the win, he will go out with a bang by scoring his first Nationwide win at Michigan (in four starts).
"I've never won a Nationwide race at Michigan. We should've won the first two that I ran there," Stewart said. "The first year with Dale Jr. in his car (2003), we dominated it (led 86 laps) and got caught out by weather at the end and didn't even finish in the top-10 because of rain.
"Ever since then, every time we go to Michigan, I feel like I've got something to prove. I feel like I have a win that I let slip through my fingers that I want to capitalize on."
While Stewart attempts to take his first Nationwide victory at Michigan, he'll be piloting a paint scheme featuring something near and dear to his heart.
Stewart will trade in the traditional candy apple red colors of primary sponsor Old Spice on his No. 20 Toyota for a kaleidoscope of colors to showcase the charity Give Kids The World.
Give Kids the World is a program that provides children with life-threatening illnesses and their families with a weeklong vacation at no cost. Accommodations are made at the Give Kids The World Village, a 70-acre, non-profit resort where families can stay in two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas.
The car Stewart will be driving was designed by Emily Marsala, a 14-year-old cancer survivor from Cincinnati who visited Give Kids the World in Florida during her treatment. She, along with her family will be at the race as the team's guests.
Thanks to supporters like Joe Gibbs Racing, Old Spice, Procter & Gamble and the Tony Stewart Foundation, Give Kids the World has welcomed over 88,000 families from all 50 states and more than 65 counties.
Known as "a tough guy" around the NASCAR circuit, Stewart's special paint scheme might make him unrecognizable on the track Saturday.
"The car will give me some good camouflage during the race, because with a purple, blue, yellow and red race car that has a bunny rabbit on the hood, no one will know that it's me getting ready to pass them," Stewart said.
"It's my last race with the team, and I want to go out on top – for me and for Emily and her parents."
RacingOne - Nascar Racing: Auto Racing, Nascar News, Racing News, Nascar Online, Nascar 2008, Nascar Drivers, Nascar, Racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson