Stewart models his entire career after childhood hero A.J. Foyt

[Schwartz Fan]

Stewart models his entire career after childhood hero A.J. Foyt

By David Newton
ESPN.com


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Stewart's face lights up at the mention of A.J. Foyt.


Stewart has idolized Foyt since before he began racing go-karts around his Columbus, Ind., home at the age of 7. His first name, Anthony, was given to him in honor of Foyt -- Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. His first Indy Racing League ride was provided to him by Foyt.


He's modeled his entire career after arguably the most versatile driver in the history of motorsports, the only person to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans.


Some might argue he even modeled his demeanor with the media, fellow competitors and sanctioning body after Foyt, a tempestuous, short-fused perfectionist.


"I had a lot of trouble with the media," Foyt once said. "I remember one of our PR guys when I first started said, 'You won't amount to nothing if you don't do all this and that.'



"We kind of got into it and I said, 'Who cares? You can say whatever you want about me -- good or bad -- but if I win the race you do have to spell the name right. That's kind of been my motto all my life."


So when it came time for Stewart to vote for ESPN.com's "Top 25 Drivers of All Time," he didn't hesitate to put his hero at No. 1.


"That was easy for me," Stewart said. "You check the record books and look at what A.J. Foyt did in all forms of racing. Whether it was NASCAR, Indy cars, sports cars, Sprint cars, Midget racing -- he won in everything.


"That's why for sure I always put A.J. on top."


Most in the voting panel that included top drivers and writers who cover motorsports also included Stewart high on their list. He ranked 16th, ahead of three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser.


"Tony Stewart, in my eyes, is the greatest race car driver I've watched drive in this era," Mark Martin said after Stewart won his second Sprint Cup title in 2005. "A.J. Foyt might have been that when I was a little boy, but Tony Stewart is my driving hero."


Others also speak of Stewart in the same breath as Foyt.


"Stewart has a lot of the demeanor that A.J. has," Jay Signore, the president of the now-defunct International Race of Champions, once said. "It's kind of neat when you see Tony at the short track with Danny Lasoski working on the car and changing gears. I remember seeing A.J. doing a lot of that same stuff through the years."


Stewart is flattered, but he doesn't begin to put himself on the same level as the first driver to win the Indy 500 four times.


"He was able to do what nobody else could," Stewart said. "You could put him in any kind of a race car and he could be fast and competitive and win."


Foyt won seven USAC championships and 87 races in Indy cars. He won three USAC stock car titles and 159 career USAC-sanctioned races. He won seven Cup races, including the 1972 Daytona 500. He won a USAC dirt car title and the 24-hour endurance races at Daytona and Le Mans.


But Stewart's admiration for Foyt goes beyond winning.


"I remember the year at Indy when he got out of his car and beat on it and got back into the race," he recalled. "He had no shot at winning, but by god he got out there and got back after it.


"You've got to have a lot of confidence in what you just did on an Indy car, to beat on it with a hammer and trust it and get back out there and race and finish. That was pretty special to me."


Stewart's career, short of a victory in the Indy 500, mirrors Foyt's. He's won an IRL title, two Cup titles and four USAC titles, including an unprecedented sweep of the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget titles in 1995.


"Tony is a great driver," said Felix Sabates, the minority owner of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. "The guy can drive anything."


Stewart's off-the-track demeanor that has included numerous run-ins with the media, competitors and NASCAR also mirrors Foyt's career.


"I respect him for that," Foyt once said of Stewart. "If you're a champion, you're a champion. If you're a good race driver, you're a good race driver. I don't think you have to go around and kiss everybody's butt just because you won the championship. I never did and I don't see him doing it."


J.D. Gibbs, the president of Joe Gibbs Racing, knew Stewart was special before he and his dad lured the driver into a Cup car full-time in 1999.


"He had an opportunity to go to Cup racing in 1997 and make a ton of money," Gibbs said. "He said, 'I'm not ready. I'm not going to do that now.' As good as he is, he wants to fit in. He doesn't want to come in here and be a guy that runs around the back."


Foyt wasn't that kind of guy either, which is why Stewart admired him so much and voted him No. 1.


"The older I've gotten and the more I've gotten to know him, the more you respect him for what he was able to accomplish," Stewart said. "You put him in his prime right now, and he'd be driving every one of us for our money every week."

ESPN - Stewart models his entire career after childhood hero A.J. Foyt - Racing

[revvinjim]

It's always great to read something positive about my favorite driver. I was a Foyt fan, myself, when I was young. I wonder if that had something to do with me going to Smoke after Dale Earnhardt died?