Tony Stewart enjoying new role as car owner
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tony Stewart can show up late, leave early or not even attend NASCAR practices these days. It’s one of the perks of his pseudo retirement. Stewart is at Daytona International Speedway solely as a team owner for the first time in his career. And he’s enjoying it. “I’ll be honest, it’s been kind of nice,” Stewart said Saturday. “Really, the only drama I’ve had so far is Roger (Penske) picking at me on the color of shirt I wear. ... If all I’ve got to worry about is my shirt color, I’ve got it made right now.” Stewart stepped away from fulltime racing at the end of last season, calling it quits after 18 years, 49 wins, three Cup Series championships and more than $125 million in prize money. He’s now co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, which fields cars for Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer. But he also plans to race 70 sprint car events at dirt tracks across the country. It sounded like he planned to cut back earlier this month after a disappointing showing in the season opener of the All Star Circuit of Champions, a series Stewart owns. But he said that was never the case. “No, I’m still gonna run just as many,” Stewart said. “I cut back last week, but we’ve been racing this week and we’re gonna stick to our schedule. So we’re full steam ahead.” Getting back on a paved track might not be out of the question, either. Stewart, also the 1997 Indy Racing League champion, made it clear Saturday that he would love to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s the oldest sports car race still being run and the most prestigious. Ford made a triumphant return to Le Mans last year with its famed Ford GT car and won its class. And Stewart, who helped SHR make the manufacturer move from Chevrolet to Ford in the offseason, would welcome a spot on Chip Ganassi Racing’s team that spearheads Ford’s sports car program. Stewart also noted that Raj Nair, Ford’s chief technical officer, jokingly looked away when Le Mans was mentioned. “Le Mans is something that’s a bucket list item for me,” Stewart said. “The thing about running the GT cars, that’s probably the toughest division to run both Daytona and Le Mans, and I’ve talked to a couple guys that do that. There’s so much more than just trying to drive a fast lap.”