Stewart fans disappointed at missed 500,
Injured driver’s fans lament he’ll miss his final 500
BEACH, FLA. Tony DAYTONA Stewart might be watching the Daytona 500 from home in North Carolina, but his fan base is making a strong showing here.
They’re scattered across the grandstands and the infield at Daytona International Speedway, wearing No. 14 shirts and caps and flying Stewart banners. They came to see his last shot at winning the Daytona 500, and his absence has spread more than a little disappointment.
“I had counted on watching him race here for the last time,” said Julie Chaffin, a lawyer from Jackson, Miss. “I’m still a race fan and I like racing in general and I’d still come to the race, but I’m disappointed he won’t be in it.”
Chaffin, relaxing in the infield fan zone in a bright red Stewart T-shirt, said the disappointment hit when she heard about the Jan. 31 accident that sidelined Stewart indefinitely.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Damn it, Tony, what the hell were you thinking?’ ” she told USA TODAY Sports. “Everybody likes to have a good time, and it’s Tony being Tony, but I thought he’d think more about it with his last Daytona coming up.”
There didn’t appear to be a rush on Stewart apparel at the souvenir shops at the track, but NASCAR expects Stewart sales to follow the same trend as Jeff Gordon’s in 2015, his final season.
“Tony has always been a topfive driver (in souvenir sales), and we certainly expect there to be a lift when he comes back,” Blake Davidson, NASCAR’s vice president of licensing and consumer products, told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “When Kyle Busch came back from his injuries last year, that was a catalyst for his sales. And a driver’s retirement year usually is big. Jeff Gordon’s sales were up 100% last year over the previous year.”
Davidson said he didn’t have numbers from Stewart souvenir sales at Daytona this month.
“It’s too early, but I’m sure he’ll do well this weekend, not as well as if he was here for his last 500 but still good,” Davidson said. “There’ll be a lot of interest when he comes back, and I’m sure we’ll see spikes in sales at places like the Brickyard (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) where there’s a built-in interest.”
In the heart of the Daytona infield sits a motor home with a huge banner across the roof. It reads, “Smoke will rise … again! We love you buddy.”
The sign is owned by former drag racer Darrell Gwynn, one of Stewart’s closest friends. Gwynn has been involved in charity work since his racing career ended after a horrific crash in April 1990, and Stewart has been a participant in many of Gwynn’s fundraising efforts.
“I remember when I first came back to a racetrack after my accident and spending six months in the hospital,” Gwynn told USA TODAY Sports. “Signs and banners were everywhere welcoming me back. Airplanes were flying overhead with banners. It made me cry, made me feel like this is definitely my home and my family.
“There are a lot of people in this infield who love Tony Stewart. Everybody is so sad he’s not here. A lot of people are so sad that he’s going to miss the 500.”
Gwynn has been in a wheelchair since his accident. “People say Tony has been unlucky over the last few years, but, as I told him, he’s very lucky,” Gwynn said. “I’m certainly thankful that he and I aren’t sitting side by side in wheelchairs.”
A Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops flag flies atop the motor home owned by Ed Jackson and Pat Heller-Jackson in the Daytona infield. Residents of Ponce Inlet, south of the speedway, they also came to the track anticipating Stewart finally winning the 500.
“It’s not the same without him,” Heller-Jackson said. “We already had tickets and would come anyway, but we were looking forward to seeing him race. Hopefully, he’s back soon.”
After hearing the news about Stewart’s accident, Heller-Jackson said she thought, “What else can happen to this poor man? He’s had a rough few years. It might be time for him to retire.”
Jan Smithson of Jacksonville shopped for Stewart shirts in the shadow of the speedway’s grandstands.
“I think everybody wanted to see him win this one,” she said of Sunday’s race. “Even though he’s not here, his fans are. We’ll be pulling for someone else, but he won’t be far out of our minds. We want him back soon.”