Where will Tony Stewart fans turn?
With their No. 1 driver retiring, many plan to root for Larson
Tony Stewart is about to begin the final laps of his NASCAR career, a 10-week push in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in which he’ll be focused on winning a fourth championship.
Stewart has said several times he’s looking forward to the next chapter — a break from the weekly grind, plus returning to his passion: sprint car races.
But for Stewart’s faithful army of NASCAR fans, 2017 will be a very strange experience.
So what’s next for them? USA TODAY Sports’ online survey of nearly 250 fans who said Stewart was their favorite NASCAR driver revealed the majority of them, 70%, already had decided which driver would earn their loyalty starting in 2017.
And of those who said they’d made up their minds, Kyle Larson was the top choice (picked by 24%), followed by Kevin Harvick (18%), who drives for Stewart’s race team, and Chase Elliott (13%).
“Tony means a lot to me, and his racing background is pretty much the path I followed the most,” Larson told USA TODAY Sports when informed of the survey results. “So for fans to say I’m their guy once he’s gone is really cool.”
It’s fitting many Stewart fans have opted to start rooting for Larson, because Stewart was one of those who hyped the driver’s talent from the start. Three years ago, Stewart was asked if Larson reminded him of himself, and Stewart said Larson was even better.
His fans certainly paid attention to that comment.
“He best emulates Tony’s career path: a dirt driver who came from nearly nothing to become a Sprint Cup competitor, all without his parents’ pocketbook,” said Cody Nigh, a 22-year-old from California.
Larson isn’t as much of a character as Stewart and is more reserved but can be wickedly funny and sharply opinionated, just to a lesser degree publicly than Stewart.
Still, fans have picked up on those traits.
“As might be expected from a Stewart fan, I like my drivers with a big personality,” said Jacob Fisher of Salisbury, N.C. “Guys like Stewart and Larson will not hesitate to make their opinions known — good, bad or otherwise. Sometimes it results in an embarrassing expletive. Other times it leads to a hilarious quip. It’s certainly not boring.”
Larson laughed when told some fans said they liked his opinions in addition to his driving.
“You’ve got to speak your opinion every now and then, but I feel like I pick and choose my bat- tles maybe a little more than Tony does,” Larson said, chuckling. “I don’t want to get called to the NASCAR hauler as often as he has in his career. Maybe as my career and stats get better, I can voice my opinion a little more.”
Stewart’s fans are a loyal bunch who have stuck with him for years. One-third of them said they had rooted for the driver since his IndyCar days, some even dating to USAC, while an additional 56% said they had been Stewart supporters for more than a decade.
Only 11% said they had cheered for him for fewer than 10 years, and it’s worth noting some of those were teenagers who said they’d been life-long Stewart fans.
That intense commitment is why many Stewart fans have decided to continue to root for him, just as a team owner instead of a driver. In addition to the 18% who said they would be Harvick supporters next season, 6% chose Stewart successor Clint Bowyer and 5% said they would root for all Stewart-Haas Racing drivers.
“Technically, I’m still rooting for Tony that way,” said a fan named Billy, who did not give his last name.
Seventeen drivers were mentioned in the survey, with picks ranging from veterans (Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards) to youngsters not yet in Sprint Cup (Erik Jones, Darrell Wallace Jr.).
Fans were split on whether they wanted to root for a younger driver or an established star, though many said they wanted to find a driver whose career they could follow from the early days like they did for Stewart. But even those who hadn’t decided on their next favorite agreed they were looking for some of the same characteristics Stewart displayed over the years.
The most-cited traits were being able to drive the wheels off the car (many fans used that exact phrasing), speaking their mind and having a colorful personality.
In that sense, some fans were led to unexpected picks such as Brad Keselowski (6% chose him as their new favorite).
“There’s no doubt (Stewart) has been in the wrong many times, but the straight talk he gives to combat what he believes is wrong — and support the things he believes are right — more than makes up for it,” said Liam Morast, who is leaning toward Keselowski. “I’m looking for a driver that does exactly that. While not all series can have an A.J. Foyt or Tony Stewart at their highest level, fighting for what’s right, we can have a new generation that can maybe grow their own driver that can fill the shadows of drivers past.”
But a small percentage of fans, 5%, didn’t see anyone like that in NASCAR. Once Stewart leaves, they said, they will never root for another driver in the same way. A few even said they no longer would watch NASCAR (3%).
“No one else could come close to Tony with his personality, grit and his ability behind the wheel,” said Nena Glass, 28. “A favorite driver becomes family, and in this case it’s like that family member is moving far away. You know you won’t see them as often and things will never be the same.”