Confidence wavering, Stewart mired in the worst slump of career
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SONOMA, Calif. — Tony Stewart spent a rare week off traveling across Ohio as the hands-on owner of a sprint car series.
He spent time with the officials in charge of the All Star Circuit of Champions, the promoters and made sure the product was top-notch. Stewart returned to his day job refreshed and ready to get back to work with his NASCAR team.
It took just one practice session at Sonoma Raceway for Stewart’s ease to end with a resounding thud. The balance was off in the No. 14 Chevrolet — again — and his laps lagged far behind the leaders.
The three-time NASCAR champion is stuck in the worst season of his career, with no idea how to snap the slump. He’ll start seventh in today’s race on the Sonoma road course.
“If I knew what to do, I would do it,” he said. “I don’t even know what to do to fix the problem. We don’t know what the problem is.”
Stewart knows the issue isn’t SHR’s cars. Reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick is the current points leader and he and Kurt Busch have each won two races. Danica Patrick has shown speed and is higher in the standings than Stewart, her boss and co-owner of the race team.
Stewart is 26th in the points, with one top-10 finish through 15 races. He believes his issues begin with NASCAR’s current rules package but also takes responsibility for his inability to adapt to the lower horsepower and higher downforce combination.
“I would say it’s me and the package — for some reason it just doesn’t suit what I am doing,” he said. “All the cars I grew up driving had a much higher power-to-weight ratio than what we have right now. I’ve never really been good with lowhorsepower cars.
“It’s not how I’m used to making a living.”
The ongoing cycle of trying to figure out how to get comfortable in the car, to make a plan with crew chief Chad Johnston that will give him the feel he needs, has been maddening for Stewart.
Asked about his confidence, Stewart admitted he’s suffering.
“What’s that? I should Google that and see if I can find the meaning of that word,” he said. “I don’t have any confidence.”
Stewart has not, however, lost confidence in Johnston, his crew chief. Tony Stewart will start seventh in today’s ToyotaSave Mart 350.
“Every week we come here, we are optimistic we are going to have a good week. There’s not a week that I show up and don’t think I can win,” he said. “Chad shows up every week trying something different. I feel like I’m holding him back. I’m holding this whole team back.”
ALLMENDINGER ON POLE
A.J. Allmendinger, developing into a top driver on road courses, won the pole for today’s race at winding Sonoma Raceway.
Allmendinger earned the top starting spot during Saturday’s knockout qualifying with a lap 96.310 mph around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile course. It’s the first pole for JTG Daugherty Racing, which earned its first berth in NASCAR’s championship race last year when Allmendinger won on the Watkins Glen road course.
That puts pressure on Allmendinger, who knows the races at Sonoma and in August at Watkins Glen are likely his best chances to earn a spot in the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field.
The California native said he wasn’t sure how he’d feel heading into today’s race.
“I haven’t grown up very well on not putting a lot of pressure on myself,” Allmendinger said. “We knew that if we go do our job and if I do my job (Sunday), and we have solid pit stops, and we just take care of business, at the end we should give ourselves a chance. That’s all we can ask for.”
Kurt Busch will start second after his qualifying lap was interrupted when younger brother Kyle spun in turn 10 to bring out a red flag with 7:03 left in the final session. The spin also interrupted the lap for Kyle Larson, who was fastest on the day in the first round of qualifying.
Matt Kenseth qualified third and was surprised with the result after a long day of practice Friday. Kenseth has just six career top-10 finishes in 30 starts on NASCAR’s road courses.
“Yeah, we kind of overachieved,” Kenseth said about qualifying.
Kenseth was followed by Larson and five-time Sonoma winner Jeff Gordon.