NASCAR Cup Series

Stewart aims to end 2014 on high note with owner's title

Published Nov. 13, 2014 11:26 a.m. ET

Tom Jensen

Tony Stewart has been here before, up on the big stage prior to the season-ending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Two of Stewart’s three Sprint Cup championships, including the one he took away from Carl Edwards in 2011, were claimed in the era of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. This time, though, it’s not Stewart the driver who’s fighting for a title, it’s Stewart the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing and the No. 4 Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick.

And if Harvick could seal the deal in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead, the timing would be perfect for Stewart, who has dealt with a whirlwind of controversies and tragedies over the last 18 months:

• In August 2013, Stewart suffered a double-compound fracture of his right leg in a sprint car crash in Iowa, an injury he’s still not fully recovered from.

• While Stewart was still in the hospital, his partner Gene Haas hired Kurt Busch and started a fourth SHR car without Stewart’s advance knowledge or approval.

• In August of this year, Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. in a sprint car crash in upstate New York. Although exonerated of any wrongdoing in the accident, the incident was deeply traumatizing for Stewart, who sat out three Sprint Cup races and had to endure a lengthy police investigation into the crash.

• And just last week Busch’s former girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, accused Busch of domestic assault. Police in Dover, Delaware, confirmed the case is under investigation, though at press time, no charges had been filed.

With all the distractions, it’s a wonder that in his first year with SHR that Harvick is the clear-cut championship favorite.

Without question, a Harvick championship would make the turmoil of the last 18 months easier to swallow for Stewart.

Stewart, who represented SHR at the champion’s press conference Wednesday night at the Trump National Doral Miami, downplayed his emotions about what he’s been through.

“I think we've separated it in all honesty,” Stewart said, referring to the off-track news and the on-track performance. “When it comes to the business side of it and running four teams, I mean, you have to stay focused on what you're doing. It's not — this weekend doesn't have anything to do with me as a person, it's about what Gene Haas and the entire organization has been able to do and what an accomplishment it's been for Kevin and (crew chief) Rodney Childers and this whole team.

“I think we've just done a really good job of trying to separate it and stay focused on the task at hand,” said Stewart. “There's other people that we're responsible for that the personal side for me, it doesn't matter. It's my job to make sure I'm doing everything we can to give those guys an opportunity to be in this position, and that's what we've done with Kevin this year.”

Stewart and Harvick have a unique relationship dating back more than a decade. Long before they were teammates, they were close friends and when Harvick and wife DeLana had their own NASCAR Nationwide Series team, Stewart frequently drove for them.

So a Harvick victory would carry a certain element of emotional weight to it.

“Obviously, everybody knows everything that Tony has had to go through this year and last year, and to be able to try to put the end of the story and put something really good on top of everything that Tony has had going on with everything in his life would be really neat for me personally,” said Harvick.

So Stewart has a chance for another title as an owner to go with the one he earned in 2011. And he is definitely ready to see Harvick win.

“To be a part of this opportunity with him is what I'm most proud of,” Stewart said of Harvick. “No matter what happens on Sunday, just the work and the journey to get to this point is what really I'm proud of. But trust me, I'll be one of the first ones down there if we are able to accomplish our goal on Sunday. It would be great to be a part of it with him as a friend.”