Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Smoke will rise at Richmond International Raceway this weekend for the Toyota Owners 400, as Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Stewart–Haas Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy Chevrolet, returns to the race car after an off-season injury forced him to miss the beginning of the NASCAR season.
The Columbus, Indiana native has been cleared by his doctors after missing eight races after he suffered a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra while riding an all-terrain vehicle in January. Stewart required surgery and months of a rehabilitation regimen.
The return is significant for the veteran as at the end of last year season, he announced that this would be his final year as he will be retiring at the end of the 2016 season. Despite missing the first eight races this year, he has stated that he’s sticking to the plans originally announced.
“As soon as the doctors said they were happy with my scans, I wasn’t going to wait any longer to get back in my racecar,” he said. “I want to make the most of my last season in Sprint Cup, and I’ve been on the sidelines long enough.”
Following the Richmond race he will participate in a Goodyear tire test April 26-27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the Geico 500, at Talladega Superspeedway next month, Stewart will practice and qualify the No. 14 Bass Pro Shop/Tracker Boats Chevrolet. He will only start the race before yielding the car to Ty Dillon, who was splitting substituting driving duties this year with Brian Vickers.
“We’re taking a strategic approach to my return,” he said. “Richmond is a track where I feel very comfortable and because it’s a short track the speeds are substantially less.
“The Goodyear test in Indy is sort of a controlled environment, allowing me to get more acclimated with my car at higher speeds. We’ll start the Talladega race to get points, but understanding the style of racing and higher potential of getting involved in an incident, we thought it was best to minimize the amount of time I’m in the car. I’ll return full-time at Kansas (Speedway) and enjoy every moment I can in my final year of Sprint Cup”
NASCAR announced that Stewart has been granted a waiver to be eligible to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He must be in the top-30 in points and win at least one race.
“NASCAR received the appropriate medical clearance documentation allowing Tony Stewart to resume normal racing activities,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “We also have granted the request from Stewart-Haas Racing for a waiver for Tony to be eligible to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. As he begins his final season, we wish Tony the best of luck.”
He feels the best healing will come this weekend once he is in the car and back racing.
“I appreciate everyone’s patience and all the support they’ve given me the last couple of months, but the best medicine will come this weekend at Richmond when I finally get to go racing.” He said
In 33 starts at the Virginia track, he has 19 top-10, 11-top-five, four second places finishes, and three wins. He will be looking to add to these numbers again this weekend.
The Toyota Owners 400 runs on Sunday April 24th.
