Gordon, Stewart Tussling One Last Time Together at Brickyard
July 22, 2016 | By Phillip B. Wilson
Tony Stewart’s Brickyard 400 farewell has also become a second Jeff Gordon goodbye.
That the NASCAR nemeses will revive their rivalry once more on Sunday had at least two of Stewart’s friends perturbed enough to send angry text messages to complain about Gordon subbing for an injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard.
“They were furious about it,” Stewart said with a smile before Friday’s opening practice session. “‘He’s stealing your thunder!’”
But “Smoke” doesn’t sound the least bit fired up. Quite the contrary, he’s ecstatic the spotlight is on the five-time Brickyard 400 winner and not him.
“Are you kidding me? Jeff Gordon is doing me the biggest favor anybody could possibly do this weekend for me,” said Stewart, a two-time Indy winner. “I’m just glad he’s back, to be perfectly honest. I’m sad that Dale Jr. is not here, but if Dale can’t be here and we know why (concussion) and we respect why he’s not here, I couldn’t be happier about the one guy who is here in his place and I’m glad I get to race with him one more time.”
Stewart, 45, is a great many things. Three-time Sprint Cup Series champion. Winner of 49 series races including the 2005 and 2007 Brickyards. A Columbus, Indiana, native proud of his Hoosier heritage. And no driver is more passionate about Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But warm and fuzzy he is most certainly not.
“You guys are going to make a lot more out of this than what I’m going to make out of it,” he said of his final Brickyard. “I literally am just coming here, in my mind, like it’s just another race and just another weekend in Indy. I’m not doing all the sentimental crying stuff you guys are thinking I’m going to be doing. I’m going to race this weekend.”
When asked how he’s blocked out the distraction of family and friends, an amused Stewart said there hasn’t been one because he doesn’t know how many will attend. It’s not his responsibility to take care of them.
“You guys can ask me all you want about how I’m feeling and I’m thinking, whatever. You’re wasting my time and your time because all I care about is driving that race car right now,” he said. “It’s probably the most focused I’ve been getting ready for a race. And it’s not amped up or anything like that. I’m just really relaxed and focused and feel good going into it, and that’s the way I need to do it.”
Gordon, whose retirement was being spent in a FOX Sports TV booth, hasn’t had the time to be relaxed. The four-time series champion with 93 career victories sounds like he’s been cramming the night before a final exam. He cut short a France vacation with wife Ingrid Vandebosch when team owner Rick Hendrick texted on the getaway’s second day.
“If I could scroll through my phone and look at the texts that I’ve gotten from Rick saying, ‘Call me,’ I can tell you that you sit down when you call him on those,” said Gordon, 44. “It hasn’t happened a lot, but the times that it has, it’s usually something pretty big.
“I get that text and kind of looked at (Vandebosch) and I said, ‘Oh boy, here we go.’ I had no idea. When Rick said to me, ‘Are you coming to Indianapolis?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I am. I’m coming on Saturday.’ And he goes, ‘Well, you better bring your uniform.’ And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’”
At first, Gordon through it was a joke.
“‘You’re messing with me. I know you’re messing with me,’” he said.
Not so. Earnhardt Jr. is recuperating from a concussion, so who better to call for Indy than the winningest driver in track history?
“This is certainly the last thing I thought was going to happen, but when I knew it was Indianapolis, I didn’t think twice about it,” Gordon said. “I felt like if there’s one place I was capable of doing it, it would be here.”
Gordon flew from France to New York City to Charlotte on Tuesday, then immediately drove to the team shop to start preparations as quickly as possible. The team had his seat and steering wheel installed from his final race last season. He’s reduced the learning curve by racing in a GM simulator and watched on-board video of his teammates during IMS testing.
Before Friday’s first practice, Stewart assured Gordon would be his old fast self in no time.
“I can promise you, getting back in the car, it will be like he never got out of a car,” Stewart said. “He’ll be fine.”
Sure enough, Stewart’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet ranked eighth on the grid. Next to him in ninth was Gordon’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Four-time Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson, who drives the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet co-owned by Gordon, was quickest in the opening session. Johnson said Gordon’s comeback shouldn’t be compared to other drivers who couldn’t quit.
“He didn’t close the door. He said if the right opportunity came along, he’d get back in,” Johnson said. “At the same time, he wasn’t like Mark Martin, where he thought he wanted to stop and then couldn’t. I think it’s great for our sport. It’s great for Hendrick Motorsports.
“To have Tony Stewart in his final (Brickyard) race, Jeff Gordon in his final race part two (smiles), it’s big time. Jeff has always been so well-supported by the fans at this racetrack. I can only imagine how loud they’re going to be for driver intros and how bonkers this place would go if he’s able to win.”
Stewart admitted he had never thought about a scenario in which he would return next year. But now that Gordon has, Stewart is open to the idea of being a 2017 replacement should the need arise.
Whereas Gordon built his brand on the No. 24 car for 23 years, he now races against it — rookie Chase Elliott took over that ride. It’s odd for Gordon to climb into a car with Earnhardt’s name over the door as well as look for the No. 88 pits instead of the No. 24.
“But mostly, I’m just thinking about Dale Jr. and what he’s going through and how tough this has been on him and this team,” Gordon said. “To have drivers get in and out of the car, they want him back and we want him back. I’m just going to be focused on doing my job the best I can and hopefully walk away from this experience with them in a good place, where I can hold my head up high about the job that I did.”
Gordon, ironically, was approached to drive for Stewart in the season-opening Daytona 500 after Stewart fractured a back vertebrae in an all-terrain vehicle accident in February. But Gordon declined due to his FOX Sports commitment. Stewart was unaware his rival had been asked.
“That probably would have been one of the coolest things to happen this season if that happened,” Stewart said. “I’d have been all for it.”
Stewart suggested Gordon owed him. It was Gordon who invited Stewart to California to have some fun driving dune buggies in the sand. Then Stewart got hurt.
“He broke my back for me,” Stewart said, smiling. “The least he could have done is drive for me. No, that would have been awesome. I wasn’t aware of that, but that would have been a really cool deal for us.”