Wednesday, May 19, 2010

What's Wrong With Tony Stewart ???


in a word- NOTHING!!!!

I know, I know. After what can easily be called a stellar first season as an owner/driver, Tony hasn't won a race this season. Prior to his 9th place finish at Dover, he finished out of the top 10 in several races. So what?

Joey Logano hasn't won a race this season. His teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have both won races this season(3 and 2 respectively); yet, no one is asking if there's anything wrong with the #20 team.

But Joey Logano is not Tony Stewart you say. Fair enough. What about Mark Martin? He drives for the juggernaut that is Hendrick Motorsports. He hasn't won a race this year either. In the last three races he's finished 25th, 16th, and 15th, but no one is writing off his 2010 season.

So why do the same with Tony Stewart?

It is common knowledge in NASCAR circles that Tony Stewart comes on strong in the summer months, and that during the spring months, he sometimes struggles. In fact, I've even blogged about what could be done to improve Tony's spring performance(read here).

In 2005, the media was ready to write off the entire JGR organization heading into Memorial Day weekend. Tony had gone through a streak of races plagued with bad luck- a loose wheel at Martinsville, the car catching fire at Texas. Yet, over the summer months, Tony put together a string of 5 wins over 7 races that helped vault him to the 2005 Cup Championship.

So, am I worried about what's wrong with Tony Stewart? Not in the least. It's springtime in NASCAR- the media speculating about what's wrong with Tony is as predictable as the sun setting in the west.

17 comments:

  1. How's the beagle?

    If I didn't miscount(entirely possible) I'd say there have been 12 points races this year won by 7 different drivers. So... If there are let's say 45 drivers that compete for rides in the Sprint Cup Series, then 38 of them are winless in 2010. So 84% of all the drivers are without a win this season. So are all of them worthless or something? No. Opportunity just hasn't come knocking!

    Like you say, Smoke will come around.

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  2. The canine correspondent is absolutely correct. . Most fans know that Tony is a second half driver.

    I really hadn't noticed a lot of stories wondering about Smoke.... not compared to the glut of Dale Jr posts this week.

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  3. I have the perfect solution. Lay off the Burger King Whoppers.

    Considering the top teams in NASCAR are with in mili seconds of each other in time trials, logic dictates some in that top tier are going to be behind the milisecond faster cars. Perhaps even in the tenth to fifteenth places.

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  4. Hey SB!

    I posted a comment a little earlier, but it's gone. I try again.

    Let's look at the numbers, shall we? There have been 12 points races so far this season. 7 drivers have been in the winner's circle. If there are 45 potential drivers vying for rides in Sprint Cup racing that means that 16% of the drivers have won a race in 2010 and 84% have not. Are they all worthless or something? No. They just haven't had opportunity knock yet.

    With Smokes' history he'll be just fine.

    Have you heard anything about Tony cancelling on going to the HOF festivities on the 23rd?

    Thanks SB!

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  5. Uh... Ryan Newman hasn't won either. Not the time for desperation though. Summer is Tony's hot season, and Ryan may ride his coat tails.

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  6. Well. it appears that blogspot has the comments issue resolved (fingers crossed).

    Dwindy- The Beagle is doing great. You make an excellent point. With a few exceptions (and you people know who you are), every driver and crew is out there doing their absolute best; however, on any given day, someone else's absolute best may be better.

    Thanks for stopping by,

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  7. Thanks, Annette. Just something we Tony fans have to suffer through every spring,

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  8. Hanny-

    I've heard the talking heads at FOX mention it, and seen a few articles on NASCAR.com.

    As for Dale Jr., if he ever gets it together, what will the Nation have left to complain about :o)?

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  9. photo-

    see my response to dwindy. As for the Whoppers, maybe Kristen can suggest that to him at Sonoma :o).

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  10. I can see all your comments SB! Hopefully its fixed - darn glitches...

    So whats wrong with Smoke - ah let me count the ways! LOL I'd say nothing YET but even Smoke appears a bit flustered and has never had in his entire career 6 races outside the top 15. Something is amiss but he might be able to correct the ship before anyone notices.

    And yea, whats up with Smoke being "too busy" to attend ANY of the HOF ceremonies? As a former champ, that is pretty unbecoming...

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  11. I can tell him to lay off the Whoppers but I thought I was supposed to bring him some cookies?!?!?

    =P

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  12. CR-

    What planet have you been living on? :o) Ryan WON this year at Phoenix.

    It's like Dean Wormer says in Amimal House- "Every Halloween, the trees are filled with toilet paper; every spring the toilets explode." In spring, you can always count on someone in the media to ask what's wrong with Tony.

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  13. maybe Tony and Marcos broke some mirrors or something in the offseason?

    we'll find out in a few weeks when we hit the road courses since I expect both guys to be battling up front :)

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  14. Ahhh, no wonder I haven't heard much about it. I don't visit NASCAR.com... and I tend to tune out the moronic mutterings of the Fauxheads..lol

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  15. Kristen-

    The cookies are for JJ! Just make sure you get the right brand of "chocolate"(you know, the kind that comes from the drug store). If you'd rather, a big bunch of brownies with the same brand of "chocolate" would work just as well.

    :o)

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  16. Tez-

    I don't know. Tony was racing in Australia during the off season.

    I expect all the usual suspects to run strong at Sonoma- Tony, Jeffie, JPM, Marcos...

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