Prelude To The Dream Takes Stewart’s Mind Off Troubles
Written by Rocky Kitts · June 3, 2008
It’s not been the greatest year in the world for Tony Stewart. It would be one thing if Smoke was struggling behind the wheel; but his driving isn’t the issue. Stewart has had a string of bad luck that makes you wonder if Kyle Busch has a Stewart voodoo doll that he’s using to make his teammate’s life miserable. I have no trouble picturing Kyle with a fake evil mustache, plotting Tony’s destruction:
Kyle: “I’ll show him who Gibbs’ best driver is! Hahaha! And I’ll pay him back for what he did to my brother! Hehehe.”
I’m playing folks. I’m pretty sure that Busch isn’t the reason for Stewart’s problems, but since Busch seems to get blamed for everything else this season, I figured that it wasn’t much of a stretch. But, whether voodoo is involved or not, there is no doubt that so far, this season has not been kind to the 20 car. Here’s a few of Tony’s trouble’s, I can’t list them all, because I have somewhere to be two weeks from now, but here’s a few notables:
- Tony stepped right up to the controversy buffet with comments about Goodyear’s tires prior to the Atlanta race. Stewart said, “”I hate to say it, but the best thing that Goodyear does is to make that gold trophy at the end of the year. That is the one thing that they always do right. Everything from that moment on until the end of the year — it’s a crapshoot.”
- Stewart was crashed at Bristol by good friend Kevin Harvick who was attempting a pass on Stewart, but got into the 20, which resulted in a fourteenth place finish for Stewart. Notable Stewart quote, “I’m just sorry, that I got in his way” (for those of you who can’t read sarcasm, that was it).
- Talladega-wreck after leading 61 laps.
- Darlington-wrecked by Elliot Sadler two laps into the race.
- The Coca-Cola 600, where apparently, someone from Goodyear pushed the “Tony Stewart shall not win” button, and he inexplicitly blew out a tire while leading the race with only three laps to go. I hear you, Tony, Goodyear’s suck.
- Then there was Sunday at Dover, where Stewart crashed into Elliot Sadler, causing Stewart to proclaim, “It’s my fault for being even anywhere close to Elliott” (sarcasm alert).
So, when you add to all those things the fact that Stewart is only 35 points from falling out of the chase, plus all the controversy that has happened from the rumors about him leaving Gibbs, and there is no doubt that this is the summer of Stewart’s discontent.
But, starting tomorrow, Stewart will be able to let some of that bad karma go, as he helps put on the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream at Eldora. Stewart said of the event, “You get to do something different that’s no stress and it’s all about having fun.” Plus, he won’t have to shave his back this time.
The goal of the charity is to raise $1 million to give to Kyle Petty toward construction on a new camp in Kansas City for chronically ill children, and there are many other drivers who have donated their time to the event. It looks like the event will be a success as the website says that all reserved tickets to the event have been sold, although general admission tickets will still be available.
The cause is a good one, and everyone involved is to be commended for their participation. There’s enough bad news in sports that the good stuff often falls through the cracks. But we should stop and remember that for every Pac Man Jones, there are 10 athletes who give back anytime that they get a chance.
As for Stewart? Hell, Smoke doesn’t wake up until June anyways. Bad luck has a tendency of coming at once, and sooner or later Stewart’s going to have that run of races where as much goes right for him as has been going bad. Remember, he’s on the same team as the guy that’s making NASCAR his own personal go-cart track, and there shouldn’t be a big disparity in the equipment that the two of them have. The summer is starting to heat up and so will Tony. In spite of the troubles that he’s had so far, he’s been the victim of bad luck more than anything, and when it comes down to the Chase, I’ll still be more surprised if Stewart’s not there, than I will be if he is.
Sources for this post include:
The Canadian Press, NASCAR.com, and EldoraSpeedway.com
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