As Tony Stewart prepares for his final NASCAR Sprint Cup start with Joe Gibbs Racing, we’re reflecting on the Top 5 moments of his NASCAR career. Each day at noon, we are counting down Smoke’s greatest Cup Series moments leading into Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
No. 2: Red-hot Smoke captures second Cup title
Tony Stewart’s run to the 2005 Nextel Cup championship featured a red-hot mid-season run. During a seven-race stretch that began on the winding road course of Infineon Raceway, Stewart won five races and cemented his place atop the standings.
Following his Infineon win, Stewart won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona – his first restrictor plate win in a points race – and then claimed the checkered flag at New Hampshire, Indianapolis at Watkins Glen. Smoke didn’t win a Chase race that year, but finished three of them in second place. It was truly a season to remember for Smoke, who fattened his bank account with more than $13 million in prize money.
(Click here for a Tony Stewart photo gallery stocked with more than 100 photos!)
Tony Stewart Top 5 Recap
No. 5 — click here
No. 4 — click here
No. 3 — click here
No. 2 — click here
No. 1 — click here
Enjoy this YouTube video from 2005, as Smoke trades barbs with David Letterman.
Here’s YouTube video from the closing laps of the 2005 Pepsi 400. I loved listening to the announcers, who seem flabbergasted that Smoke climbed the Daytona fence and stepped inside the flag stand. Fun stuff indeed.