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Stewart To Compete In Final Race For JGR At Miami Speedway
The familiar orange and white racecar came to a stop in the garage area, and for the longest time, Tony Stewart sat inside, helmet on, not moving. Was he savoring his final ride in the No. 20 machine with which he had become synonymous? Was he struggling to control his emotions following his last start with Joe Gibbs Racing?
“The biggest thing to me was that we went out on a night where we were competitive,” Stewart said. “Everybody knew we were here. They knew we were one of the fastest teams out here. We did what we needed to do.”
It was the end of a relationship that began when team owner Joe Gibbs brought Stewart to NASCAR from the IndyCar Series in 1996. The crowd at Homestead-Miami flipped colored cards in the grandstand to commemorate Stewart’s tenure with the Gibbs team, and his car featured an array of banners on the hood—one for each of his 33 career wins. When he finally emerged from his No. 20 Camry after the race, he traded emotional hugs with crewmen who over time had become close friends.
“I’m leaving a group of guys I’m used to working with 38 weeks a year for 10 years. It’s always hard to do that,” he said. “I guess if we didn’t all like each other, it would make it all a lot easier to be where we are right now. But when you like the group of guys you’re working with and you always have, it makes nights like [Sunday night] even harder.”
“I’m excited about what I’ve got going for next year, but I’m not excited about not being here,” he said. “It’s hard. These guys are my family. When you’ve been with a group of guys for 10 years and a sponsor for 10 years, it’s a long time.”
Before the race, Stewart’s sponsor, The Home Depot, arranged for fans along the frontstretch to turn over cards, creating a farewell message reading “Thanks Tony for 10 Great Years.”
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