A thread I see circulating around is genuine astonishment at how well Tony Stewart is doing this year along with Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole. I can’t for the life of me figure out why there’s the least amount of surprise about this.
Stewart has since Day One exuded the quality known as “it.” Consider his résumé: dirt track stud. Indy car stud. Stock car stud the moment he moved from the Busch series to Winston Cup. Dirt car team owner stud. And based on that he was going to fall flat on his face as a Sprint Cup team owner? Yeahright.
No one, as in no one, has ever doubted Stewart’s passion. That isn’t stored in his drivers suit to be trotted out only on race weekends. He brings it into everything he does. At times it has boiled over with unfortunate results. This time, not a problem. It’s all going in the right direction.
Stewart was presented with a golden opportunity to not only own a team but also enjoy technical support from Hendrick. He grabbed it and hasn’t stopped running with it yet. Stewart brought over from Hendrick the best crew chief who at the time wasn’t working as a crew chief in the presence of Darian Grubb. He brought in the other people he wanted to populate his organization and has treated them in the same manner he wants to be treated. Namely, with respect and encouragement. Employees respond to that with their best effort. The results speak for themselves.
It’s not a surprise Smoke is atop the points standings. It wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if he was there after Homestead. The only surprise would be if people were still surprised by then.
Stewart’s got “it.” And he’s not giving “it” up anytime soon.
He sure enjoys going to work these days!