"I miss my relationship with Larry" - Tony Stewart fondly recalls his late IndyCar godfather

On the 25th anniversary of Tony Stewart Racing, racing legend Tony Stewart has opened up about missing his late IndyCar mentor Larry Curry, who gave him his first major driver contract. In 1996, ahead of the inaugural season of the Indy Racing League (IndyCar's predecessor), Stewart was called to test for Team Menard. Larry Curry, who passed away in May 2020, was the team's manager then.

The Indiana native's "unbelievable" pace blew Curry away, as Stewart was quicker than other, more experienced drivers such as Eddie Cheever and Scott Brayton. On the same day, Curry spoke with team owner John Menard, and a deal was finalized.

In his second IRL season in 1997, Tony Stewart repaid the team's faith and won the closely contested championship by six points. Speaking to journalist Bruce Martin on the latest episode of the Pit Pass Indy podcast, the 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champ reflected on his IndyCar career. "Smoke" made a special mention of Curry's contribution to his career and personal life.

"I miss it. I miss driving the cars. Obviously, we lost Larry Curry years ago and I miss my relationship with Larry. Larry and I had a friendship that expanded way beyond the racetrack. I really enjoyed learning the IndyCar side from him and what we were able to accomplish in three short years together was pretty remarkable," Stewart said [12:10 onwards]

Tony Stewart had created a splash in his very first season in the IRL. He took pole position for the Indy 500, the biggest race on the calendar. On race day, he was equally impressive, leading 44 laps. However, a mechanical failure led to a DNF. The Indiana native unfortunately could never win the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing" - something that he considers an unfulfilled dream.

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Larry Curry changed Tony Stewart's life by pushing him to quit IndyCar and accept Joe Gibbs' NASCAR offer

Gatorade Duel 1 - Source: Getty

Between 1996 and 1998, Tony Stewart excelled in the IRL and the NASCAR Xfinity series. In 1998, he drove in the Xfinity series part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing. His performance impressed team owner Joe Gibbs, who offered him a top Cup Series seat with the team for the 1999 season.

However, Stewart wasn't mentally done with IndyCar. He wanted more success in the open-wheel category. It was his mentor Larry Curry who stepped in and had a conversation. Instead of holding him back with Team Menard, Curry encouraged his driver to choose the better option, which would've been the NASCAR Cup Series seat.

"Tony and I went out in the hallway," Curry said, narrating the story to IndyCar in 2016. "At that point in time, Tony didn’t really want to do it (NASCAR). He wanted to stay in Indy cars. It’s like I told him, it was one of the hardest things I think I’ve ever had to say: 'Tony, you’re the absolute best driver I’ve ever had in an Indy car. I certainly hate to see you go and do something else. But as your friend, I’m telling you, you go do that and you’ll set yourself up for life.'"

Curry also explained how John Menard's reluctance to match Joe Gibbs' offer led Stewart to make the switch to NASCAR.

"Tony asked me to call John (Menard) and see if John would match the offer. If he matched it, I believe Tony would have stayed. But John didn’t match it," he added.

The rest is history. Tony Stewart won two NASCAR Cup Series championships with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2002 and 2005. He added a third to the list in 2011 with Stewart-Haas Racing, a team he co-owned.