When Tony Stewart admitted to his 'terrible' Indy-Charlotte double debut

Tony Stewart once spoke about his Indy-Charlotte double debut in 1999, which he labeled as "terrible" despite finishing in the top 10 in both races. Stewart retired as a driver from NASCAR Cup Series in 2016.

One of Stewart's biggest accomplishment was participating in the Indy-Charlotte double in 1999. He completed 1,100 miles on that specific weekend due to him participating in both Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. However, his experience of the grueling schedule wasn't the best.

Stewart participated in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 which took place on the same day in 1999. He drove for Tri-Star Motorsports at the Indy 500 where he finished in ninth place after completing 196 out of 200 laps, and finished the Coca-Cola 600 in fourth place driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Stewart spoke about this terrible Indy-Charlotte double debut in 1999 where he struggled due to the lack of physical training. While in conversation with NASCAR in May 2024, he said:

“The first year it was terrible. It was a terrible experience. I had no idea what I needed to do, nutrition-wise. I’m not a workout guy. I’m not a nutrition guy. And I realized very, very quickly that day – I learned at the end of the 500, that I had a long day ahead of me still.”

However, Stewart returned to the Indy-Charlotte double in 2001 well-prepared. Joe Gibbs provided him with a physical trainer for over three-and-a-half weeks. This resulted in him showing positive results as he finished the Indy 500 in his Chip Ganassi car in sixth place and the Coca-Cola 600 in third place with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Stewart started his racing career with go-karting. He rose to fame after winning United States Auto Club's triple crown which are National Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown. He started his NASCAR career in 1996. Stewart is one of the few drivers to win a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR.

Tony Stewart was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020. After his exit from NASCAR, Stewart owned his own racing team, Stewart-Haas Racing. However, he decided to leave the sport in 2024 and the team was dissolved at the end of last season.

Currently, he is racing in NHRA drag racing, replacing his wife, who just gave birth to their baby boy.

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Tony Stewart set the record straight about his retirement plans

The three-time NASCAR champion, Tony Stewart retired from racing in 2016. Prior to Stewart announcing his retirement plans, rumors spread around about his retirement with some even speculating the cause being his 2023 crash that led to his leg injury.

In an interview with the New York Times in September 2015, Stewart set the record straight about his retirement and said:

“This was 100 percent my decision. There was not one factor that led to this other than just I felt like it was the right time. I’m not leaving the sport I love. I’m not walking away from something I’m passionate about. I’m just changing roles, which is like just moving to a different position in a company. I’m not really retiring; I’m just changing positions,” he said.

Tony Stewart, in 2014, was involved in an incident which led to the death of the 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. Ward Jr. was an upcoming young talent at NASCAR. During a sprint car race, Ward Jr. was forced to go wide and eventually pushed into the wall by Stewart. After the caution was displayed, Ward Jr. exited his vehicle on foot to confront him about the incident. Ward was approaching Stewart's car on foot when he got hit by Tony, which sent him flying across the track eventually leading to his death.

Some believe that this incident and the 2013 incident are the main factors for his retirement but he claimed that none of those incidents influenced his decision.

“Not 1 percent of it has had anything to do with it. I mean, this is strictly what I want to do, and my leg feels fine. There’s nothing wrong with my leg. The tragedy, nothing is going to change that. It happened, but it’s not going to direct the rest of my life.”

Before he hung up his racing boots in 2016, Tony Stewart won three championships in NASCAR and one IndyCar championship.