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Tony Stewart retired from the NASCAR Cup Series championship at the end of the 2016 season. However, rumors started circling in the NASCAR world that Stewart's retirement was imminent following the issues he suffered with his leg after the crash in 2013.
The three-time Cup Series champion came out to set the record straight about his retirement and NASCAR plans. Tony Stewart said (via New York Times) in September 2015:
“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.”
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Tony Stewart was involved in the incident that led to Kevin Ward Jr.'s death during a Sprint Race in 2014.
Ward veered onto the track after being forced wide and into the wall by Stewart's car. As Kevin tried to confront Tony on track, he was hit by the three-time NASCAR champion’s sprint car and was flung across the track, eventually leading to his death.
Many believed that this incident and the leg injury from the 2013 crash were the reasons behind Tony Stewart's retirement. However, he suggested that it had nothing to do with 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.”
Tony Stewart won a championship in IndyCar and three championships in the NASCAR Cup series during his racing career. He raced in the Sprint Cars and owns a dirt track in Ohio, the Eldora Speedway.
Stewart left JGR at the end of the 2008 season and joined Haas CNC Racing. However, with Tony Stewart owning 59% of the shares, the team was renamed Stewart-Haas Racing.
SHR announced its dissolution after the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Front Row Motorsports buys Charter from Tony Stewart's NASCAR team
Stewart Haas Racing's dissolution was announced early during the 2024 NASCAR season. Front Row Motorsports approached SHR with an interest in buying a charter.
The team already had two chartered entries and wanted to expand to three. SHR had a total of four charters, out of which one was kept by Gene Haas, and the other three going up for sale.
On Jan. 2, 2025, it was announced that Front Row Motorsports had acquired one of the SHR charters that was up for sale.
FRM was in a legal battle with NASCAR that prevented the transaction of the SHR charter from going through. The team was granted a preliminary injunction on Dec. 18, 2024, as the lawsuit continued, and the charter transfer successfully happened a few weeks later.
Tony Stewart's team’s remaining charters are still available for grabs with 23XI reported as the key contender for the same.
