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The 2016 Toyota-Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway was an emotional Cup Series race for Tony Stewart. It was his first race win in three years, and his final one in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, there was one more person for whom this win was of tremendous value, and that was his father, Nelson Stewart.
Prior to the Sonoma victory, Stewart's last victory in the top tier stock car racing came at Dover when he won the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks on June 2, 2013. Fast forward to 2016, he was winless for three years.
As Stewart claimed the final win of his NASCAR career at Sonoma in 2016, he was over the moon. The win meant huge for him. So much so, that he was in tears. However, not before he saw his father 'sobbing'.
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Speaking about what the victory meant to him, and how he found his father reacting to it, Stewart told USA Today back in 2016:
“I hope not,” Tony Stewart said of the prospect of more tears. He then added how his father was during the time of his win, “It was embarrassing watching my father sobbing. It made me tear up when I saw him tear up after I saw the replay of the race.”
Stewart was racing for Stewart-Haas Racing, a team he co-owned alongside Gene Haas. He qualified in 10th for the Sonoma race, ahead of teammate Danica Patrick, and behind Paul Menard of Richard Childress Racing.
As the race started, he made good recoveries and went up the order. In the end, Stewart came home and took the Checkered Flag ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin and Team Penske's Joey Logano.
Tony Stewart retired from the NASCAR Cup Series that year itself, and the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead was his final race in NASCAR. After his driving days were over, the 53-year-old continued in NASCAR as a team owner.
Tony Stewart wrapped up his team ownership in NASCAR last year
At the end of the 2024 Cup Series season, Tony Stewart decided to withdraw from the NASCAR Cup Series. He was the co-owner of now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, and SHR owned four charters in the top tier of the stock car racing series.
Three SHR charters have gone to different teams, while Gene Haas has retained one charter, and rebranded SHR to the Haas Factory Team. Speaking about why SHR was closed, co-owners Stewart and Haas said in a team statement:
"It is a decision that did not come easily, nor was it made quickly. Racing is a labor-intensive, humbling sport. It requires unwavering commitment and vast resources, with a 365-day mindset to be better than everyone else. It's part of what makes success so rewarding."
"But the commitment needed to extract maximum performance while providing sustainability is incredibly demanding, and we've reached a point in our respective personal and business lives where it's time to pass the torch."
Despite his retirement or withdrawal from NASCAR as a driver or as a winner, Tony Stewart will always remain a name to reckon with. As a NASCAR Hall of Famer, he has three NASCAR Cup Series championships, 49 race wins, and 618 race participations to his name in over 18 years.
