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Tony Stewart's former associate at Stewart-Haas Racing, Jonathan Toney, revealed the iconic sequences that led to his dramatic Cup Series championship win in 2011. This was the first time that the NASCAR title was decided by a tiebreaker.
The 2011 Cup Series championship victory was an iconic one for Stewart. He broke Jimmie Johnson's record-setting five-year championship win streak and extraordinarily clinched the title. The title showdown between him and Carl Edwards was dramatic, as it felt for most of the race that the latter would win.
However, Tony Stewart was able to make incredible passes throughout the race to clinch the victory. He had remained confident throughout the weekend, as Jonathan Toney shared in Victory Lane with Davey Segal:
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"Tony was looking at the time sheet [after the practice session], you know, the lap times, and he folded it up, and he said, 'well, we got them whooped.' I don't know what he saw that made him say that, or what made him, that was just his confidence."
The confidence Stewart carried that day defied his performance on the track. He had to come in multiple times for pitting but made heroic passes throughout the Homestead-Miami Speedway, showcasing dominance over other drivers. Despite having to come into the pits and face a bad pit stop, Stewart was confident that he would pass the entire field once again.
"And then we went into the race, and of course got the piece off of one of the Penske cars [that] went through the grill, we had to fix that, went back and forth, and had a bad pit stop. He came on the radio and said, 'well, they're going to feel really bad when we drive through the field for the third time, right?' And so I think just that confidence, you know, we ran long," he added.
Why was Tony Stewart's 2011 title win so iconic?
The year 2011 marked Tony Stewart's last Cup Series championship win. While he had remained a consistent driver, he did not win any races during the regular season. He got into the playoffs solely based on points, but it was then when his performance fired up.
The 10-race playoffs saw him clinch victory in five races (including the final win at Homestead). He got into the race at a tiebreaker with Carl Edwards, who had remained the favorite of the season. He had to win the race to capture the title, but it didn't look like it was happening. He had to restart at the back of the grid twice because of pit stop issues but was able to make his way through the field multiple times and clinched the victory.
This was an impressive feat for Tony Stewart, who continued racing in the Cup Series until the end of the 2016 season. He was the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing until the end of the 2024 season, after which the team ceased operations.
