T is for ...

TONY

When you think of people with the name Tony, some of the following names may come to mind: Tony Danza, Tony Hawk, Tony Bennett, Tony Blair or Tony Romo. Each of those Tony’s are significant in their own limelight, but rather than writing a blog on everyone that I know named Tony (which would be a lot), I decided to pick one of my favorites and write the blog on him – Tony Stewart. (Yes, some of you close to me may have thought I would’ve chosen another Tony, but we’ll save that for a later blog!).

Tony Stewart is better known in the sports arena by his nickname “Smoke”. He received that nickname when he used to drive the Home Depot number 20 car because he used to have quite the temper on and off the track. And, it is because of that temper and his past reputation that I’ve been asked a million times “Why in the world do you like Tony Stewart?” Well, the answer to that is honestly “I don’t know”. I’ve been a NASCAR fan off and on my entire life. I grew up a diehard Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan, but when he tragically passed away, I turned away from NASCAR for a few years. When I returned to the sport of NASCAR, it was hard to find a new favorite driver because the sport is not the same without Dale. The more I watched, the more Smoke began to grow on me. Usually I am highly turned off by swag and arrogance, but with Smoke, it just drew me in.

In 2010, I attended my first “official” NASCAR race at the All-Star Race in Charlotte. I was so excited to see Tony race – win or lose, I just wanted to see him! Before the race, we had pit passes and were able to walk around in the pits and see various drivers and pit crew members, tour victory lane, etc. As we were exiting Pit Row, I noticed that the SPEED Channel was conducting an interview on the platform above. I immediately knew it was Tony up there being interviewed – I could tell by the top of the back of his head. My friends doubted me, but boy, were they surprised when he descended the stairs and walked right past us. I was literally speechless – couldn’t even form words to ask for an autograph or anything. Sadly, Smoke did not win that race, but I was still pleased nonetheless to have seen him!

In 2011, I went to Martinsville two times, and developed a real love for that track. During the fall race, Smoke was in contention to win his third NASCAR Championship. He and Carl Edwards were literally neck-and-neck in a dead-heat to win the championship. We had seats so high up that we could see the mountains in the background. All the other races I had attended at Martinsville, well, let’s just say Tony had never finished that well. So with a few laps to go, when he was in second place, my heart skipped a beat – the only bad part, Jimmie Johnson (ugh!) was in first place. I told my friend that if Tony could get past Jimmie at the drop of the green flag, he would win the race. She looked at me like I had five heads. The green flag drops, I close my eyes and start praying … Smoke nudges ahead just barely of Johnson and gained the lead and I nearly plunged off the bleachers jumping up and down screaming because I knew what was coming next!

Yes, folks, I would witness a race where my favorite driver would win. It is amazing to go to a race and see your favorite driver, but to be at the track and witness your favorite driver actually WIN a race, is a pretty amazing experience. Needless to say, we rushed as close to Victory Lane as we could get. AND to make things even better, Tony did go on to win his third NASCAR Championship. Way to go, Smoke!

In the more recent years, Tony has had his ups and downs. He sustained a pretty severe injury last year that kept him from racing much of the NASCAR season and he has not competed up to par this year. Win or lose, I am still always going to be a Tony Stewart fan. Whether it’s his personality, his ability to drive or some unknown factor that I cannot pinpoint, he will always be my favorite. Hey!, I used to dream of marrying him – wonder if that could still possibly happen one day? I doubt it, but a girl can dream, right? Way to go, Smoke on all your racing accomplishments!


**Oh and for those of you who want to know – here is me with another one of my favorite Tony’s.**