NASCAR’s Stewart sees last two years in rear-view mirror

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — No one has ever accused Tony Stewart of putting on a false front.

How he’s feeling that day is what you get, whether he’s combative or in a playful mood, and no matter the emotion Stewart will say what’s on his mind.

But the past two years have been rough for him, first breaking his right leg in 2013 and then being part of a fatal on-track accident in 2014.

If Stewart was a changed man from those events, he didn’t show it Thursday at NASCAR media day at Daytona International Speedway. He challenged some reporters’ questions, and each answer was straight forward, leaving little doubt as to what he thinks.

His appearance before the national racing media also underscored how ready he is for the Sprint Cup season, which begins Feb. 22 with the Daytona 500.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Stewart said. “I’m coming off of a bad year and a half, so definitely excited to get it all behind us and move forward.”

Daytona is the one missing piece of Stewart’s resume. The 43-year-old has won three Cup championships, most recently in 2011, but has never captured the sport’s most revered race.

He was asked what it would mean if he were to retire without winning the 500.

“If anybody looks at my career and says because I haven’t won a Daytona 500 that I didn’t have a good career,” Stewart said, “I’d want to say they really don’t know what they’re talking about.”

As an owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, he has more obligations than trying to push his No. 14 Chevrolet first across the finish line.

He helps manage a four-team operation that includes Las Vegan Kurt Busch, who, similar to Stewart, has had his own issues. Busch and former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll are locked in a legal battle.

Driscoll has alleged Busch assaulted her at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, which he has denied.

Stewart acknowledged a contingency plan is in place should Busch’s spot on the team need to be filled by someone else.

“I’m very hopeful that we won’t have to worry about it,” Stewart said. “I feel bad he’s in that situation right now and that they’re both in that situation.”

He thought Busch’s legal situation would be settled by now — “It’s definitely been a surprise for us,” Stewart said — and Busch made it clear the episode should be past him by now.

“Normal situations like this take 30 minutes,” Busch said. “We’re going close to Day 100 now, so we all have to be patient. We all have to understand that there’s a process that we have to respect. The fact that no announcement has come out, each day that goes by continues to be good news.”

Busch praised Stewart-Haas for its handling of the situation, and controversy is not new to that team.

Stewart injured his right leg in a sprint car race in August 2013, taking him out of that season’s final 15 Cup events. He has since undergone four operations, including one in December.

But he downplayed whether the leg would affect him this season.

“Honestly, I feel like we’re wasting our time talking about how I feel because I didn’t feel bad last year,” Stewart said. “I did outside the car, but inside the car I felt good all year. Physically driving the car it’s not an issue at all. It’s not one-100th of a percent.”

Stewart came under intense scrutiny after he ran into Kevin Ward Jr. on a dirt track in August, killing the 20-year-old. No charges were filed after an investigation that lasted a month and a half.

Now as the 2015 season begins, Stewart is ready to concentrate on racing.

He’s ready to win.

Not that his competitive fire ever went away.

“You want to win no matter what,” Stewart said. “I’ve been racing 37 years, and every year hasn’t always been smooth. You’ve had seasons that there’s been bumps in the road, and you just look forward to winning your next race and trying to win your next championship.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.