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Tony Stewart will retire from driving at the end of 2016 season. I think we all expected this announcement sooner than later. Tony, a 3-time Sprint Cup champion has not been the same since he broke his leg in 2013, and also after the tragic accident with Kevin Ward, Jr.
Clint Bowyer is expected to drive the #14 starting in 2017. (Not sure where Clint will land until then).
I'm not surprised. He's looked less than enthusiastic about Cup for awhile. Basically paying the bills. He's also not exactly a kid anymore. Great driver. Had a great second career in Cup. Times they be changing in Cup. The new crop of drivers are so boring and vanilla that things are probably doomed.
I suspect they're going to go all out on his car at Daytona next year.
It's.. Surprising, but not. I mentioned this a month ago as a possibility and.. You immediately say "No way", but.. if you sit down and start thinking about it.. It makes sense.
I presume that he'll, like Gordon says he's going to do, step away completely from the driving side.. Not do the Bill Elliott/Terry and Bobby Labonte thing where they basically run a part time schedule for a number of years.
Of course.. You wind up with the right situation next year, like Kahne or Patrick or Earnhardt, Jr getting hurt and being out for multiple weeks.. I can see either Gordon or Stewart being asked to be the fill in driver.
It will be easier for Gordon to step away than Stewart since he will be very involved still in the racing of his team. Gordon will be wearing a suit in the TV booth.
Yeah, never liked the year off in a crap car thing. Can't help your driving and confidence. Bowyer would be better suited finding a better ride - though not many out there at the moment. Too many good cars in bad hands right now.
I think it'll be super easy for Stewart to walk away. Doubt he's very involved in the Cup team. Tony will be in the mid-west somewhere doing the racing he actually likes.
I mentioned before, I think Kenseth is out at JGR when his contract is up after 2017.. He'll be moved to make way for Erik Jones.. But.. I look at him along the lines of a Mark Martin.. Someone who can continue driving and be successful into his 50's.
The reason for the 'gap year' no doubt is because sponsors are tied to Stewart driving the car. I'd bet that Bass Pro and Mobil 1 are signed through 2016, so, there'd be issues with Stewart retiring after this season.
So, putting Bowyer in the 51 is the best option.. He goes to a Chevy team, which is another satellite of Hendrick and brings them a good money sponsor that they desperately need for a year, Stewart keeps his sponsors happy and honors his contracts.. If it were me, i'd probably send the crew chief that Bowyer will be working with over to HScott as well, so that they have the year under their belts together. BUT.. That might be difficult as Steve Addington is the current CC on the 51, and he was basically fired from SHR. I'm sure that SHR will be sending folks over to HScott to do everything they can to make that team more competitive.
Johnson, Harvick and Kenseth are are in their 40s.
I can see them all out in the next 4-5 years.
Harvick is still 39....at least until December 8th. Jimmie Johnson turned 40 about 2 weeks ago. Jimmie has 2 more years on his contract - he just resigned. He also said that it won't be the last. Kenseth is the oldest by a couple years 0 of the 3 you listed. He's 43. Tony and Jeff are both 44.
The next 4-5 years, we're going to lose a lot of talent. Yeah, I know there's going to be rookies and newbies, but for many of us, we're not interested in them. I know once Harvick retires, I'm done. I wasn't sure I would go on without Earnhardt.....then I became a Harvick and Stewart fan. I like guys who aren't afraid to punch the pretty boys when they've been wronged.....The day Tony clocked Robby Gordon in the garage was epic....a classic Tony Stewart move and man pretty much every one wanted to clock that putz.
Today was a sad day for me....a day I've been dreading for 2 years. It really sucks because I know the chances of him ever racing in my neck of the woods is really slime....my local track is the Canandaigua Motorsports Park. At least, I have one more year of Watkins Glen!
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