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DESPAIN: My Take on Tony Stewart
Written by:
Dave Despain
04/29/2008 - 11:25 AM
Charlotte, N.C.
Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED. (Image: SPEED) ยป More Photos
Less than a year after the frenzy over the question, "What will Junior do?" you can substitute Smoke for Junior and savor the new superstar silly season soap opera over which the NASCAR press corps is salivating. Granted, it's not quite as juicy as the family feud at DEI, Junior-versus-his stepmother, but the question "What will Smoke do?" is still a wellspring of stories and speculation, hypothesis and hyperbole.
"Tony's not happy at Joe Gibbs Racing"…"Chevy wants him back"… "Smoke wants his own team"…NASCAR.com describing it as "a firestorm of rumors." It's a measure of Stewart's stature that no similarly incendiary rumor-mongering surrounds the question, "What will Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr. or Bobby Labonte do?" They too are in contract negotiations, prompting the occasional news story. But firestorms? Not exactly.
No, it's the superstars like Earnhardt and Stewart who leave us breathless in anticipation of impending career moves, and in 15 years of covering Tony’s career, I've found the best bet is to simply take him at his word. He says he's just checking out his options…nothing wrong at Joe Gibbs Racing…this is simply due diligence in preparation for contract negotiations.
That a couple of those options include team ownership fuels the aforementioned firestorm. Certainly a lot has changed since Bill Elliott and ol' DW tried that owner-driver thing, and one might recall how well that worked out. What struck me about this week's Smoke-fest is this quote about his multitude of opportunities: "It's been a huge honor to get these offers," Tony says, "because it kind of gives me a perspective of where I fit in this series, and what the car owners think of me."
Isn't that almost word-for-word what Dale Earnhardt Junior was saying this time last year? Many of you may have predictions here, but the only one I'm making is the safe one...Until Smoke, like Junior, makes his final announcement, the NASCAR world will remain obsessed with this year's big question, "What will Smoke do?"
Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain Sound off on another season of Wind Tunnel. Host Dave Despain knows all the right buttons to push about the top stories in motor sports. Let your voice be heard and be a part of the show. Argue, agree or share your opinions LIVE by phone or email. Give Dave and the country a piece of your mind -- call 1-866-WTUNNEL and vent with a vengeance!
SOURCE: Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED/Edited by Steve Keller
SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17,
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