Tony Stewart has one of the faces in NASCAR that everyone knows even if they’ve never watched a NASCAR race a day in their life. USA Today is now reporting that Stewart’s face won’t be that visible in the NASCAR world for the rest of this season. Doctors have ordered Tony to take the rest of the season off, which will cause him to miss the final 13 races of the season.
Stewart was involved in a sprint car crash on August 5th, which resulted in him breaking his tibia and fibula. This race had nothing to do with the chase for this year’s Sprint Cup, making it probable that more racers will think twice before participating in extracurricular activities. The video of the crash shows Tony leading the race and then hitting a slower driver that came in his way.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkdxpbRydZQ?feature=player_detailpage]
Stewart-Haas racing has announced that veteran Mark Martin will mostly race in place of Stewart for the remainder of the year, but Austin Dillon will also get some time behind the wheel for Tony. Stewart has always expressed admiration for Mark Martin and had this to say about his replacement:
“Obviously, I’m disappointed to be out of the Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy for so long, but the team is in very good hands with Mark Martin and Austin Dillon. Mark is someone I’ve looked up to my entire career and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Austin is a great young talent, and he showed that Sunday at Michigan. This isn’t a situation anyone wanted, but we’re going to make the best of it. In the meantime, my focus is on getting healthy and getting back into my Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy.”
Stewart’s No. 14 car is currently tied for 13th in the points standings in the chase for the cup, and Martin has finished five times as a runner up for the championship. It would be nice to see Martin finish the season in style for Tony and himself.