No relief driver planned for Tony Stewart during Speedweeks - MotorSportsTalk

Even though he’s publicly admitted his leg isn’t completely healed from last August’s horrific sprint car crash, Tony Stewart still plans to go it alone for this weekend’s practice sessions, Sprint Unlimited and qualifying, as well as the Feb. 23 season-opening Daytona 500.

In other words, the three-time Cup champ will not have a relief driver standing by, period.

Stewart intends on fully taking part in all of the typical Speedweeks activities that Cup drivers participate in, including several practice sessions, Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited, Sunday’s qualifying, the Budweiser Duel 150s on Feb. 20 and ultimately, the actual 500 race itself.

“I’ve had to sit through the end of last season and the whole off-season, so I feel like I could get in a car right now and go race,” Stewart said in a Stewart-Haas Racing press release. “So, there isn’t any anxiety as far as what’s going to happen, it’s more about being anxious to get started and get going again. I think that probably will override any pain that may exist.”

Speculation had veteran driver Mark Martin, who filled in for most of the 15 Sprint Cup races Stewart missed after being sidelined last season, would be at the ready if Stewart could not complete the 500 or any other Speedweeks events.

That won’t be the case, apparently, even though Martin is expected to be on hand at Daytona International Speedway in his new role as a driving coach for Stewart’s teammate, Danica Patrick.

Martin tested for Stewart to shake down the No. 14 Chevrolet last month in preparation for Speedweeks.

Stewart suffered the worst crash of his multi-series racing career while competing in a sprint car race early last August 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway. He sustained several injuries, including having his leg broken in two places when a piece of the sprint car’s suspension came through the floorboard and shattered his leg.

He subsequently went through three surgeries, including having a rod inserted in the injured leg.

“Fortunately, we’re not in a situation where I’ve got to do 100-yard sprints,” Stewart said. “If we had to do that, we’d be in a lot different situation. I’ll still have to deal with G-forces, vibrations and all of the things that a race car driver navigates.

“We obviously won’t know exactly how the leg will respond and the amount of pain there may be until I’m in the car for the practice session before the Sprint Unlimited. Those are variables we still don’t know yet, but the stuff that we’re doing in therapy, it’s very encouraging.”

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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