NASCAR: Top drivers of 2014 – No. 25 Tony Stewart - MotorSportsTalk

Tony Stewart

Season finish: 25th

2014 Season Stats: 0 wins, 3 top-5, 7 top-10, 1 Pole.

What went right: From an overall standpoint, Stewart enjoyed his second championship in four seasons as a team co-owner when Kevin Harvick won the 2014 Sprint Cup crown. But as far as Stewart’s own performance, there were very few things that went right. He earned just one pole (Texas, spring) and his best season finishes were third (Bristol, spring), fifth the following week at Fontana, and fourth in the Chase race at Martinsville. One other positive, at least indirectly: Stewart’s pit crew was “traded” to Kevin Harvick’s team for the Chase, a key factor in Harvick’s winning the championship.

What went wrong: From a performance standpoint, Stewart suffered through the worst season of his Sprint Cup career. He started the season still not fully recovered from the devastating sprint car wreck he had in August 2013 that caused several fractures to his right leg. To his credit, Stewart fought through the pain and refused to get out of the race car during the early part of the 2014 season, even if he still wasn’t fully 100 percent. Then there were a number of un-Stewart-like statistics, including failing to win even one race in a season for the first time in his Cup career (which dates back to 1999). In fact, he had single-season career lows in wins (0), top-fives (just 3) and top-10s (7). He also had his second-lowest single-season lead-lap finishes (just 20), and had the worst finishing average per race (20.0) in a single season in his career. Stewart just didn’t drive like the Smoke we’ve known for 15 seasons. Of course, his season was also greatly impacted by the Kevin Ward Jr. tragedy, for which Stewart voluntarily sat out the three Sprint Cup races following the dirt track race tragedy in upstate New York in August.

2015 Prospectus: Crew chief Chad Johnston returns for a second season. With Tony having two additional recent surgeries on his right leg (fourth and fifth surgeries, respectively), he should hopefully be 100 percent by the time of the Daytona 500. As difficult as the last two seasons have been for Stewart, he’s not a quitter. He’ll work harder than he ever has, if that’s what it takes, to get back to the Smoke of old. In fact, we would not be surprised to see Stewart become Comeback Driver of the Year in 2015. Of course, if he has a third straight season of difficulty, one has to wonder where he’ll go from there. We still think Stewart has several more race wins and perhaps at least one more championship in him. What better time to do so than in 2015, one year after his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Kevin Harvick, did so.

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The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17^th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10^th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.

Falling out: Will Power (8), Felix Rosenqvist (9), Romain Grosjean (10)

PAST NBC SPORTS INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS

PRESEASON: Josef Newgarden is a favorite to win third championship

RACE 1: Pato O’Ward to first; Newgarden drops out after St. Pete

RACE 2: O’Ward stays firmly on top of standings after Texas

RACE 3: Marcus Ericsson leads powerhouses at the top

RACE 4: Grosjean, Palou flex in bids for first victory

RACE 5: Alex Palou carrying all the momentum into Indy 500