Despite retirement Tony Stewart era in NASCAR and elsewhere far from over

Tony Stewart (Getty Images)
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Tony Stewart (Getty Images)
Tony Stewart (Getty Images)

NASCAR champion Tony Stewart is expected to announce that he will step away from full time racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series after 2016. Stewart-Haas Racing has called a news conference Wednesday with driver and team co-owner Stewart at 1:00 p.m. ET, the team announced Sunday night.

Clint Bowyer is expected to join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017 as a replacement for Stewart. Bowyer, finished 26th in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and is 16th in the Chase standings. An eight-time winner in 11 Cup seasons, Bowyer was recently released by Michael Waltrip Racing, which won’t field a team next season.

In addition to being a three-time champion Stewart, 44, is a 48-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series. He has struggled lately however. Stewart is currently in the midst of a 69-race winless streak, his most recent victory coming at Dover in 2013. He is currently 25th in the points standings and failed to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the third consecutive year. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.