At the conclusion of the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway today, we will be one race away from the retirement of Tony Stewart from the Sprint Cup Series.
As the season has progressed and the news of Stewart’s retirement has been known throughout, his teammate Kevin Harvick doesn’t feel that the tracks and people around NASCAR have done enough to properly honor the three-time Premier Series champion.
“It’s not going to be what it should be because I don’t think anybody did a very good job of giving him the credit that he deserved throughout the year at the race tracks and from a sports standpoint,” Kevin Harvick said this weekend at Phoenix. “That has been very disappointing from my standpoint.”
Throughout his career, Smoke has caused quite a bit of controversy through his actions and his mouth, but there’s no denying the exceptional talent he has behind the wheel of a race car.
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That’s why it’s so disappointing for Harvick to see the lack of celebration of Stewart’s career, especially being a year removed from the grand celebration Jeff Gordon received on his way out.
“I know that Tony probably would say that he didn’t want that but I don’t think anybody has done a very good job of giving him the credit for the time that he has put in and had in the sport,” Harvick added. “A three-time champion, multiple race winner, IndyCar champion and winner, and to auto racing in general. It’s been pretty disheartening to me to see the lack of credit that he has gotten.”
Whether you’re a fan of Stewart or not, you can’t deny the amount of excitement and popularity he has brought to NASCAR during his career.
