Bruce: Cruel twist to Stewart’s swan song – Nascar

He was loose and smiling, joking around and having fun.
 
Tony Stewart was away from the track. But he was working just the same.
 
When you’re a three-time series champion and co-owner of a four-car team in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, the work seldom stops.
 
The amount of time someone such as Stewart spends handling sponsor commitments and other ventures associated with his profession would probably stun some NASCAR fans. Time behind the wheel of his No. 14 Chevrolet can sometimes pale in comparison.
 
A week ago Stewart spent an entire day working with one of his team’s primary sponsors. It could have been taxing. It could have been boring. It could have been the last thing Stewart wanted to be doing.
 
But Stewart, who turns 45 this year, handled the daylong shoot with ease, seemingly enjoying the thought and creativity that went into the program.
 
During a brief break for lunch, Stewart stood up to show off his loose-fitting fire suit. Changes in his dietary habits and a new workout regimen left the once-snug outfit hanging a bit more loosely than expected.
 
“This thing is like a trash bag,” Stewart said as he tugged on the loose material. “It’s ridiculous.”
 
Prepared meals limit calorie intake to 1,700 to 1,900 each day. “You pull it out on the plate, nuke it … I don’t even have to think about what’s in it,” he said.
 
Less healthy meals haven’t been totally dismissed. Stewart admitted to “two slices of pizza” the previous night. “But I didn’t have the extra toppings,” he said. “… Two pieces and I was satisfied.”
 
Cycling equipment and a treadmill helped with the weight loss and increased stamina, although he admitted he and the equipment were still in a getting-to-know-you phase.
 
Pleased with his initial efforts, Stewart said he “almost” posted a photo of a recent workout.
 
“I’m glad I didn’t,” he joked. “Because Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. took a picture of his.”
 
The numbers, it seems, weren’t similar.
 
A winner of 48 Sprint Cup races, Stewart announced last September that the 2016 season would be his final one in the series. Why, then, the sudden interest in a healthier lifestyle when his Sprint Cup career is headed for the homestretch?
 
Maybe because he had hoped to exit knowing he did everything he possibly could, inside the car and out, to make his last season count.
 
“If anybody has any questions about how dedicated we are to having the best year we can possibly have, there’s your answer,” Stewart said during this year’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. “I’m doing stuff I swore I would never do.”

It’s true that the rules packages NASCAR has developed in recent seasons haven’t been to Stewart’s liking.
 
It’s also true that problems outside NASCAR — he missed three races in 2014 and 15 the previous season due to sprint-car related incidents — have hung over Stewart.
 
But the ’16 season presented an opportunity to go out unencumbered by everything that has transpired since 2014.
 
Until Sunday.
 
That’s when an accident while driving an off-road vehicle left Stewart hospitalized, the extent of his injuries unspoken and his final season as a Sprint Cup Series driver in question.
 
Little information concerning the incident and Stewart’s status has been released; an update is expected Thursday, according to Stewart-Haas Racing officials.
 
There will be questions that will be answered and questions for which there are no immediate answers.
 
For now, there is only one thing that really matters, and that is Stewart’s health.
 
The importance of everything else pales in comparison.