Stewart enjoying his time in a new kind of spotlight

Two-time Cup champion is this year's Dale Earnhardt Jr.


TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Usually this is the public side of Tony Stewart reserved for only after race victories.

All smiles. Cracking jokes. Actually appearing to have a good time as he talks with the media.

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Yet that was the Tony Stewart on display the last two days at Talladega Superspeedway. Heck, he met with hordes of media on consecutive days and pleasantly endured mostly all the same questions -- smiling and laughing during every answer along the way.

Clearly, Stewart is enjoying himself. This is Tony's time in the spotlight, and he is not only willing but eager to embrace it.

This is the Dale Earnhardt Jr. contract saga of 2007 all over again, but this time with Stewart in the starring role instead of Earnhardt.

Stewart's current contract to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing expires after 2009. Will he stay or will he go? Either way, it's obvious that his life will never be quite the same.

After word leaked Wednesday that Stewart talked with Haas CNC Racing about possibly becoming a driver and at least part-owner of the team, Stewart's future has been the talk of the Sprint Cup garage. Other owners have taken notice, too, with two of them -- which Stewart would not identify -- rushing forward during the last 48 hours with new offers of their own.

Stewart admitted Friday that it is an exciting time. He stressed that it wasn't his idea to come forward and make his future possibilities a public spectacle, but he also sees no need to offer an apology for the fact that it is now so.

"We didn't really go public with it. Somebody else went public with it, and then we had to go public with it," Stewart said. "You guys [in the media] have been around this sport long enough. It's hard to keep secrets. This was a secret that was kept a lot longer than most in this business.

"We were all surprised the discussion we're having today didn't happen a month or two ago. It's like I've said -- there is nothing broke, there is nothing that needs to be fixed where I'm at. It just got out that an offer had been made to us, and with that it's made us have to talk about it. Honestly, you're excited as a driver about it. We even had an offer come to us this morning. We've had two offers in the last two days come up. So to me, it's very humbling and I feel very honored to be in the situation I'm in where that many organizations are interested in me as a driver." (Continued)

More than a driver
Of course Stewart wants to be more than a Sprint Cup driver. In fact, he already is. He has owned a World of Outlaws team since 2001 and has headed up a USAC program since 2002.

But more than all that, he is a highly marketable name. He is a living icon in racing.

It could be argued that there are perhaps only two other drivers in Sprint Cup who carry the kind of sponsorship clout that he does. One is the aforementioned Earnhardt. The other is Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports.

When the names involved are Earnhardt, Gordon or Stewart, the public almost can't get enough. This puts Stewart, who like Earnhardt has yet to win a Cup points race this season, squarely back in the spotlight he so enjoys.


Tony Stewart acknowledged that he had received offers to drive for other teams, with ownership options included.


That's what makes this such big news. Having gone through it a year ago, when he made the painstaking decision to leave the company founded by his own father, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and eventually signed with Hendrick, Earnhardt probably understands what is going on right now with Stewart more than anyone else on the face of this planet.

Earnhardt said he simply hopes that Stewart will sift through all his offers and make an intelligent decision in due time -- and that there won't be too much of a media feeding frenzy on the subject in the interim. He also said he realizes that's not likely to happen.

"I want to sit down at this table and eat, but I don't want to eat at it for a year and a half," Earnhardt said. "I want to read what you've got to say and I want to know what happens. But is it necessary for us to really begin the coverage at this point?"

Well, yes, it is. Now that the word is out and Stewart is talking publicly about it, let the coverage commence. No one but Stewart could stop it now, and he said that he is going to take his sweet time mulling everything over.

"We're going to take as much time as we need to in order to make sure that we explore all the options thoroughly," Stewart said. "We're going to be smart about it. It's no different than what Dale Jr. did last year."

It is obvious that the idea of possibly owning a team -- whether it be a fourth car at JGR (possibly driven by the upcoming phenom Joey Logano) or for an organization where Stewart's input would be even more dominant -- is what intrigues the driver the most.

"The idea that I could be in a position like a Richard Childress or a Rick Hendrick, somebody that's driven in this sport and at the end of their career stayed involved and stayed with it and stayed a player in the sport, and didn't just get done driving and be done ... it's been a unique opportunity and one that has sparked our interest," Stewart said. "It's been exciting to know that even though I may hang up the helmet one day, that it doesn't have to end there."

Hold the analysis
There are many e-mailers and self-proclaimed Smoke experts out there who are insisting this is about a long-time Chevrolet man trying to escape the shackles of his new Toyota brand -- which JGR switched to last offseason amid much controversy. But this is not as simple as that.

This is more about Stewart being in a very unique point in his lifetime -- one that isn't going to be repeated anytime soon and very likely never again at all. This is his chance to define the next phase of his life as a racer and, perhaps, as a racecar owner at the highest level of stock-car racing.

He finds it intoxicating, and why shouldn't he? It's heady stuff.

"There have been items that have been brought up that I didn't even realize could be options. We're still trying to figure out what is that perfect scenario," Stewart said.

There are other "experts" who will say that Stewart is putting his No. 20 team in a terrible spot with too much of the 2008 season left to race, to mention nothing of 2009 when he will remain under contract to JGR as well. He scoffs at that.

"If you look at the history of this race team in particular, we've battled through all kinds of stuff that have been strains," Stewart said. "I'm a strain to begin with, so if they can make it nine and a half years with me, then I think they can make it through anything."

There it was again. The self-deprecating humor. The fun interaction with the media.

When it comes to Tony Stewart these days, he's all about letting the good times roll. And why not? He's in the spotlight and likely to stay there for a good while.

He is this year's Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Now if NASCAR could just get one or both of them to actually win a race, the sport would be set for a summer public-relations boon of epic proportions. Until one of those moments actually occurs, this will have to do.

Stewart just guaranteed that we'll all stay tuned in.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.