Tony Stewart: Kevin Harvick's title run all about team
DORAL, Fla. — It's been a difficult 15 months for Tony Stewart, but he's at least had some reasons to smile lately. One of his Stewart-Haas Racing team's four drivers, Kevin Harvick, is coming off a victory at Phoenix International Raceway and is the favorite heading into Sunday's championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
But Stewart, who attended Wednesday's championship contenders news conference in his role as owner, said Harvick's success is separate from both Stewart's physical and emotional healing after two sprint car accidents since August 2013.
"This weekend doesn't have anything to do with me as a person," he said.
Stewart's car struck and killed driver Kevin Ward Jr. during a sprint car race in Canandaigua, N.Y., on Aug. 9, which prompted a criminal investigation into his role in the accident. A grand jury did not indict him and Stewart was cleared of any wrongdoing. And the 43-year-old, whose is still healing from last year's sprint car crash in Iowa -- in which he suffered a double compound fracture in his right leg -- is struggling through the worst season of his career. He could go winless for the first time if he doesn't find victory lane Sunday.
"We've just done a really good job of trying to separate (personal and professional) and staying focused on the task at hand," Stewart said. "There's other people we're responsible for (so) the personal side for me, it doesn't matter.
"It's my job to make sure I'm doing everything we can to give those guys an opportunity to be in this position, and that's what we've done with Kevin this year."
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Harvick made the final four by winning last week at Phoenix International Raceway and Stewart helped him celebrate.
"There was a lot of emotion, and obviously Tony and I have a very close relationship from a friendship standpoint that goes back a very long time," Harvick said Wednesday. "He's been through a lot this year. If we can be that one shining moment that makes his day better. For me, I want to see my friend smile. We've built strong relationships through the race team personally."
Stewart was in a similar position to Harvick in 2011, when he entered the final race in a close battle with Carl Edwards and ultimately won the title on a tiebreaker.
The three-time champion said he talked to both Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers this week and emphasized they should do exactly what they've done all season.
"Obviously, championship week is a little bit different," he said. "The emotions are a little different, the nerves go up a bit. … What we told them for this week is, 'Don't do anything any different than what got you here.' "
Stewart said he felt confident about Harvick's chances of winning what would be the driver's first championship.
"I think they're as prepared as they can be," he said. "They've done a great job up to this point, and I don't think there's a team out there that's as ready as these guys are."
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