‘Smoke’ All Smiles After Pocono Win

Is it just me, or does Tony Stewart seem a lot happier these days? And I don't mean just after snagging the top prize in the All-Star race or this past Sunday's win at Pocono. He seems to be in a much better mood for the whole year. Since forming his new team and taking on the owner-driver dual-role, he appears a lot more relaxed than in years past.

I remember when he announced last year that he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to start his own team. At the time, all sorts of puzzling questions popped up: Why would he leave one of the best Cup teams during the prime of his career? Doesn't he know how hard it is to be both an owner and driver -- while still being competitive? And what is my Dad going to do with his now obsolete Home Depot shirt?

It appears that Stewart has really taken a liking to his new roles. That's ironic considering the stress of being an owner-driver at the Cup level is usually enough to crumble even the best of men.

When the tour rolled into Daytona Beach in February, somebody with a smile was being interviewed for TV. Somebody... that looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. The graphic on the screen insisted it was Tony Stewart. Yet I don't think I've ever seen him with a... smile. I wondered for a bit if this was the same Tony Stewart I've been watching for the past few years. But about a week later I heard him trashing Goodyear, and that's when I knew it was really him.

Maybe he has a girlfriend or something.

Quick Facts

• The last car owner-driver to win a Cup race (before Stewart's feat at Pocono) was Ricky Rudd in the Fall 1998 race at Martinsville.
• Darrell Waltrip had five wins as an owner-driver of the #17 Western Auto Chevrolet -- two in 1991 and three in 1992, the last being the rain-shortened Southern 500 at Darlington.
• Stewart currently leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup points. The last owner-driver to win the Cup Championship? Alan Kulwicki in 1992. Kulwicki fought off all the high-dollar big-name teams to take two victories and win the championship over Bill Elliott by one single lap. Kulwicki omitted the "Th" from the "Thunderbird" printed on his car's front valence to emphasize his position as the "underdog".