Editing Tony Stewart (section)

===IndyCar and NASCAR Xfinity Series===
[[File:Tony Stewart IndyCar Crop.jpg|thumb|left|Stewart's [[1999 Indianapolis 500]] car]]
In 1995, Stewart became the first driver to win USAC's version of the [[United States Auto Club#The Triple Crown|Triple Crown]], earning championships in all three of USAC's major divisions, National Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown. His winning the [[Hut Hundred]] and [[4 Crown Nationals]] were the highlights of the year. With the advent of the [[IndyCar Series|Indy Racing League]] (IRL), which intended to provide opportunities for grassroots racers, Stewart found his way into Indy car racing; after unsuccessful negotiations with [[A. J. Foyt Racing]], he signed early in 1996 for [[Team Menard]] as a last-minute addition for the abridged three-race initial season. In his Indy car debut at [[Walt Disney World Speedway]], Stewart led 37 laps and finished a close second to fellow rookie [[Buzz Calkins]]. He also led laps at [[Phoenix Raceway|Phoenix]] in the early stages before a myriad of pit stop woes and mechanical issues led to his early exit from the race.

For his [[Indianapolis 500]] debut, he initially qualified on the outside of the front row, but the disqualification of [[Arie Luyendyk]]'s time and the death of his teammate [[Scott Brayton]] a week later propelled Stewart to the pole position. After leading 44 laps, his race ended before the halfway point due to a malfunctioning pop-off valve, which dropped him to 8th in the final point standings. When Stewart was not racing IndyCars, he raced stock cars, which he had signed to do beforehand. In 1996, he made his NASCAR [[Busch Series]] debut, driving for car owner Harry Rainer. In nine races, he had a best finish of 16th place. Stewart had more success in a one-time ride in the [[NASCAR Truck Series|Truck Series]] with Mueller Brothers Racing, where he finished 10th.

Stewart was poised to improve his IRL standing in the [[1996–97 Indy Racing League|1996-97 season]] but at times he struggled to finish. He failed to finish the first three races of a ten-race schedule, but recovered to come in second at [[Phoenix International Raceway|Phoenix]]. At that year's [[Indy 500]], Stewart's car was good enough to enable him to win his first IRL race, leading 64 laps. However, he trailed off near the end of the race and settled for 5th place. He finally got his first career win at [[Pikes Peak International Raceway|Pikes Peak]], where he led all but seven laps of a 200 lap race. He became the leading contender for the series championship after a bad slump knocked points leader [[Davey Hamilton]] out of first place. Despite an average end to his season, finishing 7th, 14th, and 11th, and five DNFs, Stewart did just enough to beat Hamilton for the IRL title. He also raced in several midget events, finishing thirteenth and eleventh in the 1997 and 1998 USAC national points, and winning the Copper Classic both years. Between his time in USAC and the IRL, Stewart earned the nickname of "Smoke", first for slipping the right rear tire during dirt races and then for blowing his engine often during his 1997 championship run.<ref name="NMARHoF">[http://worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Tony_Stewart.htm National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame - Tony Stewart] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091038/http://worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Tony_Stewart.htm|date=September 29, 2007}}</ref>

As he had done the previous year, he raced a handful of Busch Series races in 1998. This time, he was racing for [[Joe Gibbs]], [[National Football League|NFL]] [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] head coach of the [[Washington Redskins]], who was having major success with [[Bobby Labonte]] in the Winston Cup Series. When Stewart was able to finish races, he finished in the top 10 and had a 3rd-place finish at Charlotte. Stewart so impressed Gibbs that he was signed to drive the majority of the Busch schedule in 1998 to go along with a full-time IRL schedule. The double duty did not affect his performance in either series. In the IRL, he won twice and finished 3rd in the championship. His season was a disappointment as he finished last in the Indy 500 because of an engine failure.

On the Busch side, he finished in the top-five five times in 22 starts. He came close to winning his first Busch Series race at [[North Carolina Speedway|Rockingham]], but was beaten on a last-lap pass by [[Matt Kenseth]]. Stewart finished a solid 2nd place in 2 (of 31) starts, ahead of six drivers with more starts, and had an average finish that was comparable to some of the series' top 10 finishers. Gibbs had enough confidence in Stewart that he was moved up to a Cup ride for the 1999 season. With that move, Stewart ended his three-year career as a full-time IRL driver.

After transitioning to the Cup level, Stewart continued racing in the Busch Series on a part-time basis. On August 16, 2005, Stewart was fined $5,000 and placed on probation until December 31 for hitting [[Brian Vickers]] after the completion of the Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. He was driving a Busch car owned by [[Kevin Harvick Incorporated]] at the time.

In 2013, Stewart renewed his RCR deal to drive the No. 33 Oreos/Ritz Chevrolet. He won the opening [[2013 DRIVE4COPD 300|Nationwide Series event at Daytona]], overtaking [[Regan Smith (racing driver)|Regan Smith]] on the last lap, but his win was overshadowed by worry because Smith had been turned and in the resulting crash, [[Kyle Larson]] had flown into the catch fence, completely slicing off the front part of his car and injuring 28 spectators in the grandstands (2 critically). The next day in the [[2013 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]], Stewart's day ended on lap 35 when he was caught up in an early crash with [[Kevin Harvick]] and [[Kasey Kahne]]; this would allow him to finish 41st. He rebounded slightly with an 8th-place finish at Phoenix and an 11th-place finish in Las Vegas. At Bristol, Stewart blew his tire on lap 3 and cut a brake line; he came back out over 20 laps down, unable to contend for the victory.

In 2020, Stewart planned to make his return to the now-Xfinity Series for the [[Pennzoil 150]] on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course, but plans were called off due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Albert|first=Zack|url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2020/03/04/tony-stewart-set-race-inaugural-xfinity-series-event-indianapolis/|title=Tony Stewart set to race in inaugural Xfinity Series event at Indianapolis|publisher=[[NASCAR]]|date=March 4, 2020|access-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Taranto|first=Steven|url=https://247sports.com/Article/Tony-Stewart-not-coming-out-of-retirement-NASCAR-Xfinity-Series-Indianapolis-Motor-Speedway-reasons-for-backing-out-148020741/|title=Tony Stewart calls off July return to NASCAR at Indianapolis|publisher=[[247Sports]]|date=June 9, 2020|access-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref>