Tony Stewart Biography

Tony Stewart marked himself in his first two Winston Cup seasons as virtually a sure thing to win a championship. In his third season, Stewart proved he needs to find out how to start the season better to make his patented strong finishes pay off . In 2001, he ended up second in the points to four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

The Rushville, Ind., driver continued to pile up race wins and strong finishes with three victories, 15 top-fives and 22 top-10s. All that running at the front also led to $4,941,463 in winnings.

In 2000, Stewart led the Winston Cup Series in victories with six. While he ended up sixth in the point standings, he and crew chief Greg Zipadelli continued to establish themselves as a potent combination with 12 top-5 and 23 top-10 finishes.

Stewart's Winston Cup success was surprising to some -- he had a spotty, winless record in the Busch Series with Joe Gibbs Racing and Ranier/Walsh Racing. Before that, however, Stewart's open-wheel record was impeccable.

Stewart jumped into the Indy Racing Northern Light Series in 1996, where he won rookie of the year. He also was named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year before winning the IRL championship in 1997.

He completed the arduous Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 double in 1999, finishing ninth and fourth, respectively and repeated the feat with a pair of top-10s in 2001.

This BIO came from NASCAR.com