Be it in the #20 Toyota with Joe Gibbs Racing or the #14 Ford with Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart never managed to win the Daytona 500 despite the several other milestones and accolades from his time in NASCAR. However, there was one instance during Stewart’s career when the #14 car could’ve won the Great American Race, only Stewart wouldn’t have been a part of it. This was because, in 2016, Jeff Gordon, a 3x Daytona 500 winner was offered a shot to ride in the #14 racecar.
Advertisement
In 2016, Stewart was ruled out of the initial part of the Cup season because of an ATV accident. This prompted his team, Stewart Haas Racing to ask Gordon to ride in Stewart’s place for the Daytona 500. But for better or worse, whether he wanted or not, Gordon couldn’t do so because of his commitment to FOX Sports.
“Well the crazy thing about all this I was asked to drive Tony Stewart’s car in Daytona to start the season out with his injuries and the incident that happened there,” Gordon said. “No, I wasn’t able to do it because of my commitments to Fox.”
Speaking about this potential instance in which Gordon would’ve driven Stewart’s car, the 3x Cup champion claimed it would’ve been “one of the coolest things” that could’ve happened that season. “I would have been all for it … But, no, it would have been awesome. I wasn’t aware of that, but that would have been a really cool deal for us,” Stewart added.
Things weren’t always sunny between Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart
Even though towards the end of their careers, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart became close friends, things weren’t always that bright between the two. In 2000, things got heated between Gordon and Stewart during the race at Watkins Glen. But the tempers didn’t cool down even after the race.
The two had a heated exchange after the race, which escalated to a point when Gordon told Stewart, “I’ll slam you straight in the wall, next time you are anywhere near me.”
“I’ll slam you straight in the wall.” ➡️ “I’ll bust your #*$*&%(#*(#%(*#%*#.”
Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart got together going through the Esses at @WGI in 2000… and their tempers carried over to the garage area. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/nlLbmpPzuU
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 5, 2021
But then again, this was during the early points in their careers, especially for Stewart.
What’s more important is that they let go of all their differences as time progressed and not only developed mutual respect but also a good friendship, which is a heartwarming thing for the fans considering both Stewart and Gordon are two of the very best NASCAR has ever seen.
