Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson were two drivers responsible for obliterating victory lane most often with their presence in the 2000s. They have 132 Cup Series wins and 10 championships between them along with a strong friendship. This bond is what led Stewart to fondly look at one of their most memorable days together in a video that went back through his career.
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The video, sponsored by Mobil 1, had Stewart going over the most remarkable moments of his time as a driver and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.
A discussion that he was having with Johnson after qualifying on the final weekend of his career as a driver in 2016 was one of them. It was also the weekend in which Johnson won at Homestead-Miami and secured his seventh Cup Series championship.
Stewart said looking at the nostalgic picture, “You could not ask for a better driver to race with. He raced clean, he made you work for everything because he was just that good. To run my last race the same he won his record-breaking seventh championship… That was a huge weekend for both of us.” His admiration for Johnson is not a shallow one.
22 years and a lifetime of memories @TonyStewart talks us through some key memories of his time as a driver and owner of @stewarthaasrcng. #Mobil1TheGrid pic.twitter.com/zbyfrxOFCv
— Mobil 1 The Grid (@Mobil1TheGrid) December 4, 2024
He spoke highly about his friend’s solid mentality inside the car to Racer Magazine in 2022. His opinion was that even Dale Earnhardt Sr. couldn’t have rattled Johnson if they’d raced together in the same period.
That is as high as praises get in the world of NASCAR. The duo share a deep friendship to this day. Interestingly, it was Johnson who inducted Stewart into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
Jeff Gordon talks about the final race weekend of 2016
To see one of the greatest drivers in history retire and another great equal the biggest achievement in American motorsports is not an ordinary circumstance.
Jeff Gordon, who’d retired in 2015, was among those who got to witness the event live in Homestead-Miami. He spoke to the press that day and expressed the range of emotions that he’d felt talking to Stewart and Johnson.
He said, “It’s just extraordinary. I had some emotions with Tony because of what he’s meant to the sport, what he’s contributed to racing in general and see him not be out there, I kind of was getting maybe what people were going through last year with me. But then to see somebody go down in history and be a seven-time champion, I see what that can do for our sport.”
It was pretty much how every stock car racing fan worldwide felt. The final weekend of 2016 carries not only one of Stewart’s most memorable moments but also of the fandom.
