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At some point in
our life, we all face a defining moment. A moment that
can shift the balance of what we were, into what we can be.
For Tony Stewart, that moment just may have been this past
weekend, when he took that negative and turned it into a
positive.
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Stewart
gave some much needed positive exposure to the Home
Depot sponsorship.
Photo: Getty Images/Allsport |
Let’s take a
look back just over a week ago. Tony Stewart, driver of the
#20 Home Depot Pontiac is 7 laps away from a probable top 5
finish but then the caution flag comes out. On the restart
Stewart struggles with his car, finishing the race in 12th
place, a disappointment from what might have been. Stewart
parks his car in an empty bay, and everyone knows what
happened after that.
“This was my
heart attack, my wake up call.” Stewart said this last
Tuesday and repeatedly apologized about the incident with
Gary Mook, a freelance photographer for the Indianapolis
Sun. It takes someone to admit he made a mistake but it
takes an even bigger man to admit when he has a problem and
decide to take action. Some people may say that Tony Stewart
has said this in the past but in all the research that I
have done this week, I did not find anywhere where he was
this convicted that his thoughts will turn into positive
actions.
This past
weekend at Watkins Glen, he proved that after being fined
not only by NASCAR but his own sponsor, Home Depot (they
fined him $50,000 that will go to the United Way charity and
placed him on probation for the rest of the year as well),
and being criticized by many fans, and critics for not being
able to control his temper, he was able to bounce back and
dominate the Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen and pick up
his third win of the season.
"I owe this all
to my Home Depot team and that Home Depot has stuck with me
this week," Stewart said. "It's been a tough week for all of
us. Especially when you get someone like myself who has hurt
his race team and hurt his sponsors, not only last weekend,
but with other things I've done.” He also dedicated the
victory to Gary Mook and credited him for making him see the
light and the error of his ways.
“This race is
for Mr. Mook,” Stewart said. “He is gonna help be an
integral part of changing my life, and this was step one of
it and I’m just real thankful for him.”
Today’s victory
may also have been a defining moment for Tony Stewart but he
has a long road ahead of him in the new direction he has
chosen to live his life. As long as his heart is in the
right place, we may be seeing the beginning of the
development of one of NASCAR’s future icons of the sport.
The author can be contacted nascar@autoracing1.com
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