Double-duty is still a thrill for Tony Stewart

By foxsports
Published

One way or another Sunday will be a huge day for Tony Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. 

The Sunday before Memorial Day is the biggest day in racing, with the Grand Prix of Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 all being run on the same day.

With 2016 being Stewart's final season, Sunday will be his last chance to win the Coca-Cola 600 (FOX, 5:30 p.m. ET) for the first time.

"Any time you win a race at Charlotte, it's big," Stewart said. "It's a speedway with a lot of history and, obviously, the Coca-Cola 600 is a huge event."

And a long one at that. 

"I'm a big fan of shorter races nowadays, but the 600 is truly a special event with it being on Memorial Day weekend and the history of the 600, back to when it was known as the World 600," said Stewart. "There's just a lot of tradition that surrounds the month of May in Charlotte. So, this is a big race. It's an important race to win."

As an Indiana native and former IndyCar racer prior to coming to NASCAR, Stewart also will be paying close attention to the 100th running of the Indy 500 Sunday afternoon.

Stewart holds a special record at his home track: In the long and storied history of the Brickyard, he remains the one and only driver to finish 1,100 miles of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

"I'm still the only guy who's completed all 1,100 miles of the double duty, which is something I'm really proud of," said Stewart. "I think the best two finishes we had was sixth in the 500 and third in the 600." 

It's a brutal grind doing both races. 

"It makes for a very, very long day," said Stewart. "When you're done with the 600, after running Indy and the flight and helicopter rides and police escorts and all that during the day, you're very, very content to lay your head on a pillow. And even when you do that, it still feels like it's not stopped moving, yet."

And as much as Stewart loves racing, Indy will always be his favorite place, with his two Brickyard 400 victories among the biggest of his career.

"When you grow up 45 minutes from Indy, there is nothing that compares to it," he said. "That is sacred ground to me. It always has been, always will be. I don't care how many times you win there, it's never enough."