Racers are a driven bunch, and that line isn't necessarily intended to be funny in the case of Tony Stewart. At 44 years old, the questions are starting to circulate and whispers are growing louder.
Is one of NASCAR's few multiple-time champions on the downhill s;ide to the end of his career? The answer will be up some pretty heavy debate in the days and weeks to come.
At the top of the ledger, Stewart has been through things that would crush the spirit and drive of mere mortals like us non-racer types. First there was the broken leg after Stewart's wreck in a Sprint car in 2013 that caused him to miss the final 15 races of the season.
Then there was the tragedy of the incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in upstate New York on Aug. 9, 2014, where Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. during a race caution. Stewart was exonerated from any criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury, but he clearly has not been the same since.
The stats clearly show it.
Since his last win at Dover in the spring race of 2013, Stewart has missed 18 races, earned only three top-5 finishes (none this year) and eight top-10s (one this year at Bristol, where he finished sixth).
Sure, Stewart has the added duty of team ownership on the resume, but that's old news now. He's used to the multitasking.
Stewart is also on his 10th year of owning Eldora Speedway, a dirt track located in Rossburg, Ohio, and the Camping World Truck Series will be there for the third straight year next Wednesday night in the 1-800CarCash MudSummer Classic.
No matter how full the plate is, no matter how much Stewart has put into the sport, the time always comes where stepping out of the car is the best course of action for future health and success.
Stewart has three Sprint Cup championships on his resume (2002, 2005, 2011) to go with 48 career wins. That's first-ballot worthy for the Hall of Fame when the time comes, no doubt.
But to see the Indiana native run like he's running right now is rough to watch. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch are the class of the Stewart-Haas Racing garage, and Danica Patrick is marketing gold for the team as well.
Jeff Gordon will be 44 in August. He's in his final year of full-time racing. Kenny Wallace announced Tuesday he'll make his final NASCAR start in the No. 20 XFINITY car for Joe Gibbs Racing on Aug. 1 at Iowa Speedway.
Wallace made 344 starts in 18 years in Sprint Cup (1991-2008), 546 in the No. 2 series (not including the upcoming start at Iowa), and 13 more in the Camping World Truck Series. That's 903 in total, and that's huge.
Racers are happiest strapped into race cars and turning laps at break-neck speeds. Whenever the time comes to walk away, the pushback between ego, pride and general uncertainty seem like they could go on forever.
And that's exactly where the mindset of Tony Stewart is at this point in his life. Patience isn't a virtue for a racer, but it's necessary for the fans. Only he will know when it's time to go.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports.
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