NASCAR Sprint Cup: Why Tony Stewart Is This Generation’s A.J. Foyt

When Tony George established the Indy Racing League in 1994, his goal was to advance the careers of young American midget and sprint car drivers to American open-wheel racing's biggest event, the Indianapolis 500. In other words, it was a series built for drivers like Tony Stewart, then the 1995 USAC Triple Crown champion, but priced out of a ride in CART by expensive technology and ex-Formula 1 drivers.Nearly two decades and four major national championships later, the man they call "Smoke" may have established himself as his generation's answer to A.J. Foyt, the man he idolized as a boy growing up in Indiana.Foyt—the seven-time USAC national champion, three-time USAC Stock Car champion and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner—has...

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