KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Nov. 10, 2011) – Back on Aug. 24, the St. Louis Cardinals had just been swept in a three-game series by the Los Angeles Dodgers and were 10 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central Division. In addition, the Cardinals were 10.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the National League Wild Card berth into Major League Baseball’s playoffs.
Following the Aug. 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), had just finished 27th or worse for the second time in three races. In addition, he was 10th in the point standings, winless on the season, and barely eligible for the fast-approaching Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The Cardinals went 23-9 over their final 32 games, including 18-8 in the month of September, while the Braves collapsed going 9-18. Both teams were tied entering the season’s final day and, while the Cardinals easily dispatched the Astros 8-0 in Houston, the Braves lost at home in 13 innings to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals headed to postseason play while the Braves went home.
While the Cardinals were in the midst of their magical September run to the playoffs, Stewart finished third on Sept. 4 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and then seventh one week later at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, thus ending the “regular season” ninth in points to secure a coveted spot in the Chase.
Entering their respective playoffs, both the Cardinals and Stewart knew it didn’t matter how you made the postseason, but what you did once you were there. And both the Cardinals and the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot team had veteran leaders with experience winning championships.
Tony La Russa, the Cardinals manager, entered the playoffs with two World Series rings, the first coming in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics and the second coming with the Cardinals in 2006. Coincidentally, Stewart also had two championships entering his playoff run, having won Sprint Cup titles in 2002 and 2005.
The Cardinals methodically worked their way through the playoffs, defeating the Phillies 3-2 in the five-game division series before taking down the Brewers 4-2 in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series to earn a trip to the World Series.
It turned out to be one of the most exciting World Series to ever take place as the Cardinals defeated the American League’s Texas Rangers four games to three in an epic seven-game series that saw the Cardinals twice just one strike away from elimination in game six. They rallied in the sixth game, however, and won a four-hour, 33-minute classic on David Freese’s 11th-inning home run to give them a 10-9 victory.
Like the Cardinals, Stewart is making the most of his playoff run and gaining confidence each time he takes to the track. He ripped off wins in the first two Chase races at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and found himself first in the standings with eight races remaining.
A 25th-place result at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, followed by a 15th-place finish at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City one week later, dropped him to seventh in the standings, but not out of contention.
He rattled off top-10 finishes at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway before scoring wins at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Suddenly, Stewart is second in the standings, just three points behind (ironically) Missouri-native Carl Edwards.
And while the Cardinals were trailing 3-2 in the World Series entering games six and seven, Stewart is in the exact same position entering races nine and 10. And like the World Series, it should be an epic showdown – right down to the final lap of the season finale Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
This week, Stewart, Edwards and 41 other competitors will take part in the Kobalt Tools 500k at the newly repaved and slightly reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway. With fresh pavement and the apex of the famous dogleg on the backstretch extended outward 85 feet farther than it was when the series races at Phoenix back in February, the race is truly a wild card. Despite Stewart’s long history at Phoenix in USAC, IZOD IndyCar Series and NASCAR competition – he won the Sprint Cup race at the mile oval in November 1999 – the old notes don’t work anymore.
Essentially, it’s a wild-card race and no one can predict who will be fast and successful, though Stewart was fastest of all drivers during the Oct. 4-5 open test.
With two races to go, Stewart and Co., will look to continue to its championship charge while always remembering the “Cardinal Rule:” It’s not how you get in the playoffs, but how you finish.