There are nights when Tony Stewart swears the pain in his right leg feels as if someone is hammering in a 100 carpenter nails. When this happens, sleeping isnt an option, although doctors have assured him the sensation hes feeling are the nerves working overtime internally to heal the shattered leg “ the tibia and fibula bones he cracked in a sprint car accident on Aug. 5 in Iowa which have required three surgeries since. It takes great effort for Stewart to simply get comfortable. The guy who tussled with Joey Logano on pit road this March and heaved a helmet at Matt Kenseths car last season struggled to just cautiously extend his leg outward. As far as Stewarts concerned, the best thing about Homestead being the last race is that hes planning to be driving his #14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 in the next race, the season-opening Daytona 500. on Feb. 23. ‘They [doctors] say were on schedule and they havent flinched from it, even after the third surgery’ Stewart explained. ‘That one was a three-week setback, but we were a little ahead at that time so it just kind of put us back to being on time. Right now, theres no drama. Barring any new infection or something stupid we have to go in and fix& everything should be fine. To me, its more about getting healthy again. If we get healthy the rest will come.” Stewart said there is improvement even he cant always see it. Its only in the last few weeks that he is walking on his own, depending less and less on the cane. You can imagine, that for a guy who makes a living on speed, it just doesnt feel fast enough. Despite the physical discomfort and daily inconveniences of the last four months, Stewart has remained determined to run his race team, which will expand to four cars in 2014 adding drivers Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick to go with Stewart and Patrick.( NASCAR.com )(11-30-2013) News from November 29, 2013
