There’s an historic importance to Saturday night’s Kentucky race. It marks #14-Tony Stewart’s 600th Sprint Cup start – the 24th-most in the sport’s history. If Stewart can win, he will tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 11th on all-time wins list. Kentucky Speedway is about 80 miles from Stewart’s home in Columbus, IN, and a good contingent of Hoosiers will head to the Bluegrass State this weekend for one of the final opportunities in the area to watch the three-time champion race in NASCAR. It’s also his final chance to win at one of the only two tracks where he has yet to record a Sprint Cup victory. Kentucky and Darlington Raceway are the only tracks remaining on Stewart’s very short winless list. By his standards, Stewart hasn’t excelled at Kentucky Speedway in its brief history with the Sprint Cup Series. In five starts, he’s only led one lap at the track and has yet to post a top-10 finish.(SHR)
