"He said 'I'm not ready for Cup'": Joe Gibbs reveals Tony Stewart’s early doubts before NASCAR stardom

NASCAR legend Joe Gibbs recently looked back on the early days of Tony Stewart's career when the now-three-time Cup champion was not quite sure if he was ready for the sports' top-tier series.

Stewart had earlier planned to move up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 1997 for Ranier-Walsh Racing. However, after part-time Xfinity racing in 1996 and 1997 with Bobby Labonte’s Busch program, Stewart postponed his Cup move to join Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the now Xfinity Series after Gibbs bought Labonte Motorsports in 1998.

During an episode of the Happy Hour podcast with Kevin Harvick, Gibbs talked about chasing Stewart, who was under contract with Harry Ranier.

"Tony really understood himself and he said, 'Hey Joe, I'm not ready for Cup. ... They wanted me to drive Cup and I'm not ready.' So we put him in Xfinity. I don't know if you remember that or not, that man wrecked more cars and sometimes he would wreck three times. I would say, 'Hey, just park it after the first time for crying out loud.' And didn't win a race," Gibbs shared (18:20 onwards).

In 1998, Stewart completed in 22 Busch races and collected five top‑5 finishes. He nearly won at Rockingham but lost on the final lap to Matt Kenseth.

Stewart’s Cup debut saw three wins, the Rookie of the Year title, and a fourth-place finish in points. He went on to enjoy a decade-long stint with JGR. He earned two Cup Series championships in 2002 and 2005 and collected 32 wins.

In July 2008, Tony Stewart left the team on good terms to drive for and co-owner the now-closed Stewart-Haas Racing with Gene Haas. Joey Logano replaced Stewart in the No. 20 Toyota the following year.

"He helped us really get started" - Joe Gibbs recalls his partnership with Tony Stewart

During the same Happy Hour podcast episode, Joe Gibbs recalled Tony Stewart’s work ethic and how he helped build JGR after Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte.

"I tell you the great thing about Tony, whatever the mess was, okay, the next day, he honestly would say, 'Tell what I got to do? Tell me, you know, the sponsor, what I got to do, what if I got to pay money? What do I got to do?' And so, but we had it was really, really enjoyable with him and he helped us really get started," Gibbs said (19:20 onwards).

Gibbs also shared the story of Stewart requesting a sauna with a bike inside the new race shop to train in it. However, he refused the sauna and joked that he ended up saving $30,000.