Tony Stewart's thoughts are on tackling the last piece of his emotional recovery over the tragic death of Kevin Ward Jr.
Stewart has not competed in a dirt-track, sprint-car event since he struck and killed Ward with his car during an Aug. 9 race in New York. But he told the Indianapolis Star on Thursday that his passion for dirt racing remains; he "thinks about it every day."
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Stewart made his comments while confirming that the fifth and final surgery he will have on the right leg he broke in July, 2013, will remove the rod in the leg he broke. It was unclear when that surgery would take place; Stewart's fourth surgery came last week.
Stewart admitted that the injuries in his leg have not healed as quickly as doctors would have hoped, and that he had a small ring inserted in a prior surgery to help the blood flow in the leg.
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His fourth surgery on Dec. 1, he said, was small by comparison.
"I don't look like I'm walking really good, but I was on crutches two days ago," the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion said. "It's nice to get off crutches again. I'm looking forward to the day my leg doesn't hurt anymore. I think that's coming sooner rather than later."
According to the Star, Stewart attended the season-ending awards banquet in Las Vegas last weekend on crutches.
Stewart went on a three-week hiatus after the tragedy in Canandaigua, N.Y., in which an angry Ward got out of his car after hitting a wall as a result of a run-in with Stewart's car. Stewart's right rear wheel caught Ward as Stewart passed and hurled Ward some 50 feet to his death.
According to the Star, Stewart plans to attend next month's Chili Bowl, a prestigious dirt-track midget race in Tulsa, Okla., to help the event promoter with track preparation. Stewart won the event in 2002 and '07.
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