Tony Stewart doesn't shy away from showing off the fabulous racing helmet collection he owns. That collection got bigger recently when his former driver, Kevin Harvick, had a little gift for him.
The 2014 Cup Series champion has enjoyed every minute of his long and illustrious career, which ended following the 2023 season, and now that he has had the time to reflect on it, he has wanted to give back to those who have meant so much to him during his career.
It started with the gift of a steering wheel to Dale Earnhardt Jr, but Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart might have gotten the best gift of all.
Harvick wore a Stewart-inspired helmet for his final race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Harvick presented the very same helmet to him while they celebrated Harvick's career in Charlotte.
Stewart shared the moment on his Instagram.
"Had a great night celebrating with my bud @KevinHarvick when we were in Charlotte," Stewart said. "To top it off, he surprised me with his Indy helmet from his final season. The helmet replicates my helmet design from my first Brickyard win, that Kevin ran second to us. So awesome."
Given both driver's history and success at the track, it is something they will both cherish, and the helmet is yet another fine addition to Stewart's already amazing collection.
Harvick also reflected on being able to drive for Stewart, and how much help he was in getting Harvick through the moments of saying goodbye to the sport he loves in a recent interview.
"For me, I was fortunate to have a boss in Tony Stewart," Harvick said. "He had some great advice on things that he liked and didn't like about his last year of driving. One of his biggest pieces of advice was, 'Hey. let your guard down. Let the fans and the racetracks and the sport help you go back and tell the story and just enjoy it.' I think for me that was not something I would typically do. But we took that advice and last November we sat down and said, 'Okay, we want to tell a story about the past 30 years. We want to be able to let the tracks and fans celebrate whatever moment it is, whether it's a win or loss, whatever it was.'"
His career tells a great story, and Stewart can always remember it by having such a memorable helmet in his collection.
