The Rumble in Fort Wayne embarks on its 25th anniversary Dec. 29-30.
Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and soon-to-be full-time NHRA Top Fuel competitor Tony Stewart has become a mainstay of the annual event inside the Indiana Expo Center at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
After all, he boasts the most Rumble in Fort Wayne wins (12) in the 24 years the event has been run. This year marks the silver anniversary of the historic short-track, midget racing event.
Stewart won’t be wheeling a midget around the tight, one-sixth-mile concrete oval this year, as he is recovering from a Nov. 22 shoulder surgery.
“It was one of those situations that we had the option to not do the surgery or to do the surgery,” Stewart said in a video posted on the Rumble Facebook page. “The ramifications of that, if we didn’t do the surgery and something happened mid-season that finished it off, we didn’t have an option at that point. We were done for the year.”
Thus, Stewart chose the safer route and had the procedure, pinning the 52-year-old in recovery he stated will take three months. Stewart, however, has eyes on healing much sooner.
“We’re gonna try and whittle (it) down to two months, but it is going to affect me going to Fort Wayne this year,” Stewart said.
While Stewart won’t be in the cockpit of his usual “The Munchkin” No. 2 midget, longtime friend Joey Payne will fill in. Teammate and fellow Hoosier Mike Fedorcak, who built the famed Munchkin midgets, returns to wheel the No. 97 machine.
A personal conflict may keep Stewart from attending the Rumble while emphasizing how important the event is to him.
“I would say it’s a 90-percent shot we’re gonna be there,” Stewart said. “We have every intention of being there for it. It’s a part of my year I don’t want to miss.”
Both nights of the Rumble in Fort Wayne will be broadcast by SPEED SPORT affiliate Pit Row.tv.