The third title won by Tony Stewart NASCAR Sprint Cup evokes memories of crossovers between the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the most popular series in American motorsports.

The number 14 is significant as the race number of Tony Stewart since 2010, when he became both driver and team owner, and he chose to honour Anthony Joseph "AJ" Foyt, one of his idols . 14 was the favourite number of the latter, especially in 1977 when he became the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, the great classic of American racing.

Ten years previously, in 1967, AJ Foyt won the 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 100% American duo of Foyt and Dan Gurney at the wheel of the Ford Mk IV #1 broke all records that year, traveling 5233 km at 218 km/h average. In 1972, Foyt added a victory in the Daytona 500 miles, which is to NASCAR what the Le Mans 24 Hours is to endurance : he must win the race. The 'living legend' Texan is now 76 years old, but still retains many records in the history of motor sport: only driver victorious in the same year at Indianapolis and Le Mans, and the only winner Triple Crown 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967) / Indianapolis 500 (1961-64-67-77) / 500 miles of Daytona (1972).

In 2011, Tony Stewart and his beloved number 14 also put an end to the reign of Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR, titled five times from 2006 to 2010. The latter, who has had the opportunity to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona, spoke of his desire to come to the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day, and to walk in the prestigious footsteps of AJ Foyt. Time will tell...

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo : CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, SARTHE), 24 HEURES DU MANS, 10 & 11 JUNE 1967. Number 1 is appropriate for AJ Foyt, first place for his first and only Le Mans.