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Tony Stewart: 'I can't make a difference anymore' finding speed as a driver

Tony Stewart is currently outside the top 12 in the Chase standings (Getty).
Tony Stewart is currently outside the top 12 in the Chase standings (Getty).

It’s no secret Tony Stewart isn’t a fan of the evolution of the cars in the Sprint Cup Series. As front splitters have been added to cars and aerodynamic downforce has increased in importance, Stewart has lamented the equipment shift.

Sunday, Stewart was frustrated with his car and an inability to make a move through the field. He finished a lap down in 23rd and enters the final race of the first round of the Chase outside the top 12. If Stewart isn’t one of the top 12 drivers in the standings after Sunday’s race at Dover, he’s not moving on in the playoffs.

Stewart explained his frustration Wednesday. And no, the frustration doesn’t simply stem from New Hampshire. From USA Today:

“When we come off the truck, we fight the same thing for three days and there’s nothing I can do to fix it,” he said. “And that’s part of what’s so frustrating for me as a driver and part of the reason I’m ready to do something different.

“I can’t make a difference anymore. I can’t go out there and do different things with my feet or hands or run a different line and fix the problem. I used to be able to do that. You just get so frustrated, you can’t see straight.”

So would Stewart like to lobby NASCAR for a change in the rules to help the situation?

“I’ve been fighting that fight forever,” he said. “It’s not something I’m willing to go in depth on, but it’s another reason I’m ready to exit. You can only beat the drum for so long and it can only fall on deaf ears for so long before you finally say, ‘OK, the people who need to make it better can’t make it better or aren’t going to make it better.’ ”

Stewart, 45, announced last year that 2016 would be his last in the Sprint Cup Series. He’s being replaced in the No. 14 car in 2017 by Clint Bowyer.

Stewart made the Chase via his win at Sonoma in June. He got the lead by pitting right before a caution came out and passed Denny Hamlin on the final corner after Hamlin had passed him just a few corners before.

And maybe Stewart is subconsciously airing his frustration this week to get a repeat of Sonoma. On the Friday before his first win since 2013, Stewart said that driving a Cup car “does not make me happy right now.”

The lower-downforce changes in the Cup Series have seemed to help Stewart to a degree. After just three top-10 finishes in 2015, Stewart has seven in 2016. Though his production has fallen off precipitously since 2012.

In 110 races since the 2012 season, Stewart has 25 top-10 finishes. In his previous 500 races, Stewart finished in the top 10 282 times; a rate of over 56 percent.

While Stewart has undoubtedly been affected by the injuries and circumstances he’s faced (a broken back before the 2016 season and a broken leg in 2013 in addition to the mental toll of 2014), it’s fair to wonder just how much the introduction of NASCAR’s current Sprint Cup car has played a role in his performance. Stewart was a sprint car champion before he moved to NASCAR and excelled driving cars that had lots of horsepower and very little grip.

The Gen-6 car replaced the Car of Tomorrow in 2013 and NASCAR has constantly been making tweaks to it in an attempt to affect the racing. The sanctioning body reduced horsepower for the 2015 season and made in-season changes after near-unanimous complaints that it was too hard for drivers to pass. After chopping off downforce for the 2016 season, Cup cars will have even less downforce in 2017.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!