It is not rare for NASCAR fans to witness historic Cup cars being sold for jaw-dropping prices. Who can forget Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, which was valued at around $85 million back in 2007? Despite such mouth-watering prices, such stories hardly take us by surprise. And maybe that is why fans couldn’t believe their eyes when another legendary race car came into the news recently for a completely different reason.

The car we are talking about is Tony Stewart’s Pontiac through which he sent shockwaves in the NASCAR paddock in his debut Cup Series season.

Tony Stewart’s rookie car fails to enthrall the auction audience with its price

After dabbling in USAC and IndyCar, the then 28-year-old from Indiana baffled the NASCAR world in 1999. Tony Stewart, who had already built an impressive resume in the other formats of motorsports, was ready to challenge the veterans on the grid. It did not take him long to prove his caliber as a Cup Series driver. Driving the #20 Home Depot Pontiac, Stewart marked his first Cup Series victory on his 25th start, positing among the fastest rookie drivers to earn a victory. The victory came on the track of Richmond, with Greg Zippadeli as the crew chief, after he led for 333 laps out of 400. 

Arguably, other than this win, what made his year memorable was his car, which he had inherited from Bobby Labonte. The car was built in 1997, and it was last used by Stewart. As the car was put on auction by Mecum Auctions at Kissimmee, it failed to gain a hefty price. And it was eventually bought for a mere $15,400. 

According to a post on Twitter that threw light on the sale of the auction, stated, “This Tony Stewart 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix sold at Mecum yesterday for $15,400. The chassis was named “Elvira” and was raced by Bobby Labonte in 1997-98. At New Hampshire in July 1999, Stewart led 118 laps in it, but ran out of fuel while leading with two laps to go.”

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Fans show their disappointment after the #20 car gets sold off

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Furthermore, the car’s dashboard also flaunted the signatures of Stewart as well as his crew chief Zipadelli.

After being apprised of the price of the car, the NASCAR fans were disappointed by the digits and felt cheated, as it was nothing less than a cheap bargain. For the fans, the auctioned value failed to justify Stewart’s celebrated rookie season.

Fans expressed their displeasure and commented underneath the post,

 “$15400 is a bargain.”

“Da*n 15k was it just a roller or the whole thing.”

“Da*n! What a bargain, if I had been there and seen that price tag I would have purchased it.”

While others wrote, “I think the Winston Cup Museum pieces will disappoint some people in what they are expecting them to bring.”

“That’s a very inexpensive basis for a historic race series entry..”

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The price at which the car was sold was nothing less than a spoilsport, however, it was a lucky grab for the new owner of the car who has grabbed a piece of NASCAR’s history and perhaps also the secret recipe of how champions are made.