THE END OF ME: Tony Stewart announce his wife Leah Pruett committed suicide a few minute ago in a heartbreaking statement…

His ability to drive just about any car fast compares favorably to American motorsports legends such as A.J. Foyt, his boyhood hero, and Mario Andretti.

While Stewart never won the Indianapolis 500 – his best finish was 5th in 1997 – he was in pole position as a rookie in the race in 1996.

“Smoke” would win the IndyCar championship in 1997 after claiming four USAC titles earlier and becoming the first driver ever to win the USAC Triple Crown Championship in 1995.

On Wednesday, Stewart, the graying 44-year-old driver/owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, is expected to announce that he will retire as a driver from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the end of 2016.

It will be an emotional moment for Stewart, who has made 582 Sprint Cup starts in 17 years of competing in the series, winning 48 races thus far and three Sprint Cup titles (2002, 2005 and 2011).

It’s a painful decision, but not shocking in light of what Stewart has experienced the past couple of seasons, which saw him break his right leg in 2013 in a sprint car crash at Southern Iowa Speedway and his involvement the tragic death of driver Kevin Ward Jr. at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Aug. 9, 2014 in New York.