Tony Stewart's phone got stolen at a carnival in Miami

HOMESTEAD, Florida — Tony Stewart’s final weekend as a Sprint Cup Series driver has gotten off to an inauspicious start.

Stewart said Friday that his phone was stolen Thursday night. He and his girlfriend stopped at a carnival Wednesday night in the Miami area and decided to return Thursday evening before going to Homestead-Miami Speedway. As they were getting ready to leave, Stewart realized he didn’t have his phone.

“We went back to last night on our way back to here and we were just getting ready to leave and I realized it wasn’t in my pocket,” Stewart said. “I had her phone, my phone, a couple other things I was holding for her and when I was checking to see where it was at it was not there anymore.

“We bumped into some people right before that and I’m fairly certain that’s when it decided it went a different direction.”

Stewart said he realized they could use the “Find my Phone” feature on his iPhone and attempt to track the perps.

“It was kind of fun because they have that “Find my iPhone” app,” Stewart said. “And we went chasing people forever trying to find it. Until we realized they were in the parking lot and they got in the car and they were gone. So I hit block on it, deleted it and now I have to get a new phone.

“Which is devastating. I do everything off my cell phone. My life is on that cell phone. I start my life over again tomorrow.”

Given that the Cup Series is currently sponsored by a cell phone provider, it’s a tad curious that a three-time series champion is waiting on a replacement phone. One of NASCAR’s marquee names has to wait to get a new phone?

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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!

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