CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There are hundreds of guidebooks on how to handle grief, how to navigate the emotional suffering that follows a loss.

None of those studies offer a clean timetable on when the roller coaster of emotion will come to a stop. So there is no timetable on when Tony Stewart will get back into a race car.

The three-time NASCAR champion has skipped two races since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. during an Aug. 9 sprint car race. His Stewart-Haas Racing team will not pressure him to return.

“The Chase is of the lowest priority as it relates to Tony right now,” said Brett Frood, executive vice president at SHR. “Right now it’s about getting Tony in a better place than he is. When he’s ready to do that, he’ll get back in the car.”

Stewart has been in seclusion since Ward’s death, his whereabouts undisclosed.

He’s been described as heartbroken, devastated for Ward’s family and overcome by the outpouring of behind-the-scenes support he’s received from the NASCAR community. But very few people have spoken to Stewart, who seems to be grieving away from many he’s close to at the track.