Historic Start for Stewart
By Pete Pistone.
Tony Stewart may be in the mood to toast a little Napa Valley wine this weekend.
When the NEXTEL Cup Series takes the green flag in Sunday's Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway, Stewart will be making his 300th career series start.
While the start may be historic to some, however, Stewart isn't that impressed.
“I’ll give you the reality of this deal," he said. "I didn’t even know it until somebody told me. And I was like,‘Okay, that’s cool.’ But then it was back to business. It’s a milestone, but it’s not as big when you compare it to some of the other drivers and see how many starts they have in their career. When you compare it to Richard Petty (1,184 starts) or Ricky Rudd (889 starts) or Mark Martin (686 starts), 300 isn’t a lot.”
The best way for Stewart to celebrate would be with a trip to victory lane and his sixth career Cup Series road course win.
Stewart has won twice in Sonoma and is confident coming into this weekend's race.
“It’s definitely a place I feel like we’ve got the potential to win, even before we make a single lap,” he said.
“You’ve just got to have a good handling car," Stewart said of what it takes to win at Infineon. "Aerodynamics are not the least bit important at Sonoma, which is great because it’s one of the few tracks that we go to that we don’t have to worry about aero balance or anything like that. It’s just a matter of keeping a well-balanced car all day and having good pit stops and pit strategy and staying out of trouble.
“A lot can happen at Sonoma. You’ve got to be patient all day. You get a lot of cautions there and a lot of guys end up beating and banging on each other. I mean, the cars look like they’ve been to a race at Martinsville (Va.) because it’s a short road course. Save that car for the last 20 laps because that’s the critical time. Do what you have to do to get through the first 90 laps, but those last 20 are the ones when you really have to go, and you need your car to be in one piece to make it happen.”
One thing new this year at Infineon will be the debut of the "Car of Tomorrow" on a road course.
Although teams have tested the COT on road courses, Sunday's race will mark the first in race conditions.
“Well, it crashes the same," Stewart said of tests with the new car at Virginia International Raceway. "I went off track twice and tore up a lot of stuff. It’s just slower. It doesn’t drive as well, obviously. But it’s still a fun car to drive on a road course because it is different.”
It may seem a little different to Stewart that he's now considered one of the leaders and veterans of the garage area as he gets ready to make the 300th start.
“I think after eight years I’m somewhat of a veteran," he laughed. "I’m not yet an ageless veteran, but a veteran nonetheless.”
By Pete Pistone.
Tony Stewart may be in the mood to toast a little Napa Valley wine this weekend.
When the NEXTEL Cup Series takes the green flag in Sunday's Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway, Stewart will be making his 300th career series start.
While the start may be historic to some, however, Stewart isn't that impressed.
“I’ll give you the reality of this deal," he said. "I didn’t even know it until somebody told me. And I was like,‘Okay, that’s cool.’ But then it was back to business. It’s a milestone, but it’s not as big when you compare it to some of the other drivers and see how many starts they have in their career. When you compare it to Richard Petty (1,184 starts) or Ricky Rudd (889 starts) or Mark Martin (686 starts), 300 isn’t a lot.”
The best way for Stewart to celebrate would be with a trip to victory lane and his sixth career Cup Series road course win.
Stewart has won twice in Sonoma and is confident coming into this weekend's race.
“It’s definitely a place I feel like we’ve got the potential to win, even before we make a single lap,” he said.
“You’ve just got to have a good handling car," Stewart said of what it takes to win at Infineon. "Aerodynamics are not the least bit important at Sonoma, which is great because it’s one of the few tracks that we go to that we don’t have to worry about aero balance or anything like that. It’s just a matter of keeping a well-balanced car all day and having good pit stops and pit strategy and staying out of trouble.
“A lot can happen at Sonoma. You’ve got to be patient all day. You get a lot of cautions there and a lot of guys end up beating and banging on each other. I mean, the cars look like they’ve been to a race at Martinsville (Va.) because it’s a short road course. Save that car for the last 20 laps because that’s the critical time. Do what you have to do to get through the first 90 laps, but those last 20 are the ones when you really have to go, and you need your car to be in one piece to make it happen.”
One thing new this year at Infineon will be the debut of the "Car of Tomorrow" on a road course.
Although teams have tested the COT on road courses, Sunday's race will mark the first in race conditions.
“Well, it crashes the same," Stewart said of tests with the new car at Virginia International Raceway. "I went off track twice and tore up a lot of stuff. It’s just slower. It doesn’t drive as well, obviously. But it’s still a fun car to drive on a road course because it is different.”
It may seem a little different to Stewart that he's now considered one of the leaders and veterans of the garage area as he gets ready to make the 300th start.
“I think after eight years I’m somewhat of a veteran," he laughed. "I’m not yet an ageless veteran, but a veteran nonetheless.”