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And would love to win the Southern 500.
From the Morning News Online:
Darlington will be Stewart's time to shine
By WADE BAKER
Staff Writer
DARLINGTON -- Tony Stewart is an odd one.
He actually likes coming to Darlington, trying to master the tricky 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.
That, by itself, makes the 31-year-old stand out.
However, when you've grown up slinging sprint cars around dirt tracks across the country, it's understandable.
"It certainly hasn't hurt me," Stewart said, as he enters today's qualifying for the 53rd running of the Southern 500. "I feel like all the stuff that I did in the past to get me to this level definitely helped me, and I really believe that the racing I do now outside of Winston Cup continues to help, especially now when the tracks are hot and slick."
With Stewart fourth in points, just 139 behind leader Sterling Marlin, he's entering the part of the Winston Cup schedule he feels favors him the most.
At Bristol, a track he figured he would have a better finish at, Stewart placed his No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac 24th after having late mechanical problems. But with two of his better tracks on deck -- Richmond's night race follows Darlington -- he figures to make up ground.
He also has Louden and Dover coming up, before going back to faster tracks, such as Kansas Speedway.
"For us, it's the best stretch of the schedule," said Stewart, in his fourth Winston Cup season. "It's tough for the race teams and the crews, but for me personally, this is one of the stretches in the schedule I really enjoy.
"This is the part of the year you can really capitalize on it by preying on the weak, so to speak."
Stewart won't forget his last visit to Darlington anytime soon. He led his first laps on the original superspeedway, but later fell out of the race in a scary wreck.
After leading seven laps and lingering in the top-five for much of the day, Stewart collided with Buckshot Jones coming out of Turn 2 on lap 226. With Stewart's Pontiac still spinning, Jimmy Spencer T-boned the No. 20 car. Stewart was eventually air-lifted to Carolinas Hospital System, before being released the next day.
"I believe it equals our best run," he said. "We got ourselves in a situation where we were on four fresh tires and we were able to take advantage of that. But with the wreck, it just didn't work out."
Stewart has good reason to think the run in the spring's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 wasn't a fluke.
In his seven trips to Darlington, he has four top-10s. His best performances have traditionally come in the Southern 500. Stewart has finished no lower than 12th in the historic race, with his best finish being a fourth last season. He also has a ninth- (2000) and 12th-place finish (1999).
There's just something about the fall race at Darlington, that meshes with Stewart's racing background.
"It gets hot and slippery," he said of the track. "The cars start sliding around a lot more, and that seems to play into my hands. It's something that I'm comfortable with, whereas some other drivers might not be."
Make no mistake about it, the track is different from the spring race to the Southern 500 at Darlington. And, just like the other 42 drivers, Stewart is well informed.
As always, it will be about managing tires.
"It seems like the track is a lot hotter and gives up a lot more grip in August," he said. "But that track has always been a tire management type of race track, so you're still going to have to worry about saving your tires."
Regardless of what has happened in previous races, there is one thing Stewart knows for sure -- a win in the Southern 500 will be his biggest NASCAR victory to date.
Stewart is missing the other major Cup wins as well, being shut out in the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400.
"I'd love to win the Southern 500," said Stewart. "When I'm watching TV and I see an old race from Darlington, I'm able to see the history of the Southern 500 ... It was kind of like the appreciation I got for Daytona ... Everybody knows it's the biggest race of the year, but to see its history, you realize why it's such a spectacle.
"It's the same with the Southern 500. You see its history and you realize what a special event it is, and it makes you want to win it that much more."
From the Morning News Online:
Darlington will be Stewart's time to shine
By WADE BAKER
Staff Writer
DARLINGTON -- Tony Stewart is an odd one.
He actually likes coming to Darlington, trying to master the tricky 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.
That, by itself, makes the 31-year-old stand out.
However, when you've grown up slinging sprint cars around dirt tracks across the country, it's understandable.
"It certainly hasn't hurt me," Stewart said, as he enters today's qualifying for the 53rd running of the Southern 500. "I feel like all the stuff that I did in the past to get me to this level definitely helped me, and I really believe that the racing I do now outside of Winston Cup continues to help, especially now when the tracks are hot and slick."
With Stewart fourth in points, just 139 behind leader Sterling Marlin, he's entering the part of the Winston Cup schedule he feels favors him the most.
At Bristol, a track he figured he would have a better finish at, Stewart placed his No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac 24th after having late mechanical problems. But with two of his better tracks on deck -- Richmond's night race follows Darlington -- he figures to make up ground.
He also has Louden and Dover coming up, before going back to faster tracks, such as Kansas Speedway.
"For us, it's the best stretch of the schedule," said Stewart, in his fourth Winston Cup season. "It's tough for the race teams and the crews, but for me personally, this is one of the stretches in the schedule I really enjoy.
"This is the part of the year you can really capitalize on it by preying on the weak, so to speak."
Stewart won't forget his last visit to Darlington anytime soon. He led his first laps on the original superspeedway, but later fell out of the race in a scary wreck.
After leading seven laps and lingering in the top-five for much of the day, Stewart collided with Buckshot Jones coming out of Turn 2 on lap 226. With Stewart's Pontiac still spinning, Jimmy Spencer T-boned the No. 20 car. Stewart was eventually air-lifted to Carolinas Hospital System, before being released the next day.
"I believe it equals our best run," he said. "We got ourselves in a situation where we were on four fresh tires and we were able to take advantage of that. But with the wreck, it just didn't work out."
Stewart has good reason to think the run in the spring's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 wasn't a fluke.
In his seven trips to Darlington, he has four top-10s. His best performances have traditionally come in the Southern 500. Stewart has finished no lower than 12th in the historic race, with his best finish being a fourth last season. He also has a ninth- (2000) and 12th-place finish (1999).
There's just something about the fall race at Darlington, that meshes with Stewart's racing background.
"It gets hot and slippery," he said of the track. "The cars start sliding around a lot more, and that seems to play into my hands. It's something that I'm comfortable with, whereas some other drivers might not be."
Make no mistake about it, the track is different from the spring race to the Southern 500 at Darlington. And, just like the other 42 drivers, Stewart is well informed.
As always, it will be about managing tires.
"It seems like the track is a lot hotter and gives up a lot more grip in August," he said. "But that track has always been a tire management type of race track, so you're still going to have to worry about saving your tires."
Regardless of what has happened in previous races, there is one thing Stewart knows for sure -- a win in the Southern 500 will be his biggest NASCAR victory to date.
Stewart is missing the other major Cup wins as well, being shut out in the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400.
"I'd love to win the Southern 500," said Stewart. "When I'm watching TV and I see an old race from Darlington, I'm able to see the history of the Southern 500 ... It was kind of like the appreciation I got for Daytona ... Everybody knows it's the biggest race of the year, but to see its history, you realize why it's such a spectacle.
"It's the same with the Southern 500. You see its history and you realize what a special event it is, and it makes you want to win it that much more."