While Lajoie, Cobb and Williams hit .400 with their bats in a single baseball season, Stewart took 11-plus seasons to hit the 400 mark, and instead of a piece of white ash, the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has used a 3,400-pound stock car.

The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will make his 400^th career Sprint Cup start in Sunday’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas. Leading into this milestone race, Stewart has recorded 37 wins, which ties him for 18^th on the all-time series win list with Bobby Isaac. The Columbus, Ind., native has also scored 10 poles, 145 top-fives and 233 top-10s while leading 10,673 laps.

His Sprint Cup debut came in the 1999 Daytona 500 and, by his 25^th start, he had his first win – Sept. 11, 1999 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The wins kept coming, as Stewart has at least one victory in each of his 11 Sprint Cup seasons. His high-water mark of six wins in a single season came back in 2000, but the years haven’t done anything to diminish Stewart’s proclivity for spraying champagne in victory lane, for the 38-year-old Stewart picked up four point-paying wins – five if you include the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway – last season in his first year as a driver/owner with SHR, the team he co-owns with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation.

So, here he is in his 12^th Sprint Cup season, ready to make his 400^th start at the track where he already has a win, four top-fives and 10 top-10s in 16 previous starts. In fact, in the last 10 races at the Lone Star State’s 1.5-mile oval, Stewart has led the league in laps led (453) and time spent in the top-15 (82.9 percent).

After sub-par results in the series’ past two races at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., Texas couldn’t come at a better time for Stewart and the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice team. A strong run is needed, not just for the obvious reason that it’s what makes Stewart tick, but because it will bolster his standing among the top-10 in points, a point of pride for Stewart since he’s finished among the top-10 in points every season but one.

In a state where everything is bigger, there’s no better place to hit “400.”

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You’ll be making your 400^th career Sprint Cup start at Texas. Does that surprise you, or do you look at it as just another number?

“I’ll give you the reality of this deal. 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 (906 starts) or Mark Martin (765 starts), 400 isn’t a lot.”

Even though you downplay your 400^th start, do you consider yourself a NASCAR veteran?

“I think after 11 years I’m somewhat of a veteran. I’m not yet an ageless veteran, but a veteran, nonetheless.”

In addition to your 400^th start, the other storyline this weekend is how the new spoiler will affect the racing at Texas. You tested a version of this spoiler at Texas in January and again at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in March. What are your expectations?

“We really didn’t run as a pack when we tested, but it was pretty much business as usual. There were times we all got around other cars and it didn’t seem like it was any big deal. Late in the session, we got around a couple of guys, but I don’t know if we can put much stock in that. We’re not going to know until we race it.”

You set the bar pretty high last year in your first season as a driver/owner with Stewart-Haas Racing. Last year at this point in the season, you were fifth in points. Right now, you’re ninth in points. How do you feel your season is going?

“Well, you never know. This is a sport where technology changes every week. It’s hard to say where you can go because it’s a week-to-week sport, whereas in other pro sports, it is pretty much where it is. There isn’t a whole lot of technology that changes other sports. That’s where what we do is different. I would like to be a little higher in the points, but the main thing is just being in the top-12 and, after 26 races, still being in the top-12 and having everything ready for that last 10-race stretch.”

In your last 10 races at Texas you’ve led a series-best 453 laps (13.5 percent) and have run in the top-15 a series-best 82.9 percent of the time. How have you been able to adapt to Texas’ layout?

“I’ve found that you can pass anywhere, really. If you get a guy who misses the bottom of the corner and he bobbles, you can get around him. But even if someone doesn’t make a mistake and you’ve got a little better car than they do, the groove has moved up enough over the years to where the track’s a little wider, so you have more room to get a run on a guy. But, as the tires wear out and grip goes away, drivers will make mistakes and a car’s handling will become more important. And when a guy makes a mistake, you need to be there to capitalize on it. You can really pass anywhere as long as the right opportunity comes up.”

Texas is a track where you’ve been consistently good. Does that make you more comfortable?

“Yes. Absolutely.  It puts you in a positive frame of mind when you go to a track knowing that you’ve run well there before.”

What is it, specifically, that makes you so comfortable at Texas?

“You have to be comfortable or you’re not going to go fast. The more comfortable I am, the faster we go.

“This track, the grooves have moved around, especially in the last couple of years. We’ve seen the track start getting wider and, when Eddie (Gossage, track president) took the initiative and got rid of the bumps in (turns) one and two, it made it to where you can move around on the racetrack and where you can run the top side or the bottom side. It’s nice from a driver’s perspective to be able to have that flexibility behind the steering wheel, knowing that if your car’s not driving exactly the way you want it to, you can move around the racetrack and find a spot the car likes better.

“Any time you put more seasons on a racetrack, the better it gets because it seems like the pavement wears out on the bottom and it makes it to where you can run the top and be fast and you can run the bottom and be fast. It makes the whole racetrack, speed-wise, about the same, versus when they pave a racetrack and the only groove is right on the bottom. The fastest way is the shortest way, because it all has the same amount of grip, so the shorter distance is faster. Every year that we come here, I think the racing just gets better and better, as far as being able to move around on the racetrack and guys not having to just follow each other and get stuck behind each other. You can actually pass. You can race. You can get away from guys if your car’s fast.”

Before you raced at Texas in a stock car, you raced there in an Indy car. What was the difference?

“The Indy car was nothing like driving a stock car. You could go anywhere on the track with the Indy car that you wanted to, and you could run wide-open while doing it. It was as easy as riding down the Interstate, whereas with a stock car, you’re not off the gas very long, but you do have to lift. With the track being so line-sensitive, it’s really important that you’re doing the same thing every lap, and making sure you’re very consistent in how you’re driving the car.”

TONY STEWART’S TEXAS PERFORMANCE PROFILE

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.
† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OLD SPICE CHEVROLET met with media and discussed the new spoiler, racing at Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson’s popularity, his involvement in Ryan Newman’s team, and more. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT HOW PRACTICE WENT FOR YOU TODAY: “It was good. We started in race trim and basically the last 20 minutes in qualifying trim. Car is driving pretty good so far.”

HAVE YOU FOLLOWED BUTLER UNIVERSITY RUN THROUGH NCSS TOURNAMENT AND WHAT HAVE YOU PROVEN FROM LAST YEAR UNTIL NOW ON BEING SO CONSISTENT? “I haven’t watched any basketball this season to be honest. I kind of wish I would of, but I haven’t. I feel like everything we have done is because we have good people. We have guys like Bobby Hutchens and Darian Grubb and Tony Gibson. Ryan Newman as a teammate. That is the tip of the iceberg, it trickles down through the people that they have assembled. We have just been really fortunate to have really good people.”

HOW MUCH ATTENTION AND INPUT DO YOU HAVE WITH RYAN’S TEAM? “As much as I put on my team. There is no point in having a second or third or fourth car if you don’t put the same amount of effort in to all the cars. We have our competition meetings on Monday and we try to figure out what happened. We dissect the whole race and find out what happened. What we can do better. It just seems like there has been one thing every race that has caused Ryan to have the struggle he has had during the day so, we just have to figure out how to put the whole day together. They have got times when they are running really good, they just haven’t been able to put the whole day together and that is what we are trying to figure out how we can help them do that.”

TALK ABOUT PHOENIX. IS THAT A BIG SHORT TRACK? “Easy, you stay inside the concrete walls that are on the outside of the track. You stay to the left of that and you have pretty much navigated around there pretty successfully. You know, it races like a short track in all reality even though it is a mile, it races a lot like a short track because of how slick it gets. That track is a pretty old surface but that is what makes it fun is because it makes you have to work so hard to get your car right and get it driving good there. It is a place I like. It is one of my favorite tracks we go to all year is Phoenix is because of that.”

LOOKS LIKE YOU AND TRAVIS KVAPIL GOT TOGETHER AT THE END OF PRACTICE, WHAT HAPPENED, WE ONLY SAW THE END OF IT? “That is a really good question, I wish I knew the answer to that. That is all I saw was the end of it too when he checked up in front of us. Not sure why that happened.”

ARE BRAKES AN ISSUE HERE FOR YOU? “I’ll be honest, even when guys were still having trouble with brakes; we were one of the teams that historically didn’t have trouble week to week. That is part of why we have been decent on road courses too is because our brake package is pretty good. I’ve guess I’m just not really hard on brakes for some reason. “It never seems to really be an issue for us. I don’t think we have really worried about it for three or four years now. The brake packages have gotten better all the way across the board, even with teams that really struggled with brakes seem to have a lot better under to control now.”

AS A TWO-TIME CHAMPION, HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO GET INTO THE OTHER COMPETITORS HEADS? “Yes, definitely. But, the thing is, there is a group of guys that are easy to do that to and there is a group of guys that it is impossible to no matter what you try to do, you can’t get in their heads. Then there is a group of guys that it is real easy to get in their heads. Everybody is different but there are definitely groups that you can use that to your advantage.”

WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON ‘HAVE AT IT BOYS’ AND DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ANY ON-TRACK POLICING THIS WEEKEND? “I thought we handled and answered that question at Daytona during the media day there so I think that is already in the books.”

HOW MUCH HAS THE AIR PURIFICATION SYSTEM FOR DRIVERS BEEN IMPROVED? “I think it is more what NASCAR has done to help out. It seems like everybody has kind of worked together on making it a better air package. It is a lot better than it used to be. In the last two years in particular it is quite a bit better and significantly different. It is a lot better and at the end of the race you feel a lot better. NASCAR will come down and take readings with the drivers after the race and it has been cut in half in the last couple of years from what we saw two, three, four years ago. They have definitely made huge gains in that area and that is better for us down the road.”

WHAT HAS DARIAN GRUBB MEANT TO THIS TEAM?

“He’s the backbone of it. We couldn’t do any of it without him. He was such a huge part of when we hired him a year and a half ago of really getting the ball rolling and getting the process started and getting the right people hired in the right positions. He had to do a lot of work that was above and beyond a crew chief’s job to get everything going. There is absolutely no way that we would be where we are with this organization without him right now.”

ON THE GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED, HOW CHALLENGING IS IT AND HOW DOES IT STAND OUT?

“Well, you know that every corner counts in that green-white-checkered. You’ve got four chances to get through a corner better than somebody else and you know that you have to make that count. A lot of it is the circumstances of how many cars you get by are the tire strategies. And we had the luxury in Atlanta; we had just gotten back on the lead lap there and were able to get tires and that gave us the opportunity to get by those guys. It’s controlled chaos. Everybody is trying to get that one last spot and they know they’ve got two laps to do it in and everybody is bunched together when that happens. So it’s a pretty wild two laps (laughs) and you’re normally glad when it’s over.

“I think a situation like Atlanta where it’s wide and the tires are so different, that makes a bigger difference than it does here (Martinsville). It seems like it takes three or four laps for things to kind of sort out here, so it’s really hard to get two lines. You’re not going to run three-wide here anyway, so starting double file, a lot of times it’s going to stay that way and whichever line gets going you might get a spot because of that. But it’s hard to make up a bunch of spots here. Guys could have 100 laps on their tires and if there are 10 of them in front of you in a green-white-checkered and you have four brand new tires and you’re the fastest car all day, you’re not going to get back by 10 cars in the last two laps.”

IN THE PAST, IT SEEMS LIKE WHEN A GUY DOMINATES, AFTER A WHILE PEOPLE GET TIRED OF IT AND THEY START BOOING HIM LIKE CRAZY. DO YOU HAVE A THEORY AS TO WHY JIMMIE JOHNSON DOESN’T SEEM TO ATTRACT THAT REACTION FROM THE FANS?

“It’s because he doesn’t do anything on the race track that makes them mad other than win. He’s the kind of guy that it’s hard to not like Jimmie. He’s personable. I get along with him great. Every time I won a race last year, he was one of the first people to send me a text message congratulating me. And I think that shows Jimmie’s personality and character. He’s just not one of those guys that goes out there and gets into guys and gets into trouble with guys on the race track that creates some of that animosity that the fans have sometimes.”

DOES THE NEW SPOILER MAKE THE CAR LOOK LIKE A GOOD OLD RACE CAR?

“It looks like a car with a spoiler on it to me. We’re worried about making them go fast. I mean, I’m not entering it in a car show for appearance, so it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m trying to figure out how to make it handle good. Sorry, I don’t think about that stuff (laughs).”

AFTER THE FIRST PRACTICE HERE AT MARTINSVILLE, DID YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE WITH THE NEW SPOILER?

“No. We didn’t notice any difference. You’re running about 80 mph here; you’re not really going to feel a difference.”

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT RACING AT MARTINSVILLE?

“It’s still that old short track feel. That’s what I like. We run a lot of 1.5-mile tracks during the year and this is the only place that races like this. We’ve got two half-mile tracks that we race on. This one’s quite a bit different than where we raced last week (Bristol) and that’s what makes it fun here. You can out-brake guys; you can run the outside if you get a shot, but it’s racing the way we all grew up racing.”

Chevrolet is one of America’s best-known and best-selling automotive brands, and one of the fastest growing brands in the world. With fuel solutions that range from “gas-friendly to gas-free,” Chevrolet has nine models that offer an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway, and offers two hybrid models. More than 2.5 million Chevrolets that run on E85 biofuel have been sold. Chevrolet delivers expressive design, spirited performance and strives to provide the best value in every segment in which it competes. More information can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

- Team Chevy, Press Release

2010 NSCS Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET met with media and discussed racing at Bristol, the new wing, the Talladega test and more. Full Transcript:

ON RACING AT BRISTOL

“It’s a driver’s track and it’s a physical track. It’s a place that we really enjoy. And when you have a good day here it really means a lot because it’s really hard to win here.”

ARE THERE MAJOR DIFFERENCES WITH THE WALLS IN TURNS 2 AND 4?

“Nothing. I didn’t even notice it to be honest. I didn’t even notice it at all. They paint them white every week so we can see them and where they’re at you know you can’t go any further than that so you just use as much track as you can. You can move it five feet and we probably wouldn’t know the difference.”

WHEN NASCAR SAID ‘HAVE AT IT’, WHAT DID THAT MEAN TO YOU?

“I didn’t really think much about it to be honest. I pretty much have been doing what I’ve been doing for 11 years and I really wasn’t going to change what I’ve been doing anyway.”

Audio: 2010 Bristol Food City 500 NSCS Pre-Race Conference with Tony Stewart

IF A DRIVER IS 100 LAPS DOWN, SHOULD HE BE PARKED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY?

“No, because they’re out trying to get points too and every point counts whether it’s trying to make the Chase or stay in the top 35 in points, and for visibility for the sponsors. That’s an important part. Plus, fans want to see race cars on the race tracks. So no, they shouldn’t be parked.”

DID THE WING LOOK GOOD ON A STOCK CAR AND DO YOU THINK IT’S GOING TO LOOK BETTER WITH THE SPOILER?

“Who cares? We’re not going to have it next week. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t really think much about it. It’s a race car and not a show car. So I didn’t think much about it.

HOW DO YOU CHANGE YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE SEASON AFTER HAVING BEEN BEATEN BY THE NO. 48 TEAM FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS?

“It’s a good question but it’s not something we sit here and say well, we’re not going to be good in the middle so we can be good at the end or anything like that. The variable that people don’t take into account is that the technology changes every week and it’s not something that’s huge and noticeable but things constantly get better. You’ve got engineers and dynos and wind tunnels and simulation programs and all that stuff that changes week to week. It’s hard to answer your question and say this is exactly what we’re going to do to make sure that doesn’t happen because what we’re doing now will be totally different four or five months from now when we get ready for the Chase.

“So it’s not that simple. It’s a lot more complex than that and as the sport evolves and set-ups change, you have to change with it and that’s something the No. 48 team has been really good of being able to adapt to and a lot of teams that can adapt to it. It’s a Chase format where you’ve got 10 races and one bad race can take you out of that chance to win a championship. As good as they are, they’ve still had a lot of luck go their way too. Today’s a perfect example. He (Jimmie Johnson) spun off of Turn 4 (during practice) and didn’t hit anything. Part of that is because he’s so talented. So you have to be good but you’ve got to have some luck on your side at the same time because there’s a lot more there that can go wrong than can go right.”

WITH THE PENALTY NASCAR GAVE IN THE EDWARDS/KESELOWSKI INCIDENT, ARE YOU WORRIED THAT SOME DRIVERS WILL MISREAD THAT?

“What you’ve got to remember is that NASCAR is always going to keep everything in check. It’s that simple. NASCAR is always going to make sure that stuff doesn’t get too out of control and that things are where they need to be, so I’m not worried about it.”

HOW MISERABLE AND HOW HARD IS IT TO GET SEVERAL LAPS DOWN AT A TRACK LIKE BRISTOL?

“This is a place where when you have a good day here it’s kind of like a multiplier because it’s had to have a good day here. There are so many variables that can go wrong here at Bristol versus other tracks that if you have that one bad incident that gets you in the back, it’s hard to recover from that and there are guys that have done it and do a good job at it, but you have to have a great race car to be able to recover from something bad, especially if you get laps down. It’s like going from the bottom of the mountain and climbing and climbing and not getting anywhere. You fight and fight and fight and at the end of the day you’re right where you were when you had your problem.”

ON THE FAMILY FEUD, WHAT HAPPENS WITH THAT TONIGHT?

“I have no idea. I’m the black sheep of the family apparently. I’m the single guy in the family so I think I’m getting adopted tonight.”

DID YOU LIKE BRISTOL BETTER BEFORE IT WAS REPAVED?

“It’s been a big debate with a lot of people and drivers and fans. I like it the way it is. The good thing is that you can actually race here. What we did before, you were racing but you were spending more time passing guys by knocking them out of the way. To me that’s not racing. Yeah, if you’re on the last lap and you’re behind a guy and you’ve got to nudge him a little bit to get a shot at it, yeah, guys are going to take that. But you’ve got to do that on lap 20, on lap 220, on lap 320; you had to do it all day to pass guys. At least now you have the opportunity and the track is configured to where at least we can race and we have an option about where we’re going to go. We have a chance to move around and pass guys without having to knock them out of the way.

“If people don’t like that; I mean I’m not sure they really are fans for the right reasons and/or drivers who have the right intentions, it’s nice having a place and facility that spent the time and money they spent to try and make it better and in my opinion they did a really good job with it here.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE TALLADEGA TEST?

“I was comfortable with pretty much the whole day. No matter what the change was and what NASCAR asked us to do with the spoiler size and restrictor plate size, the cars drove comfortable all day; that never was a factor. Just like you always do when you go to a test session, you have the ability to use the data acquisition systems on the cars and we’ll be able to go back and look and see what made it do what and why. Did it go faster or what slowed it down? I’m sure on the crew chief side, they’ll look and analyze all that. There were a lot of good packages and changes and I think there was a lot learned.”

Chevrolet is one of America’s best-known and best-selling automotive brands, and one of the fastest growing brands in the world. With fuel solutions that range from “gas-friendly to gas-free,” Chevrolet has nine models that offer an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway, and offers two hybrid models. More than 2.5 million Chevrolets that run on E85 biofuel have been sold. Chevrolet delivers expressive design, spirited performance and strives to provide the best value in every segment in which it competes. More information can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

- Team Chevy, Press Release

2010 NSCS Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

Hugely successful since it opened in 1961, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway has become the best-selling track in the elite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. And just as The Wall firmly established Pink Floyd in the public lexicon, the wall at Bristol has firmly established the .533-mile bullring as one of the toughest tracks in NASCAR.

As the series gets ready for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol, the track’s walls will again be a subject of discussion. That’s because track officials added 160 feet of SAFER Barrier at the exits of turns two and four in an effort to increase driver safety. But the changes also will create a different transition at the exit of the turns and, while no one knows exactly how this will affect the racing, what is known is that there will be less room for error than ever before.

But for 43 of the world’s greatest drivers, that’s not a problem, right? Umm… the last Sprint Cup race at Bristol saw 11 caution periods for a total of 76 laps, and the track’s high-water mark of 167 laps run under caution was back on July 25, 1965 in the Volunteer 500.

The assembled talent isn’t what’s in question. It’s more the physics, for 43 cars lapping the half-mile oval in 15 seconds at speeds over 100 mph inevitably leads to problems – specifically, a lack of real estate.

As any good realtor will tell you, real estate is about location, location, location. And when it comes to navigating Bristol’s high banks, which vary from 26 to 30 degrees, location means a lot, which is why less room for a driver to catch his sideways racecar as he careens off the corner will be high on the minds of the drivers and the roughly 160,000 people in attendance.

Tony Stewart mastered the Bristol Stomp in August 2001 when he successfully navigated his way from 18^th to first after 500 hard-fought laps in the track’s signature night race. It’s his only win at Bristol, and in his 21 other Sprint Cup starts at the East Tennessee facility, Stewart has found more famine than feast, which is especially ironic since most of his famine has come in the Food City 500.

The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing has a pole, a win, five top-fives, seven top-10s and a total of 1,352 laps led in 22 career Sprint Cup starts at Bristol. He should have more, but the bullring has shown its horns to Stewart more than once, leaving the man they call “Smoke” emitting as much steam as his battered racecar.

But that’s just the nature of Bristol. You’re either really happy or really mad. Middle ground is as hard to find at Bristol as it is in Congress. Yet, just like in Washington, people keep coming back to Bristol to duke it out over what they believe is rightfully theirs.

Sunday’s Food City 500 marks the track’s 99^th Sprint Cup race, and it’s Stewart who expects to be at the head of the table when the checkered flag drops and the trophy is served.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Do you have any concerns about less racetrack being available at Bristol because the SAFER Barriers have been extended off the corners?

“The wall is where it is. They paint them so we can see them. After all these years of doing this, it doesn’t matter where they put it. We have to stay a fraction of an inch off of it and use every bit up to it. I’m sure it’s going to make a difference, there is no doubt about it. We all use every bit of room we can get there, anyway. It will make the exits of the corners a little tighter, but I think the racing will still be good there because of it.”

Even though you have an up-and-down track record at Bristol, do you like racing there?

“Yeah, I love it. Ever since they repaved the place and added to two true grooves, it’s made it racier. We have true side-by-side racing, now. Drivers can make their way through the pack without having to wreck each other while they’re doing it. Before, guys got wrecked who weren’t even involved in what was going on, a lot of times, because you’d go to get stopped and somebody behind you wouldn’t get slowed down enough, and you’d get picked up and turned around and your day was ruined. Now, you’ve got a lot more cars finishing the race. You’ve got a lot more cars finishing on the lead lap. And it’s more exciting because of that. The drivers can pass, now. It’s not just sit there and follow the leader and when you finally run out of patience, you nudge the guy out of the way. You still can do that, but at least you can nudge a guy without wrecking him. I think, from the competitor’s standpoint, we like that a lot more knowing that if somebody has to check up in front of you and you get into the back of him, you’re not necessarily going to wreck him because of it.”

Can you summarize your history at Bristol?

“Bristol is one of those places where you’ve got to have everything kind of go your way. If you have one hiccup, it’s hard to recover from it. We’ve only won one race there and we’ve kind of been all over the board. It’s been feast or famine for us. It’s like if you have one problem in the first half of the day, it’s hard to recover from it. It makes for a very long day. We’ve had more long days than good days.”

How important is track position at a place like Bristol, where everything happens so quickly?

“It’s really important. What you’ve got to keep in mind is that every time the competition gets closer, it makes it harder and harder to start further back and pass cars. If you’re a half-second faster than the 20 cars in front of you, you’re probably going to be able to work your way through. If you’re half of a tenth of a second (faster), it’s a lot harder to make up those spots. With the sport and the competition level going up every week, passing is harder. That’s why track position is so important. The thing about Bristol is that, at the end of the day, you still have to have a good-handling racecar. You can get good track position but, if you don’t have a good car, you’re not going to be able to hold onto it.”

On that note, how important is to have a good qualifying effort at Bristol?

“It’s no different than anywhere else because track position is important everywhere we go. Obviously, Bristol is action-packed and everybody gets in a hurry and there are a lot of cautions. So, it is a little more important this week than some of the other tracks we go to about qualifying because you want to get a good starting position, but more so a good pit spot. These boxes can be tricky during the race, and it’s easy to get stuck in your pit box and lose eight or 10 spots if you get boxed in. If you can get a good qualifying run and get a good pit selection, it helps you through the whole day. No matter whether your car is good or bad, you’re going to gain spots.”

TONY STEWART’S BRISTOL PERFORMANCE PROFILE

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

◘ Race was finished by Todd Bodine, who took over for Stewart in a relief role on lap 367.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

No. 14 Old Spice / Office Depot (Tony Stewart) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart put in a workmanlike performance in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and the result was a solid ninth-place finish. It was Stewart’s third straight top-10 finish at the 2-mile oval and his first of the 2010 season.

“We got a top-10 out of it, but that was about it,” Stewart said. “We made gains on it all day, but we didn’t quite get exactly where we wanted to be. Still, we got better as the day went on.”

The driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) started the 250-lap race from 16^th in the 43-car field, but Stewart soon dropped back with a car that lacked grip whenever he sailed his 3,500-pound racecar into the track’s corners. With less than 25 laps on the board, Stewart was outside the top-20.

Stewart didn’t panic, nor did crew chief Darian Grubb. Instead they went to work, and after two scheduled pit stops on laps 37 and 59, respectively, where track bar and wedge adjustments were made, the red No. 14 responded.

Stewart was back in the top-15 by lap 92, and on lap 99 cracked the top-10 with an authoritative pass of four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon. From there, Stewart was a top-10 mainstay, rising to as high as fifth when he passed Matt Kenseth on lap 119.

The handling of the Old Spice/Office Depot ride was much improved, but Stewart still needed help in getting his car to cut better through the center of the corner. A slight air pressure adjustment was made during a pit stop on lap 134, but a slow tire change dropped Stewart to 10^th in the running order.

“No problem. We’ll get it back,” Stewart said. And by lap 155, he was proven correct, as Stewart was back in fifth.

With his car’s handling still not as good as the leaders, Stewart couldn’t hold onto to his slot among the top-five. He dropped back, but never outside the top-10. When the checkered flag waved after lap 250, Stewart was solidly in ninth.

“We just missed it on taking off on that last run. We got too free,” said Stewart, who now has 10 top-10 finishes in 18 career Sprint Cup starts at Fontana. “But it’s a top-10 and we’ll take it and go onto Las Vegas.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala and Stewart’s teammate at SHR, finished a disappointing 36^th when his engine expired shortly after a restart on lap 146.

Jimmie Johnson won the Auto Club 500 to score his 48^th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his fifth at Fontana. Johnson has won four of the last six Sprint Cup races at the Southern California track.

Kevin Harvick finished 1.523 seconds behind Johnson, while Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five. Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Stewart and Greg Biffle comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 30 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish.

With round 2 of 36 complete, Stewart is 17^th in the Sprint Cup championship standings. He has 235 points and is 96 markers back of series leader Harvick. Newman is 36^th in the standings with 116 points, 215 points behind Harvick.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Feb. 28 Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 2 p.m.

- True Speed Communications for Stewart-Haas Racing/Old Spice Racing/Office Depot Racing, Press Release

2010 NSCS Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

The 2-mile oval situated an hour east of Los Angeles is home to round two on the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule, and it’s where teams will face their first true measurement.

Restrictor-plate prowess and drafting partners are of no help at California. California is about what a team and its driver does to go faster than 42 other team/driver combinations. What other teams do or don’t do have no bearing on how a particular team will perform in front of NASCAR’s No. 1 media market.

Horsepower and putting that power to the pavement through the track’s 14-degree banked corners are of paramount importance – not just at California, but for the rest of the season. Intermediate tracks like California make up the majority of the 22 venues featured on the Sprint Cup schedule. How one performs at California is indicative of how one will perform at similarly styled tracks – beginning with Las Vegas Motor Speedway the very next weekend.

Tony Stewart comes into California 23^rd in the championship standings, but the driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing can take solace in the fact that he’s ahead of four-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson (35^th) and is joined by seven other drivers who made the Chase for the Championship last year but are currently outside the top-15.

The Sprint Cup schedule is a marathon and not a sprint, and Stewart, already a two-time champion (2002 and 2005), knows this as well as anyone. So with the Auto Club 500 next up for Stewart, he views it as a stepping-stone to a club he expects to join 25 races from now – the club of 12 Chase drivers competing for the Sprint Cup championship.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala  for Stewart-Haas Racing:

After spending so much time in Daytona for Speedweeks, how much of a relief is it to get back to a normal three-day race weekend?

“I think everybody’s pretty worn out after being in Daytona for so long. California means a normal routine and a chance for the crew guys to get back to their families for a couple of days before heading to another racetrack.”

Is too much emphasis placed on Daytona in terms of how teams are going to perform for the rest of the season?

“I think so. Daytona is a restrictor-plate race and, unlike Daytona, four guys can’t get in a line at California and go to the front. Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) have always just been two different forms of racing. With the draft being so important at those two tracks, it’s more of a team deal than an individual deal. What happens at California and the races after that has to be done on your own. You can’t help each other at California. You just have to go race.”

A lot of importance is placed on the California race, and it seems an equal amount of importance is placed on the next race at Las Vegas. Why?

“These early races teach you very quickly where your program is, compared to the competition. If your cars are good, you’ll run well at California, Vegas, Atlanta, Texas and so on. Everybody wants to know where they stack up and shake out right now. If you can get off to a good start, it shows that your program is really where it needs to be. This is a huge week.”

When you came to California last February, it was only your second race working with Darian Grubb after 10 years with Greg Zipadelli at Joe Gibbs Racing. Are you as comfortable with Grubb, now, as you were, then, with Zipadelli?

“Honestly, when we started this thing last year, there were times when I was sitting in the car and I told him what my balance was, and he told me what we were going to change, and I was like, ‘Wow, is that the right way to go?’ I told him that, too. It’s just learning each other. It’s learning a new package. It was a big learning curve for me to learn a new chassis. Darian obviously knows what these cars like and what this chassis package likes. It’s just a matter of tailoring it to what I like, feel-wise, in the car. There were times the first couple of races where I didn’t necessarily understand why we were doing something, but when you go out there and it responds positively to those changes, you gain that confidence right away. I have the same confidence in Darian that I had in Zippy for 10 years. It doesn’t take long, and the great thing is I’ve been really blessed and lucky over the last 12 years to have two really good crew chiefs who I can talk to about anything and that I’ve connected with.”

Even though you had a very good season last year, especially for a start-up team, when you look at what Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the No. 48 team have accomplished with four straight Sprint Cup championships, does that provide extra motivation for you and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing?

“They’re the benchmark. They’re the team everybody is looking at. We want to do as good of a job as those guys are doing. That is our benchmark. That’s what we’re looking at and where we want to be as soon as we can get there. When you’ve had a team that’s done it right for that many consecutive years, you know they’ve got it figured out and that it’s where you need to be. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out what they’re doing.

“They’re the team that’s outperforming everybody. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. That’s what this sport is all about. It’s about performance and who does the best job. They’ve done the best job for the last four years. They should be the champions. Is it bad for our sport?  Absolutely not. Every year, somebody’s going to outperform somebody else. It doesn’t have to be a different guy every year. If they do it a fifth time this year, it’s kind of cool, at least from my perspective. I’ve been able to watch Penske dominate in Indy cars and Junior Johnson and Bill Elliott dominate here in NASCAR. Everybody has had his period. Every form of racing has had somebody who’s had a dynasty and had that period where they’ve been the guy to beat. We’re in that period with Jimmie Johnson. And it’s not a period that frustrates you. It just makes you want to work that much harder. You want to be that next team that does what he’s doing right now.”

Danica Patrick will make her second career NASCAR Nationwide Series start this weekend at California. What should we expect?

“Everybody should expect to let her learn. There is a lot of focus on her, and pressure. She’s done a great job of dealing with that. Everybody’s got to remember she’s a rookie. Anything that she does is not like she didn’t meet a goal or she exceeded a goal. This week is another learning experience. If everybody treats it that way, then everything will be fine.”

You are one of the few drivers who have been successful in Indy car and stock cars. What are some of the challenges Patrick faces in transitioning from Indy cars to stock cars?

“She’s got a heavier racecar now that will move around a lot more. That’s the biggest thing. It’s just learning a different racecar and the feel that comes with it. The good thing is that she is focused and determined and is logging a lot of miles right now, and that’s what you have to do. With all the laps she ran at Daytona in ARCA and the Nationwide Series, she left there with a lot of knowledge about these cars. Obviously, what we had at Daytona isn’t what we’ll have at California or Vegas, but it’s still seat time, and that’s what’s important.”

TONY STEWART’S FONTANA PERFORMANCE PROFILE

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.
× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Office Depot Racing/Old Spice Racing, Press Release

2010 NSCS Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart capped what had been a strong Daytona (Fla.) Speedweeks with a disappointing 22^nd-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) came into the 52^nd running of the Great American Race having won yesterday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event and finishing second in his Gatorade Duel qualifying race on Thursday and ninth in the non-points Budweiser Shootout last Saturday.  But an equally strong run in the Daytona 500 never materialized for Stewart as he grappled with a tight handling racecar throughout the 208-lap race, which was extended eight laps past its scheduled distance by a green-white-checkered finish.

“It wasn’t very good for us,” said Stewart of his Daytona 500 outing.  “We just missed.  I’m not sure what we missed, but we’ll figure it out.”

Also missing was a portion of the racetrack, as a chunk of asphalt came apart in turn two of the 2.5-mile oval not once, but twice, causing two red flag stoppages that collectively totaled 145 minutes.  As a result, the race lasted more than six hours and finished under the lights after starting at 1 p.m. EST.

“NASCAR did the best job they could with it.  I mean, what can you think about?  It is what it is,” said Stewart, a track operator himself as he owns Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.  “It’s not something that you plan for, but obviously NASCAR has done a lot of preparation in case something like that happens.  They were prepared for it.  The hard part is, you have to fix it, and they did a good job of that, especially in a crisis situation.”

Once the track was ready for action after the second red flag period, it was a sprint to the finish with drivers slipping and sliding through the track’s corners.  In the last 39 laps that followed the final red flag, the yellow caution flag waved three times for 10 laps for three separate multi-car accidents.

Escaping all the carnage was Jamie McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 to score the biggest victory of his eight-year Sprint Cup career.  It was his fourth career Sprint Cup win, his third in a restrictor-plate race and his second at Daytona.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished .119 of a second behind McMurray, while Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann rounded out the top-five.  Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were nine caution periods for 40 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish.

Stewart’s SHR teammate, Ryan Newman, finished 34^th after getting collected in a lap-194 accident on the backstretch that left his No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet immobile.  Newman was seen and released from the infield care center without injury.

With 35 races still ahead of him, Stewart leaves Daytona 23^rd in the championship standings, 93 points arrears McMurray, the series leader.  Newman is 34^th in points, 129 points out of first.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Feb. 21 Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.  The race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 2 p.m.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Office Depot Racing/Old Spice Racing, Press Release

Fans Can Log On to OldSpice.com or Tony Stewart.com to Place a Bid
Starting at 9 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 15

All Proceeds Will be Donated to the Tony Stewart Foundation

NNS 2010 No. 4 Oreo/Ritz Chevrolet - Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

The unwashed and autographed Old Spice towel was handed over to a charity auction to benefit the Tony Stewart Foundation, and will run for one week beginning at 9 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 15.  Fans can place a bid for the autographed towel by logging on to www.OldSpice.com or www.TonyStewart.com.

Throughout the 2010 racing season, every time Stewart wins a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race or a NASCAR Nationwide Series race, his Old Spice victory lane towel will be auctioned off for charity.

BACKGROUND: Old Spice is a long-time NASCAR sponsor, celebrating 11 years of partnership with Stewart, who can be seen during the season behind the wheel of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet.  As a NASCAR driver, Stewart relies on Old Spice anti-perspirants, deodorants and body washes to stay cool and smell great before and after a race.

Old Spice is the No. 1 anti-perspirant/deodorant stick and body wash choice for guys in the United States.

The Tony Stewart Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds primarily distributed to three specific groups – chronically ill children, drivers injured in motorsports activities and organizations dedicated to the protection of various animal species.  To date, the Foundation has awarded almost $4 million to assist charitable initiatives for more than 130 organizations throughout the United States.

About P&G (NYSE:PG):

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

- True Speed Communications for Stewart-Haas Racing/Old Spice Racing, Press Release

2010 NSCS Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart took full advantage of his time in Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.  The driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) came from his 13^th-place starting spot in the non-points race to lead twice for six laps, and he made other drivers who tried their hand at the lead work hard to hold onto it.  Stewart ended up ninth, but the result was not indicative of the overall performance.

“I wouldn’t say we had a very strong car, but we did get good track position,” said Stewart after logging his 10^th top-10 finish in 11 career Budweiser Shootout starts.  “We had to be in clean air.  We got really tight even if we were second in line.”

With 10 laps remaining, the handling on Stewart’s red No. 14 machine tightened up considerably.  A caution on lap 71 allowed Stewart to come to pit road for a four-tire change and fuel fill-up.  Both would allow his Old Spice/Office Depot ride to handle better, as the new tires would provide better grip and the heavy fuel load would weigh down the rear of the car.  The downside was that of those who pitted with Stewart, which was all but two of the lead-lap cars, many took only two tires, leaving Stewart 13^th when the race restarted on lap 75 in a green-white-checkered shootout.

Time would be of the essence for Stewart when the green flag dropped, but when a multi-car crash happened as the field came through turns three and four of the 2.5-mile oval, the race was effectively over.  The yellow caution flag came out, another lap was run, and then the checkered flag fell.  The race was over, and the scoring pylon displayed a ninth-place finish for Stewart.

“We have a lot of work to do this week,” Stewart said.  “We’re going to take advantage of every minute we get.”

Stewart’s SHR teammate, Ryan Newman, fared worse, as he was caught up in the accident that ultimately ended the race.  The driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala finished 19^th, but was credited with a DNF (Did Not Finish) as he had to pull his car into the garage area two laps short of the finish.

The Budweiser Shootout is an exhibition race featuring the following, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series within the last two seasons:

• The 12 drivers that qualified for the 2009 Chase for the Championship
• Past Sprint Cup champions
• Past Budweiser Shootout winners
• Past Daytona 500 winners
• Past Coke Zero 400 winners
• The reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year

This year’s field included 24 drivers.

Kevin Harvick won the Budweiser Shootout for the second straight year.  It was his first Sprint Cup victory of any kind since winning last year’s Shootout.  Kasey Kahne finished second, while Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.  Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers, Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya comprised the remainder of the top-10.

Next up for Stewart and Co. is the Gatorade Duel – twin 150-mile heat races that set the majority of the 43-car Daytona 500 field.  Those get underway at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 11 with live coverage on SPEED.  The green flag waves for the 52^nd Daytona 500 at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 14, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at noon.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Office Depot Racing/Home Depot Racing, Press Release

2010 NSCS Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

As the official deodorant and body wash of NASCAR, Old Spice is celebrating its 11-year anniversary with Stewart, and during that time has become a popular part of his post-win ritual. Every time Stewart wins a Sprint Cup or NASCAR Nationwide Series race during the 2010 season, he’ll use the Old Spice towel to wipe off the sweat and sweet spray of victory. He’ll later autograph the towel and turn it over to Old Spice for a charity auction on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Tony Stewart Foundation.

Stewart has waved a sweat- and champagne-soaked towel in NASCAR victory lanes more than 50 times since coming to NASCAR from the IndyCar Series in 1999. And this year expects to be no different as Stewart starts his second season as a driver/owner with his No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing.

The No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet makes its debut during the Feb. 6 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Old Spice will also be seen throughout the 2010 Sprint Cup season as Stewart’s primary sponsor Feb. 21 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Feb. 28 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 28 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, April 25 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, May 8 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, June 6 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, June 13 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, June 27 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, July 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Aug. 8 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Sept. 11 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Oct. 16 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Nov. 15 at Phoenix International Raceway.

“I’m thrilled to be behind the wheel with Old Spice again, and we look forward to another winning season,” Stewart said.  “Whenever I win, you can bet that I’ll be waving that Old Spice towel in celebration. Since we started these auctions, fans have raised more than $20,000 for my Foundation and helped countless people.”

The Tony Stewart Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds for distribution to three specific groups – chronically ill children, drivers injured in motorsports activities and organizations dedicated to the protection of various animal species. To date, the Foundation has awarded almost $4 million to assist charitable initiatives for more than 130 organizations throughout the United States.

“No one works harder on and off the track than Tony Stewart, and we’re proud to be a long-time supporter of his efforts,” said James Moorhead, Old Spice deodorant brand manager. “We’re excited for the return of the Victory Towel auctions and anticipate many return trips to victory lane, especially after Tony’s strong season in 2009.  He’s proven it’s no sweat to be both a driver and an owner, and we look forward to raising even more money for the Tony Stewart Foundation.”

For more information regarding Old Spice Racing and to see exclusive Tony Stewart photos throughout the season, visit www.OldSpiceMediaCenter.com and click on the Old Spice Racing tab.

About P&G (NYSE:PG)
Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Old Spice Racing/Office Depot Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OLD SPICE/OFFICE DEPOT IMPALA

TONY STEWART: The race, it’s high on the to do list. We’ve been close a couple times. I’m ready to get started today. Excited about it.

Q. Is the Shootout a more important race after having no testing down here?

TONY STEWART: You know, with the package, I don’t think it’s as critical as it used to be when we were a little more open on the spring packages and all that. But there’s no substitute for track time. So I’m not gonna say it’s an advantage, but it’s sure not an a disadvantage to run the Shootout. It’s not giving you the conditions you’re going to have during the whole race, but I think there is some things you can learn from that, that you won’t learn in practice, for sure. Normally it’s on tire wear more than anything.

Q. Can the drivers police themselves?

TONY STEWART: Yeah, you got to remember the bump‑drafting deal hasn’t been around for eternity. I mean, now the cars, the bumpers match up, which is a better situation for us, because if you run into the back of somebody on accident, you don’t wreck them automatically. That’s what used to happen. It’s always been a situation when I started in this deal, the drivers kind of let you know what the etiquette was. That’s how you learned. I don’t think it’s bad for the drivers to kind of get back into that role.

It’s not that NASCAR is just saying, Okay, you guys have free rein. They’re still gonna police everything. Trust me, they’re still the father figures of the group here, and it has to be that way. When it comes to the etiquette side, they’re putting it back into the drivers’ hands and I think that’s something that we’re all appreciative of.

Q. You wouldn’t be shy about doing that?

TONY STEWART: I’ve never been shy about it in the past. I’m not going to be shy about it now.

Q. Said on or off the track?

TONY STEWART: What’s that? It normally starts off the track. Then if they don’t get it after you talk to them about it, then you do it in the ‘tough love session’ we call it.

Q. Is this Daytona 500 going to look that much different than last years?

TONY STEWART: Especially on the bump‑drafting topic, everybody has to keep in mind, that is a lot more critical issue at Talladega than it is at Daytona. Daytona, you got handling involved, so you’re not able to just get on somebody’s bumper. Especially as wavy as this track is, this track has its own personality and character that Talladega doesn’t have. Talladega, when they repaved that, it is so smooth that you can get on a bumper and stay there, it’s no big deal. Here you try to get on a guy’s bumper through the corner, you got a lot of bumps to go through.

That’s what makes Daytona so cool. You still have a two‑and‑a‑half‑mile track here that is a handling track. You have to make your car drive good. Not everybody is going to be able to have that luxury, just being able to push everybody like everybody is talking about. It’s more of a Talladega deal than it is for here.

Q. NASCAR is encouraging drivers to be more aggressive. Is that a good thing?

TONY STEWART: I think so. NASCAR has always been smart about how the direction of the sport is going. You know, where our sport is different than any other pro sport, every day when we go on that racetrack, we’ve got corporate America and Fortune 500 companies on our chests and on our racecars. Other pro sports don’t have that. Those guys, some of the stuff they do, compared to what we do, makes us look like fire boys. It’s put us in a box in growing the sport.

I think we got to the point where we got too conservative and too corporate minded on that, and even corporate America has kind of said, hey ‑‑ when corporate America gives you their blessing, I think it’s all right to go ahead and loosen the reins a little bit. I think NASCAR is really smart and conscious of that. They never just say, What we’ve got is good enough. They never sit on their hands with it. They always look at how they can make it better.

Just because they make a decision, they don’t etch that in stone and say this is the way it’s going to be for eternity. They’re always going back and revisiting how they can make things better. It’s nice to be a part of something that’s that forward thinking, and that open minded and enough to keep looking at things and trying to figure out, you know, as the times change how they have to change to go along with them.

Q. With that in mind, does it matter how NASCAR loosens up the rules? Is that box always going to be here?

TONY STEWART: Yeah, to a certain degree, yes, it’s always going to be there. You’re still representing major corporations. But at the same time I think the different companies are a little more flexible about what’s acceptable to them and what’s not. So, you know, it’s hard for NASCAR to police that for every team and driver when, you know, what some of these sponsors are willing to let go on may be different from team to team.

Q. Do you think corporate America wants a bad boy or two to spice up the mix?

TONY STEWART: Absolutely. Because if it brings more ratings to the series, it’s better for everybody. Yeah, I think so. I think corporate America is smart enough to understand that you have to have that side to it.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: I think we’ve always kind of seen that. There’s a lot that’s changed in the 11 years that I’ve ran in the Cup Series. You know, it’s a sport that’s always gonna be changing. That’s what we mentioned when we were in Charlotte. Basketball courts, they don’t change the dimensions of them, they don’t keep moving the height of the hoop up or down. Our sport is always in a constant state of change. I think that’s what kind of gives us an advantage to a certain degree over other pro sports. Our game isn’t necessarily the same all the time. Technology plays a huge role in our sport. Where the technology we know is present in other pro sports, but it’s not due ‑‑ it’s due to the performance of the athletes, it’s not the performance of the show necessarily.

I think that’s something that, you know, is a positive in our sport.

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TONY STEWART: There’s no comparison. I think we have four employees on the USAC side. I think we have 160 employees at Stewart Haas. It’s comparing apples to oranges. It’s a lot bigger organization with all the aspect in Cup versus an open‑wheel team.

Q. (Indiscernible)?

TONY STEWART: It’s never a routine that you get tired of, that’s for sure. You like to make it routine. When you’re doing a good job, it’s routine.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: Well, I don’t know that there really is a difference. The part to where there’s a problem is when the guy that’s pushing the guy in front pushes him to where the guy in front becomes out of control or gets put in a situation he doesn’t want to be in. That’s the part where the bump‑drafting gets out of control.

But as far as, you know, how hard the guy gets to the guy’s bumper, that’s not an issue. It’s more what’s acceptable to the driver that’s getting pushed.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: Oh, yeah. Well, I think it’s more what you want. You know, it never bothered me. I mean, I’ve had those same hits where it’s knocked my head back to the headrest, moved my helmet around my head.

You know, I think that’s where the drivers have to kind of self‑police what they think is acceptable and not acceptable. That’s kind of the hard part about being that car in front is you don’t necessarily have control of how hard that guy is going to catch you or push you.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: I’m not confident that everybody is going to use their head in that. I think there’s gonna be some self‑policing between the drivers that are going to say, Hey, that’s too much or whatever. So at least I hope that’s what happens because you don’t want to have to put that in NASCAR’s hands. You don’t want to have to put them in that position to have to make that call.

Q. Is it hard to calibrate the self‑policing?

TONY STEWART: Well, no. I think it’s what’s acceptable to you. It’s doesn’t matter whether it’s your first season or your 11th season, it’s what are you comfortable with. If you’re doing something to somebody that they’re not comfortable with, it’s probably not a right thing to do.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: Well, you got to remember, for the first nine years we didn’t have square bumpers like we have now. I mean, when you hit somebody, you try to push somebody, you were picking the back of their car up, too. It was a real defined line of what was acceptable and what was not. This makes the line a lot more gray, knowing you can push somebody and not wreck ‘em.

You know, it’s kind of like the wreck we had at Talladega. I mean, Ryan is behind me. Ryan wasn’t even trying to push me. I had to check up. Ryan checked up. The guy behind him didn’t see everybody check up and it pushed Ryan into me. It pushed him into me so hard, it got me sideways and that’s how I got in the wall. That’s easy after a while figuring out what’s going to be all right and what’s not going to be all right.

Q. Did NASCAR tell you or warn you or talk to the owners about decreasing the purses before it actually went into effect?

TONY STEWART: No, I didn’t know they did that.

Q. Like 5% or so across the board. How does that affect your overhead?

TONY STEWART: The same as it would if they took your paycheck and cut it by 10%. I mean, obviously we have our sponsorship dollars, so it’s not gonna be a true 10% cut to the bottom line. But, you know, it’s just like anything else, this is a sport where whatever money is available to you, you’re going to spend to try to make your racecars as fast as possible. If you lose that in income, then that’s just that much less that you have in that flexibility to work on your program. So you’ll be smarter. You’ll look at what corners you can cut here and there, just like you can any other year.

It does make it tougher.

Q. Can you talk about being back in the racecar. You guys have so many things you have to do. Is that true joy?

TONY STEWART: Yeah, I mean, we all are somewhat stir crazy. I luckily got to go and race a little bit in the off‑season. So I didn’t, you know, get the cabin fever like everybody else has or some of the other drivers have. But it is. It’s nice to get started and, you know, get that first practice session. You always feel better when you get out of the car after that session that you feel like you’re back in the routine again. It only takes that one session to really get that feel back.

Q. For the average fan out there, how do you use the next nine days to build the 500?

TONY STEWART: You spend every moment that you’re on the racetrack trying to get your balance where you want it. You know, the conditions are going to be different every day. There’s going to be overcast days. There’s going to be days that are hot or cool. You can’t really predict 10 days out what the temperature of the racetrack or the conditions are going to be.

Every day you’re out there, you’re logging information, you’re trying things, knowing that eventually when race day gets here, you hopefully have a day like you had in practice and you know how to start the balance of your racecar. Every bit of track time you get, you’re logging information and using that for race days.

Q. No regular formula you use for Speedweeks?

TONY STEWART: Boy, I wish. It’s never the same. Never the same.

Q. Is it good for the sport to have a guy like Jimmie that dominates four years in a row or is it better to have a little parity?

TONY STEWART: You know what, I’ve listened to so many people say how bad they think it is. But I think it’s kind of a cool time in the sport. It’s not cool if you’re the guy that got your butt kicked by him. But it’s neat to know we have a sport that’s so competitive, but there’s one team that’s been able to outperform every team for four straight years. It’s kind of hard to imagine. It’s kind of cool to be a part of that era.

Like I say, you want to be the guy that’s doing it. It makes you appreciate what they’re doing, you know, how hard they’ve had to work to accomplish their goals.

I don’t think it’s good or bad. At least in my perspective it’s not. But, you know, I’m not the one that puts the people in the stands every week. Their perspective is what really counts.

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TONY STEWART: I won in July last year, didn’t I? Can’t get any stronger than that.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: I don’t know about this race. I don’t know if it will work in July when I come back. I feel like we’re prepared as I’ve ever been. I feel like I’ve got just as good of stuff as I’ve ever had. I’ve never come to Daytona for the 500 and felt like I didn’t have good enough stuff to win ever. I didn’t always do a good enough job to do it. But I never felt like I showed up and said we don’t have what it takes to win.

Q. You should have a lot of confidence at this place.

TONY STEWART: Yes and no. When you’ve won everything but the 500, it’s hard to have that confidence that you know how to win the 500. But it’s like we know how to win all the other races. We just need to figure out how to win the one that matters the most.

Q. The men and women serving in the military across the world watching, want to send a message to them?

TONY STEWART: Yes. Just be careful, be safe. They’re not out of sight, out of mind. We’re thinking about them every day here. Very appreciative of them. Because of them we get to do what we love to do, get back in a racecar. That’s the freedom they give us.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: You know, I think it’s easy for us to all have ideas. But I think the only ones that see the whole picture and see it accurately is NASCAR. It’s kind of like the old CART situation. The owners got in the decision making power side of it, and that’s in my opinion when CART went downhill.

I think you have to throw ideas out there and then NASCAR has to evaluate those ideas and figure out what they think is best for the series. I think it’s good that they do that versus us doing it for them.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: The good thing is I feel like we have a shot at winning the championship this year. We lead the points for 13 weeks. We missed a little bit when it counted the most. But, you know, we weren’t the only ones. We still finished in the upper half of the Chase guys. You know, for a first‑year team, I didn’t think that was too bad. If we can do that the first year, I don’t know why we shouldn’t set our goals higher this year, set our goals where they should be every year when you start the season.

Q. (Indiscernible)?

TONY STEWART: Yeah, I think a little bit. I mean, like I said, it was hard to predict what was going to happen. We knew what tools were available to us, but we didn’t know how it was all going to come together. It definitely was better than I think we all had anticipated. Thankful for that.

Q. What are your impressions of Brad Keselowski?

TONY STEWART: Which aspect?

Q. A lot of talent, pretty aggressive, pretty brash.

TONY STEWART: Copy. I agree (laughter).

Q. (Indiscernible)?

TONY STEWART: You know, it’s hard to say. What he did in the Cup Series is ‑‑ what he did in Nationwide may be different than what his approach will be in the Cup Series. You evaluate it when you’re around him. If he needs it, he’ll get it just like everybody else does.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, obviously I had Bobby Labonte as a teammate. I would be in the Nationwide car. You know, I think back to Rockingham, for example, where the Nationwide garage was on the backstretch, the Cup garage was on the frontstretch. He would make that trip over to help out. Him and Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett, those were guys very early on, Jeff Gordon, that made themselves available. These are guys that you’re competing against and guys that are at the top of their game. Why would they want to help out? You realize that part of helping out is also helping them out, too, because it keeps you from making mistakes that could help them, too.

It seems likes that’s kind of the mentality there. You want to beat guys because you outperform them, not necessarily because ‑‑ I guess everybody just has been willing to help. It’s always been that way since I’ve been here.

Q. (Indiscernible)

TONY STEWART: I don’t know that it is different. When I raced Sprint cars and open‑wheel cars, it was the same thing. The guy that you wrecked with the night before that was mad at you might have a part that you needed the next night and they were willing to loan it to you to help you get through the night. I think racing as a whole, it’s been that way. Obviously when you get to Formula One, it’s different than that. IndyCar racing is different. But I think help from the driver side, though, at this level is pretty cool.

About General Motors: General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

- GM Racing Communications, Press Release

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart (below) and Ryan Newman (above) racing together in the May NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The duo led the series in laps completed in 2009, with each driver completing 99.8 percent of the 10,492 laps available. They also combined for 20 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes, which helped place both drivers in the Chase for the Championship. (Photo credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The 2009 season brought back the aura of the driver/owner, as Tony Stewart accomplished what hadn’t been done by a driver/owner in nearly 20 years – win races and contend for the championship.

He and teammate Ryan Newman ended the season tied for completing the most laps of all drivers – 10,468 laps completed (99.8 percent), missing only 24 laps.  Their nearest pursuer in this category was David Reutimann, who missed 84 laps.

That consistency allowed both drivers to secure spots in the 12-driver Chase, automatically putting them in championship contention.  And while the two drivers finished sixth and ninth, respectively, in the season-ending point standings, their rank is not indicative of their season-long body of work.

Stewart, in his 11^th year of Sprint Cup competition but first as a driver/owner, carried the mantle at SHR behind the wheel of his No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala.  Top-10 finishes early in the year quickly led to top-five results, which segued to 11 podium finishes between rounds six and 22 of the 36-race schedule.

The breakthrough win came on May 16 when Stewart won the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C.  That spark set a fire, for Stewart would go on to win four point-paying Sprint Cup races – Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in June, Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in August and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City in October.  Fanning the flames was Stewart’s rise to the top of the championship point standings, as he took the point lead May 31 following a second-place finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.  He held the top spot for 13 straight races until the Chase in September, where the points were reshuffled and Stewart was seeded second.

By taking the point lead and winning at Pocono, Stewart ended two long and unceremonious streaks for driver/owners.

It had been 556 races since the last driver/owner led the championship point standings – Alan Kulwicki on Nov. 15, 1992 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when Kulwicki clinched the championship by 10 points over Bill Elliott.  And it had been 375 races since the last driver/owner won a Sprint Cup race – Ricky Rudd on Sept. 27, 1998 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.  Stewart obliterated both marks in the span of a week.

Newman, meanwhile, was forced to play from behind after early-season misfortune left him a precarious 32^nd in points entering round five at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.  But like a football team that mounts a comeback after halftime, Newman and Co. responded with a solid seventh-place finish at the rough and tumble short track.  They then rattled off seven top-10 finishes over the next 10 races, catapulting the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation team up the championship standings to fourth by the time the series rolled into Brooklyn’s Michigan International Speedway in June.  Along the way, Newman scored the first pole for SHR on May 21 when he set fast time in qualifying for the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.  He would grab another pole later in the year in the series’ return trip to Martinsville to nab his 45^th career Sprint Cup pole.

“I’m like a proud father,” said Stewart, who co-owns SHR with Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world.  “Gene Haas (CEO, Haas Automation) is the one that started all this and he’s the one that’s given us all the tools and opportunities to do what we’re doing.  It’s nice to be able to show him the results of what he’s built.  I’ve been able to come in and kind of tie the loose ends together for him.  It’s been neat to see over the last 13 months how this has all come together and progressed through the season.

“I feel like for a first-year team, I have to give us an ‘A’.  If we could’ve won the championship, you would give yourself an ‘A+’, but for a first-year team an ‘A’ or an ‘A-’ is appropriate for what had to do to come together in such a short amount of time.  There was a lot of change for everyone who came to Stewart-Haas, and to get all the people organized, get them working together, along with getting all of our equipment ready, I think we did fairly well, and from that standpoint, I don’t think I could be any happier.

“Obviously, we wanted to win the championship this year and after leading the point standings, we felt like we had a good shot.  We just couldn’t get that run in the last 10 weeks that we wanted.  But we’ll do whatever we can next year to try and pick up on that and improve on it.”

“Making the Chase was a dream come true,” added Newman, who made the Chase for the third time in his career after a three-year absence.  “To think back to Daytona where we basically went through three racecars and to climb all the way back after 26 races to make the Chase – it says a lot about the hard work that everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing has put into this effort.

“We really didn’t know what to expect coming into this season.  People asked about our expectations and our goals – and we had some goals – but we didn’t know what the expectations would be.  And people said it looked like a risk to leave Penske Racing, but to me, Stewart-Haas Racing looked like an opportunity.  Yeah, there was risk associated with it, but it was an opportunity.

“We achieved a lot, but we’re not totally satisfied either, and that’s because we’re not sitting at the head table in Las Vegas this year.  Still, we’ve done a lot of great things as an organization.  We’ve done a lot of great things as drivers to get to where we are, and for me personally, to make the big change, and obviously Tony as well in leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to do this, we didn’t have any idea what to expect.  We just knew that we wanted to go out there and have fun, and if we had fun, we were going to be successful one way or another.”

Entering 2010, expectations are now set at SHR.  The organization knows its can win races, poles and contend for the championship.  The element of surprise is gone.  Gained, however, is knowledge, and lots of it.  With a year of success under its collective belt, SHR can take its notes from this past season’s grind and formulate them into a foundation of information that did not exist this time last year.  Knowledge is power in the elite Sprint Cup Series, and SHR has plenty of mind power to augment its horsepower.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world.  The team fields two entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for Stewart and the No. 39 U.S. Army/Tornados/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman.  Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with more than 150 employees.  For more information, please visit www.StewartHaasRacing.com.

- Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart’s chances of ending the 2009 season with a victory appeared quite good as he led twice for 43 laps early in Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

However, the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) saw his opportunity for victory go south at the South Florida track when he became involved in two separate incidents with Juan Pablo Montoya. The result of those incidents was some crinkled sheet metal and a disappointing 22nd-place finish.

After starting fifth, Stewart remained in the top-five for the first 116 laps around the 1.5-mile oval, including two stints at the front of the 43-car field during laps 33-52 and laps 63-85.

However, while racing down the frontstretch on lap 116, Montoya’s car ran into the back bumper of Stewart’s Chevrolet, causing minor damage to the rear of the Office Depot/Old Spice machine. One lap later as the duo exited turn two and ran down the backstretch, the left-front of Stewart’s car made contact with the right-side of Montoya’s No. 42 machine, which caused Montoya to slap the SAFER Barrier on the outside retaining wall in turn three.

Stewart suffered damage to his left-front fender and was forced to pit for minor repairs before restarting 25th on lap 127. Montoya, meanwhile, had to take his car to the garage for more extensive work.

Shortly after the incident, it appeared all was not lost for Stewart and Co., as he charged his way back to 11th by lap 156. But as Stewart worked his way back toward the front, Montoya’s crew worked to fix his car, and he ended up rejoining the race, and as it would turn out, reigniting his on-track skirmish with Stewart.

Montoya and Stewart made contact once again, this time exiting turn four on lap 157 when Montoya slammed into the back of Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet, sending it spinning off the corner and through the strip of grass that separates the racing surface from pit wall.

Stewart was unable to keep it off the fence, and his car suffered damage to the front splitter and left-front fender. While the Office Deport/Old Spice crew was able to make repairs, Stewart fell one lap behind the leaders and any chance he had at victory was over.

Stewart eventually earned his way back onto the lead lap via the lucky dog rule on lap 217, but his car was in no shape to crack the top-20.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS and Stewart’s teammate at SHR, finished 23rd.

Denny Hamlin beat Jeff Burton by 2.632 seconds to win the Ford 400 and score the eighth victory of his Sprint Cup career, his fourth of the season and his first at Homestead.

Finishing third was Kevin Harvick, while Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and A.J. Allmendinger comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 31 laps, with four drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race.

Both SHR drivers were represented in this year’s Chase for the Championship. Stewart ended the year sixth in the standings, 343 points behind recently crowned champion Johnson, who won his record fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title. Newman finished the year ninth in points, 477 behind Johnson.

The final Chase standings for the 2009 season are as follows:

1. Jimmie Johnson (6,652 points) +/-0
2. Mark Martin (6,511 points, -141) +/-0
3. Jeff Gordon (6,473 points, -179) +/-0
4. Kurt Busch (6,446 points, -206) +/-0
5. Denny Hamlin (6,335 points, -317) +3
6. Tony Stewart (6,309 points, -343) -1
7. Greg Biffle (6,292 points, -360) +/-0
8. Juan Pablo Montoya (6,252 points, -400) -2
9. Ryan Newman (6,175 points, -477) +/-0
10. Kasey Kahne (6,128 points, -524) +/-0
11. Carl Edwards (6,118 points, -534) +/-0
12. Brian Vickers (5,929 points, -723) +/-0

The 2010 Sprint Cup season kicks off Feb. 5-14 with the traditional Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The 52nd Daytona 500, the first point-paying race of the season, is scheduled for Feb. 14 and will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Old Spice Racing/Office Depot Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/OLD SPICE IMPALA SS

TONY, GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS ON YOUR FIRST YEAR AS A DRIVER AND OWNER OF STEWART-HAAS RACING: “I am like a proud father. It has been neat to see over the last 13 months how this has all come together and progressed through the season. From that standpoint, I don’t think I could be any happier. Obviously, we wanted to win the championship this year and after leading the point standings, we felt like we had a good shot. We just couldn’t get that run these last 10 weeks that we wanted. We will do what we can next year to try and pick up on that and improve on it.”

COULD YOU SPEAK THE COMMENTS YOU MADE ON THE RADIO REGARDING DALE EARNHARDT, JR. AFTER THE WRECK LAST WEEKEND AT PHOENIX? HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO HIM? “I haven’t actually. Everybody knows when we are in the heat of the moment, it doesn’t matter who it was, I would have said the same thing. It was being upset because we are running for all the points we can get right now and we took a hit in the points last week because of that incident. It didn’t matter who it was. That is heat of the moment.”

WHAT GRADE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR ORGANIZATION FIRST YEAR OUT OF THE BOX AND IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES CHAD (KNAUS) AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON) SO SUCCESSFUL? “If we knew that, we would be doing it ourselves. As far as our team is concerned, I feel like for a first-year team I have to give us an A. If we could have won the championship, you would give yourself and A+, but for a first-year team an A or an A- is appropriate for what had to come together in such a short amount of time. The changes and trying to get people organized and equipment ready and just so many new people working together for the first time. I think we’ve done fairly well.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE WHEN THERE IS A RACE WINNER’S CELEBRATION HERE AT THE END OF THE RACE BUT YOU AREN’T THE CHAMPION AND THERE IS ALL OF THAT GOING ON? “We obviously can’t win the championship tomorrow night so our goal is to win the race. So if we can accomplish that, even though Jimmie or Mark are going to have their celebration tomorrow night, if you are that team that can win the race, that is a lot of momentum you carry in to the next season. This is the last chance to build momentum for next year. If you can leave this event tomorrow night winning the race, you carry that win all winter long. You are crowning a season-ending champion but at the same time, there is still an individual race that is being competed for and that is our goal.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE RACE WINNER GETS SLIGHTED AT THIS RACE? “No, not at all. I watched the truck race last night. The interview with Kevin (Harvick) in victory lane was awesome and I thought it was appropriate and thought they did a good job with the champion’s celebration also.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN MOST ABOUT DARIAN GRUBB THIS YEAR AND WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU THE MOST ABOUT HIM? “He is just a very smart, calculated crew chief. His demeanor is the one thing that I didn’t know much about going in to it but, his demeanor through the whole season has been very calm and collected. He just doesn’t get wound up. He doesn’t get super emotional on the radio and he has a great sense of humor too and that is something that does come out and I think that is where we complement each other. Our personalities are similar from the relaxing standpoint and humor standpoint. I think he has helped me with the calm demeanor on the radio.”

WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO THANKSGIVING WEEK, THE FIRST WEEK OFF BEFORE YOU FACE GETTING READY FOR NEXT SEASON? “I’m going home. We will have our competition meeting on Monday like we always do every week. Depending on how Monday goes, if I need to be there Tuesday and Wednesday, I will stay. Most likely when we get done with our meeting, I am hoping to be able to go home as soon as possible. But, being a car owner, if I need to be there until Thursday morning, which is what I will do. A lot of it will be dictated on how our meeting goes on Monday.”

PURELY ON DRIVING ABILITY OUT ON THE TRACK, WHERE DO YOU RATE JIMMIE (JOHNSON) AND WHAT ARE HIS STRENGTHS VERSUS THE OTHER GUYS? “It doesn’t matter, like you said, you have to have the package, it doesn’t matter how good of a car, crew chief and crew you have, if you aren’t a good driver, you aren’t going to make that package work. Jimmie does a great job behind the wheel. He proves it in the Cup Series. When he goes back and runs a Nationwide car, he runs well there. You don’t get to this level by not having talent. He has an extremely high amount of talent. He knows what he wants out of his race cars. He knows that feel that he wants. There are guys that are good qualifiers and fall off a little in the race and there are guys that are vice versa. Jimmie is one of those guys who excels at qualifying and the race. I think he is one of the more rounded drivers we have.”

AS A CAR OWNER AND DRIVER WHO RENOVATED A TEAM AND TOOK IT TO THE CHASE, YOU HAVE VERY GOOD PERSPECTIVE ON THE RED BULL TEAM AND BRIAN VICKERS. HOW DO YOU VIEW THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS YEAR?
“They’ve done a great job. They’ve also brought a rookie driver in that’s starting on the front row tomorrow. That’s proof that their organization is doing a good job. Some of their resources have helped them with that and that’s important in our series. I mean that’s how you get to that level that they’ve gotten to is by having good resources and good people and there’s not an organization out there that makes the Chase that isn’t doing a good job. So they’ve obviously in a short amount of time done a great job of making adjustments. Their constantly changing personnel and upgrading their people and that’s what you have to do.”

FANS CAN’T FEEL THE EMOTIONS YOU’VE HAD IN MAKING THE CHASE. CAN YOU SHARE WITH THEM WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT ABOUT BEING IN THE CHASE AND THE EMOTIONS THAT YOU HAD?
“It’s no different than any other pro sports when you’re going through the playoffs. You know that everything you’ve worked for during the first 26 weeks of the season all comes down to these last 10 weeks. So you know if you have one bad race, that’s one-tenth of your opportunity to win a championship. As we’ve seen over the last two or three years, you can’t make that mistake and still have an opportunity to win the championship. So you place your whole season in those 10 weeks when you make the Chase, and if you have a bad week it’s hard on you.”

WITH THE SUCCESS OF THE NO. 14 AND THE NO. 39 TEAMS THIS YEAR, DO YOU ANTICIPATE ANY PERSONNEL CHANGES WITHIN THE GROUPS ON EITHER TEAM GOING INTO NEXT YEAR? HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO KEEP THOSE SAME PEOPLE TOGETHER TO ENSURE SUCCESS?
“I think it’s important, but at the same time if you feel like you have to make changes, you have to do that. You hope that you have the right core group of people in place where you’re not making those changes, but you can’t sacrifice that for not making the changes that are necessary. So you evaluate where you’re at and that’s where the next couple of weeks will be pretty important as far as analyzing. I already know that there are one or two guys that want to come off the road that have just been doing this a long time and they’re ready to be home a little more. So you have to make changes because of that; you have to make changes because you’re trying to improve your program. But you try to keep that core group as intact as you can.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON MENTIONED THAT IT WAS COOL THAT YOU WON A PRE-CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP AND A CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP AND HE KIND OF WISHES THAT HE HAD A PRE-CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP. DOES HE NEED A NON-CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE CONSIDERED AMONG THE GREATS?
“Oh, gosh no; are you kidding me? What did I get for leading the point standings after 26 weeks? I didn’t get anything.”

NO, ONE CHAMPIONSHIP UNDER THE OLD FORMAT AND ONE UNDER THE CHASE FORMAT
“Oh, okay, I understand what you’re saying. Does he need that? Well, he doesn’t have that and with the format we have now he doesn’t have the opportunity. But no, you don’t need that. I feel like this is a tougher format than the old format was. Obviously, just the sheer math of it; you have one bad day out of 10, that’s one-tenth of your schedule. Whereas before it would be 1/36th of it. So one bad day didn’t affect the outcome as bad as it does now. I feel just the opposite. I feel like the way he’s done it in this format is more impressive than winning it in the old format.”

DO YOU TAKE SPECIAL PRIDE IN THE FACT THAT YOU DID IT BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER?
“I’d rather be in his situation and be running for my fourth in a row (laughs), so, not necessarily. Any time you win a championship it doesn’t matter what format it is whether it’s a single event championship or a season championship, you cherish them. So I can’t say that I value one over the other. They were both special in their own way.”

WITH THE RELEASE OF KRAIG KINSER, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A REPLACEMENT FOR DONNY SCHATZ IN THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS? AND WHAT’S THE STATUS OF YOUR USAC TEAMS FOR 2010?
“We’re going to scale our USAC program back to two Silver Crown cars and one dirt Sprint Car. We’re not going to compete in the pavement Sprint Car races, but we’ll only have one team there and we won’t have any Midget teams next year. On the Outlaw side, Donny is obviously coming back next year and on Kraig’s side, the hard part was we waited to a part of the season that’s kind of hard for him, helping him get a ride for next year, which we’re doing everything we can to help with that. It was kind of hard for both of us. We saw some improvement early fall that we thought was going to continue and it fell back off at the end of the year. So we’re just trying to find someone that we feel like is a better fit. Kraig and Donny ran two different packages, chassis-wise and engine-wise and we’re trying to figure out how to bring that together where both guys are running the same chassis and same engine package. So we’re trying to find a driver that likes the J&J car like Donny does and somebody that we feel will be an asset to Donny as a teammate and be able to work together with him. So that’s what we’re working toward.”

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR CHASE, AFTER KANSAS IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE WELL-POSITIONED TO CHALLENGE JIMMIE JOHNSON FOR THE TITLE. IS THERE ONE RACE OVER THE LAST SIX THAT YOU REALLY FEEL COST YOU, MOMENTUM-WISE? OR WAS IT SIMPLY A CASE OF THE NO. 48 TEAM STEPPING UP THEIR GAME?
“Well they’ve definitely stepped up. You can’t take that away from them at all. Obviously the Talladega wreck didn’t help us any and last week’s wreck didn’t help us any. So that’s two weeks where we finished 20th or worse and that was a huge hit to us.”

About General Motors: General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

- GM Racing Communications, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

For Davis, mercurial owner of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, his motto is “Just win, baby!”

President Bush told us all to “remain steadfast and resolute.”

And the legendary Lombardi, former coach of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and whose name graces the Super Bowl trophy, famously said, “Winning isn’t everything.  It’s the only thing.”

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, is out of championship contention.  His only real goal, and care for that matter, is ending the 2009 season with a win.  It’s a mindset that would play well with Davis and Lombardi, and for our 43^rd president of these United States, he would be proud to know that Stewart’s mindset hasn’t changed since the season-opening Daytona 500 nine months ago.

Stewart is already a race winner in 2009, in fact, a multiple race winner.  He won the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., before rattling off point-paying victories in June at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, in July at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, in August at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course and in October at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.  Along the way, he’s finished second four times and collected 15 top-fives and 23 top-10s in his inaugural season as a driver/owner.

But if his end result isn’t a win, Stewart isn’t all that impressed, even if he is the first driver/owner to win a race since Ricky Rudd on Sept. 27, 1998 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.  Like a master craftsman who would never utter the phrase, “That’s good enough,” you won’t hear Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup champion (2002 and 2005), say at the end of Sunday’s season finale that he was “tickled to death just to be in the top-10.”

Stewart wants to win, plain and simple.  And if the only remaining option is a race win, then Stewart will remain steadfast in that pursuit at Homestead.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What is your mindset leading into Homestead ?

“We’re just going out there to try and win the race.  That’s all we can do.  We’re not in a championship battle, but we’re still in a battle for points.  We still have to go out and do the best we can to get as many points as we can.”

(Currently fifth in points, Stewart can climb to as high as third or drop to as low as ninth. – Ed.)

While you’re not in championship contention, do you take solace in knowing how well your debut season was as a driver/owner?

“I think it’s hard to be disappointed, no matter where we end up in the points.  Just by getting two cars in the Chase and winning the races we’ve won this year exceeded more than many could’ve anticipated, and what we could’ve anticipated.  We knew on paper that it was possible, but the reality of it was going there and competing against great race teams every week.  To be able to accomplish this goal has been an awesome year for us.  It’s still no different than it was when everybody talked to us after Richmond about losing a 200-point lead or whatever it was.  We knew that when we took the point lead.  We knew that’s what the situation was.  We’re not disappointed because of that.  It just shows that we still have work to do.  We were able to exceed our expectations for the year, but at the same time, we won’t stop at that.  We’ll keep pushing to be better and to try to be where the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) team, the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) team and the No. 5 (Mark Martin) teams are, and all these great race teams that we’re competing against and that we’re racing for points.  Those are the guys that we want to try to figure out of how to be better and how to win more races so that we can put ourselves in position to win next year.”

Fine Christmas Chocolates

Stewart-Haas Racing gets its engines and chassis from Hendrick Motorsports, yet that’s the same team you spent much of the year battling for the championship.  Were you surprised at how well the exchange of information went between the two organizations?

“Not really.  That was part of what weighed into my decision to do what we’re doing here, and that’s knowing that we have a good engine package and a good chassis package that’s proven.  The key to that is making sure that the information is going both directions.  It’s not one-way information from them to us or just us to them.  It’s making sure that we keep that constant flow of information and that’s what is helping all of us.

“It’s been consistent from day one.  As soon as we made the commitment that this was what we were going to do, and as soon as Darian Grubb (crew chief, No. 14 team) came on board, that was the biggest key in making sure that it was a smooth transition.  Darian knows the system and the people involved, and I think with that came the trust from their side knowing they had somebody that they could trust on our side that had been at Hendrick Motorsports for a long time and is passionate about Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Knowing the pressure that comes with being in championship contention entering Homestead, will you enjoy the last race of the season simply because there is no pressure?

“Trust me, I’d much rather have the pressure of being the point leader, or even remotely close to the point leader.  But being where we are does take a little bit of that edge off.  Still, I’d much rather be right there in the middle of the championship knowing that we’ve got a shot of winning it.  Pressure is a part of this business, and we’re all used to it by now.”

When you won the second of your two championships in 2005, what did you do the week leading into the last race of the season at Homestead when the title was on the line?

“I went home.  My favorite thing to do is to go home and be around my friends and my property.  I did that until I absolutely had to leave to go to Florida.  The more relaxed you are going into this weekend, the better off you’ll be.”

Were you better prepared to clinch the championship in 2005 at Homestead because of your experience when you ran for your first championship in 2002?

“We were so busy the first time, because we were never in that position.  Granted, there wasn’t a Chase then.  There were only about three or four of us at that time that were even a factor.  Then when the Chase came around, obviously, it was a little different deal, because there were still four or five of us mathematically eligible for it.  It’s just one of those situations where what we learned from previous championships in the IRL and USAC and all of these other things, you can mentally drain yourself before you even get to that point.  The way to combat that is to go out and do your favorite things and go have fun and enjoy the time that you have home before you have to go.”

Have your almost 11 years of Sprint Cup experience allowed you to know when to push for position and when to settle for what you have?

“I’m not sure when I actually realized all that.  I think it’s just common sense to know that if you make a mistake and don’t finish, it’s worse than losing one or two spots because you just don’t have the car that’s going to get it done that day.  It’s just something that’s always made sense to us.  If you wreck the car trying to maintain a spot or get a spot that you think you need, it’s risk versus reward.  The risk outweighs the reward at that point.  A lot of times, it’s just easier to let one spot go if you have to, and either wait for the next pit stop or realize that’s just all we have for that day.”

Explain a lap around Homestead.

“You go off into turn one, and when you get into the banking, you lift.  If your car is good, you can go and not use any brake, or very, very little brake.  You stay one lane off the bottom, past the transition – it’s a little less banking on the lower level toward the apron – so you stay one level above that.  As soon as your car settles in you can really just mash right back in the gas and just ride that second level around down onto the backstretch.  And then you do exactly the same thing going into turn three.  A lot of times in turn three, because of the wind direction there, you can actually go into the corner a lot harder and a lot further, actually turning into the corner before you get off the gas.  And it’s the same thing, once that car settles in, you get on the gas and ride it around to the frontstretch.  It’s a pretty smooth racetrack.”

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Office Depot Racing/Old Spice Racing, Press Release