Stewart still longs for an Indianapolis 500 victory

[Schwartz Fan]

Stewart still longs for an Indianapolis 500 victory
By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, May 21, 2008


The days leading up to the NASCAR All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway are among the busiest all season for Sprint Cup drivers, but that doesn’t stop Indiana native Tony Stewart from paying attention to the Indianapolis 500.

Stewart, of Columbus, Ind., is a five-time Indy 500 starter and the 1996 500 polesitter. While Stewart can’t race at Indy this Sunday, he visited the track earlier this month and watches as much television coverage as possible.

“Any time I can turn the TV on, I’m watching,” Stewart said. “At Darlington, for example, I was watching pole-day qualifying right up until after the drivers meeting and before I had to go out for driver introductions.

“I watch as much as I’m able to watch. The same thing goes with race day. On Sunday, I’m able to sleep in because of the late start time for us, but when I’m at the house, I watch as much of it as I can before I have to leave for the track, and then once I’m at the track, I watch the end of the race.”

Like a lot of kids in Indiana, Stewart grew up a fan of the 500. He remembers his first trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when his father, Nelson, and some of their friends made the trek to the Brickyard.

“We were in some bus that had a luggage rack in the top of it,” Stewart said. “You had to get up at o-dark-30 to get on the bus to ride up to Indy for race day. They threw me up in the luggage rack. Somebody gave me a pillow and everybody started throwing their jackets on top of me to keep me warm.

“The ride home wasn’t nearly as cool, because after a long day at the track, everybody but my dad and I were kind of rowdy. I was probably 5 years old. We sat in turns 3 and 4. We were two rows up, right in the middle of the short chute. The hard thing was you could hardly see anything. The cars were so fast. They were a blur. But to see those cars under caution and smell the methanol fumes and everything, it was still pretty cool.”

Stewart has since won two NASCAR races at Indy, though he longs for an Indy 500 win. An Indy 500 start can’t happen for Stewart at this point in his career, but down the road, who knows?

“Logistics-wise, it’s impossible to do it and be a Sprint Cup driver,” Stewart said. “With the start time being what it is, there’s really no
window to do what you need to do in Indy and then get to Charlotte and be in the car in time to start the race.

“Can it happen down the road after my Cup career, if and when it ends? You never know. I’ve learned to never say never.”


Stewart still longs for an Indianapolis 500 victory - Sprint Cup Series - Scenedaily.com