Tony Stewart Ready for Darlington
Darlington, the 1.366-mile oval, has been hosting NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races since 1950 when Johnny Mantz drove a black Plymouth to victory in a 74-car field. The quirky, egg-shaped layout Mantz spent over six-and-a-half hours lapping has lived on, giving today’s drivers the ultimate throwback track.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, is a throwback himself, drawing comparisons to the ultimate old school racer – A.J. Foyt.
When not racing in Nextel Cup, Tony Stewart will steal away time to drive USAC Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown cars, along with dirt late models, winged sprint cars and pavement modifieds, or to keep things simple, anything with four tires that goes fast.
Extra-curricular racing is nothing new to Tony Stewart. The Columbus, Ind., native was jumping from car to car and race to race even back in his Indy car years when a full-time ride in Nextel Cup was a dot on the horizon. Proving this point was an Indianapolis T-shirt vendor who printed up a shirt with Tony Stewart’s name and an Indy car and a Midget that read, “New Blood From an Old School.”
The list of accomplishments made by the likes of Foyt and the competition of his day was never lost on Tony Stewart. The venues where Foyt and others made history resonate with the two-time Nextel Cup champion, and venerable Darlington is proof-positive of that.
“When I’m watching TV and I see an old race from Darlington, I’m able to see the history of Darlington and the Southern 500, along with all of the greats who have run there and won there and crashed out of the joint,” said Tony Stewart.
Despite only moderate success at Darlington – seven top-10s in 14 career starts with a best finish of fourth (twice – spring 2000 and fall 2001) – Tony Stewart likes Darlington. Its history, its roster of champions and its difficult nature makes a Darlington victory a cherished victory.
With 29 wins under his belt but none at Darlington, Tony Stewart is primed to log that long-desired win at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” He’ll get that chance come Saturday night with the Dodge Avenger 500.
Why is a win at Darlington a feather in any driver’s cap?
“A lot of it has to do with the history of the track. If you can say you won a race at Darlington – that’s a feather in your cap. That’s something to be proud of, knowing that you’re in a group of drivers with names like Pearson and Petty – the pioneers of our sport who you hear stories about the races they ran there and the races they won there.
“Darlington is such a tough track to get a handle on and to be good at all day. You don’t see a lot of guys who have a lot of success there. You see only a handful of guys who religiously run well there. That just shows you how difficult Darlington is to get a handle on. If you can have a good day and win there, it’s a track that’s like winning at Bristol (Tenn.). It’s the same type of feeling – knowing that you conquered something that’s very hard to obtain.”
Is Darlington a frustrating track for you, in that you run well – top-10 – but not as well as you’d like?
“I could probably run backward and run about the same as I do going forward. That’s how close I feel like I am to figuring out Darlington. We’ve run decent at Darlington. I mean, I’ve run in the top-five there before, but every time I think I have something figured out, I normally whack the wall and go, ‘Oh boy, I really did figure it out, didn’t I?’ I don’t know that I’ll ever feel like I’ve got Darlington totally figured out.
“It’s a driver’s track. As a race team we’ve kind of struggled there. I don’t really believe we’ve had a race there where I felt like we had the car to beat or that we were a top-three car. Typically, we’re a 10th-place car there. It’s a place where we need to be better. It’s one of those tracks where if you’re not having a good day, it makes you miserable. But that’s what makes Darlington fun if you do get around there well. It’s hard to be good there, and the guys who are good – it’s a fun day for them. Hopefully we can get ourselves in a position where we can get our balance a little better there and keep working toward being a top-five car instead of just a top-10 car.
“But at the same time, there are a lot of teams that aren’t at the level that we are at Darlington. It’s just one of those deals where the only way you’re going to find a way to make yourself better is to go there and just do your homework. It takes a lot to get around that place consistently and fast all day. It’s just a tough place to get around well, and there’s a group of guys that get around there well every time we go there. It’s like we’re right on the verge of being one of those guys. We just need to find a little something that can help us get into that elite group.”
Does not having Rockingham (N.C.) on the schedule – a track with a similar surface to Darlington – make Darlington a tougher track to get a hold of, because instead of having two tracks with which to gauge yourself, you now only have one?
“The tracks were so different from one another that I think Darlington has always stood out on its own. That’s what makes tracks like Darlington more special to go to and win at. It’s not the typical cookie-cutter shaped track. It’s nice to go somewhere and have a challenge once a year that’s totally different from anything else that you do.”
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