True Speed Communications For Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release

ATLANTA (Nov. 8, 2006) - Tony Stewart is the hottest driver in NASCAR. The pilot of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing has set fire to the Chase for the Championship, winning three of the past six races and scoring more points than any other Chase driver. But as "Smoke" smokes the competition, the one win he won't be able to get is a third NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship.

Stewart missed the cut for this year's Chase by a scant 16 points. That meant the two-time and reigning series champion could not defend the title he secured last year in the season finale at Homestead (Fla.).

All that was left for Stewart to Chase were race trophies, as the sculpted Nextel Cup championship trophy from Tiffany's was destined to go to someone else.

But Stewart's whole racing career began in search of trophies. From the time he first wheeled a go-kart at a track in Westport, Ind., Stewart has coveted the trophy first and everything else a distant second. It's appropriate that Stewart's sponsor - The Home Depot - sells hardware, because Stewart loves collecting it.

His back-to-back wins in the series' past two races bumped his career win total to 29, and it marked the sixth time in his eight-year Nextel Cup career that he's scored victories in consecutive races.

The second of those 29 wins came at Phoenix International Raceway, site of this Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500k. It's a race Stewart won in November 1999 during his first season in Nextel Cup where he was crowned Rookie of the Year.

That win was a special one for Stewart because Phoenix is the Indiana native's West Coast home away from home.

Stewart has raced at the 1-mile oval in six different types of race cars - USAC Midgets, USAC Silver Crown cars, Indy cars, Supermodifieds, a NASCAR Busch Series car and a Nextel Cup car. And it was his performance in a USAC Silver Crown car in February 1993 at Phoenix - his first race ever at the desert mile - that turned heads and had team owners in the IRL IndyCar

Series and in NASCAR asking, "Who is this kid?"

It was the famed Copper World Classic and the season-opener for USAC's Silver Crown division. Stewart qualified second to Davey Hamilton - a former IRL veteran - and led 31 of the 50 laps before finishing second to Mike Bliss - the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion. The $3,500 payday for Stewart's second-place effort made eight-hour days at $5 an hour at the Columbus, Ind., machine shop where he worked seem unnecessary. Packing the rest of the 1993 season with Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget races across the nation, Stewart's quick ascent up the racing ladder began.

And while Stewart found that his ladder for this season was about 10 rungs shorter than those who qualified for the Chase, he has shown that he is still a championship-caliber driver.

Even though the championship is out of reach, another race trophy isn't. And as Stewart goes for the checkered flag in the Checker Auto Parts 500k, he'll go for something he hasn't done before - three straight wins.

You've won three of the past six races, including back-to-back races at Atlanta and Texas. How does this streak compare to the one you had last year, when you won five races in seven weeks?

"It's very similar. We finally hit our stride. We just hit it three months too late. It's just one of those situations where we all wish we could turn back the hands of time and get on this string three months earlier to get ourselves in the Chase. But for us right now, the stress level is a tenth of what those guys in the Chase have, and it lets us have the ability to take chances and try things. We can take the first half of practice and try something that we've been wanting to try, but just haven't had the luxury to try. If we were in the Chase, we wouldn't have that ability. It gives us the flexibility to really go all out and try to win races without the fear of losing a bunch of points."

Has not being in the Chase allowed you to try different setups in preparation for next year? Is what you've hit on something that's made this hot streak possible?

"The stuff that we're doing right now, by the time March gets here and we get through with Daytona, technology may have already passed this stage up and we may be on to something else. It's not that we're trying anything for next year, it's just that we're trying to accomplish our goal, and since we're out of the Chase, our goal is to go out and do whatever we can to win the race. It's not that that wasn't the goal before, we just finally have hit our stride and things are clicking and now we're winning races. It's not that we just decided all of a sudden to win races. It's a coincidence that the goal we've put in front of us is a reality now."

You've won more races and scored more points than any driver in the Chase. Do you consider yourself a party-crasher?

"I don't think I'm crashing anybody's party. I'm still not going to be in the top-10 and I'm still not going to be able to go for the trophy at the end of the year. So I don't think we're crashing anybody's party. Our objective each week is different than those guys in the top-10. At this point, all 10 of those guys are worried about themselves and who they are racing for position in the standings right now. They're not worried about us. We're in a totally different position."

Because of all the racing you did at Phoenix before you became a Nextel Cup driver, do you consider Phoenix your West Coast home away from home?

"When Buddy Jobe (former owner and president of Phoenix International Raceway) had this facility he was the one who told me that Phoenix was my West Coast home away from home. And I didn't realize it until I came to Phoenix when I was with the IRL and saw how many test sessions we had at Phoenix and how many laps I had put in there before a race even started. Whether it was tire testing or chassis testing the IRL car or a USAC Midget or a Sprint car, I spent a lot of time at Phoenix International Raceway. I really do feel like it's my West Coast home away from home.
"When we come out to Phoenix two times a year, it's like a homecoming each time. It's a place where I feel comfortable. I know every inch of that race track. I've driven six different types of cars there, and between all those cars I've run at least five different lines. I feel like I know it better than most of the other folks who've just run stock cars there."

How long have you been racing at Phoenix?

"I started racing there in '93 when I ran a Silver Crown car. And since then, I've run USAC Midgets, Indy cars, Supermodifieds, Busch cars, and of course, Nextel Cup in The Home Depot car. So, I've logged a bunch of laps there. I even made my 100th Nextel Cup start there three years ago. To think that it all kind of started at Phoenix, I guess you could say it's the place where my career came full-circle."

Did all those laps you made over the years at Phoenix help prepare you for when you first went there in a Nextel Cup car?

"I think so. With every different division of car that I've run there, I've ended up running a different line. With that, I've learned a lot about that race track and where the sweet spots are on that race track. I was used to the place when it came time to run there in Nextel Cup. I knew a lot about that race track and the different places that can make you go fast or slow. It gave me an opportunity to adapt a lot more to the car than to the race track."

When you talk about "sweet spots," what do you mean?

"You learn about all the bumps and where all the bumps are on the race track. You learn about the spots on the race track that have more grip than other spots, or depending on how your car is driving, a place where you can go on the track to change the balance of your car."

Phoenix is a flat track, but is it like the other flat tracks on the circuit, or is it an entity all its own?

"Everybody calls it a flat track, but to me one end is flat and one end has banking to it. It's a unique place because the radius of the corners are different on each end, the banking of the corners are different on each end, and then you have the dogleg on the backstretch."

Is racing in the Southwest like a family reunion of sorts, because there are so many people in that area who you've met during your racing career?

"With the racing I've done with USAC out West, I've developed a lot of friendships and relationships with people. Running Nextel Cup, we don't have the opportunity to go out to that area but a couple of times a year. The small amount of time that we get to spend out in Phoenix for the Cup race is very valuable to me and all my friends out there. And with all of those friends and fans in that area, there's a fair amount of pride that I take in racing at Phoenix. So for me, it's a place that's very important for The Home Depot Chevrolet to run well."

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Thanks Mopar! That was a great article!

True Speed Communication For Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release

ATLANTA (Nov. 15, 2006) - Five drivers are still vying for this year's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship, as only 115 points separate them with only one race remaining.

Blah, blah, blah.

For Tony Stewart and the No. 20 Home Depot Racing Team, their title hopes were officially dashed when they finished 18th at Richmond (Va.) in September, as they fell a mere 16 points short of the 10-driver cutoff for the 10-race Chase for the Championship.

So while the focus heading into this Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be on who will lay claim to this year's title, the focus for Stewart and Co. will be ending the year on a high note.

In their seven previous seasons of Nextel Cup competition, the No. 20 team has never finished lower than seventh in the final point standings. Eleventh is the best the two-time and reigning series champions can do this year, a position they sewed up last Sunday at Phoenix when they posted an insurmountable 323-point lead over 12th-place Carl Edwards.

But if Stewart had made the Chase as the 11th driver via a wild card, with a total of 5,000 points heading into the first Chase race at New Hampshire - five fewer points than 10th-place Kasey Kahne - Stewart would currently be sitting second in points, 26 markers behind series leader Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart, however, has never been very interested in any kinds of what-if scenarios.

His world is as black and white as the checkered flags he's been chasing since he first wheeled a go-kart at the age of seven in Westport, Ind. There are no grey areas. And so he goes into Sunday's Ford 400 at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval with only one thing on his mind - winning.

Stewart has done a lot of that lately, winning three of the past nine Chase races to add to the two victories he scored during the regular season. As a result, he is the first non-Chase driver to win multiple Chase races, and when compared to drivers in the Chase, he has won more Chase races and scored more points.

Could Stewart add to an already impressive win total and collect his 30th career Nextel Cup victory?

The odds say yes, as the same Home Depot Chevrolet that carried Stewart to wins at Kansas, Atlanta and Texas while leading a staggering 429 of the 931 laps available (46 percent) is coming to Homestead.

While five Chase drivers chase a championship, one orange and black-clad, non-Chase driver will be chasing his fifth win of the season.

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."

How has the lack of pressure for the last 10 weeks helped you in what you're trying to accomplish at the track?

"Well, you're just concentrating on doing what you do best, and that's just going out and trying to win versus the 10 guys that are in the Chase. They're all directly worried about where the other nine guys that they're racing with are at. It just makes it easier from our standpoint that we're not worried about that. We're not worried about points. There's a race within a race every weekend for those guys, where for us it's just one simple deal. Just go out and try to win a race. It's just a lot easier."

If you had to choose between winning a bunch of races a year and winning a championship, what would you choose?

"Winning a championship and winning no races. I'd much rather win a championship every year and not win a race on the schedule. But if you're not in the Chase, what is there to go for other than wins? You still go for that every week normally, but there's nothing else for us to go for, so we might as well go for winning each week instead."

If you were in the Chase, you'd be second right now, 26 points behind the leader - Jimmie Johnson. How does that make you look at what's going on with your team and the success you're having right now?

"I'm happy. It tells me that even though we didn't get in the Chase that we're doing a good job. We're working hard at keeping our stats and everything up where we want them to be. It makes me feel good that we're doing a good job this late in the season when we don't have a championship to run for. But it's like I've told everybody from day one. We're comparing apples to oranges when it comes to what we're doing with points and what those guys are doing with points right now."

There has been talk of altering the Chase in terms of adding more drivers beyond just the top-10. Some of this talk has been spurned by your run during the Chase, because you've earned more points during the Chase than the drivers in the Chase. What do you think about that?

"The top-10 guys that got in the Chase are the ones that deserve to be running for the championship. We had bad luck and I had an injury and we had inconsistencies toward the middle of the season that kept us from getting enough points to get in the Chase. They don't need to add more spots. It would be a total injustice to the Chase if they added even one spot to this. Ten is all you need. We just missed it. Now we're hitting on things and we're talking to guys that are in the Chase and they're struggling now. Just because of what we're doing, it shouldn't affect how the Chase is done. It's there for a reason. The format is fine the way it is. The only thing they need to do is just change the way they award the points to those 10 guys those last 10 weeks."

Last year, you went into Homestead with the point lead. Obviously, it's where you want to end up, but does being the point leader make for even more stress? How do you think Jimmie Johnson feels right now?

"I don't know. Going into the last race, I'd rather be the guy that they're chasing. But when you're in the Chase, you fear mistakes. The situation they (Johnson and Co.) were in where you get wrecked the first week (at New Hampshire) and then to claw back the way they did. You can't gain any more momentum than what they had because of the situation and scenario they were in. That puts them in the driver's seat I think."

What did you do last year the week before the last race of the season when you had a championship 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. I don't know what Jimmie (Johnson) did this week, but my recommendation to him was to go and do whatever your favorite thing is to do away from the race track and have fun this week. The more relaxed you are going into this weekend, the better off you'll be."

Were you better prepared to clinch the championship last year 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."

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 race track."

This Press Release and any images that are used,
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Thanks Mopar! Nice article. I will be on here even after the season is over. I'm going to have withdrawl from Nascar. Since the tv show LOST isn't on till Feb, what am I going to do? LOL! Its really nice chatting back and forth. Your really nice and I appreciate the the updates of the STEW!

November 20



Stewart and Co. Salvage 15th-Place Finish at Homestead
Home Depot Team Overcomes Ill-Handling Race Car to Post 24th Top-15 of 2006

With the same car that won three times during the 10-race Chase for the Championship, Tony Stewart and the No. 20 Home Depot Racing Team struggled to earn a 15th-place finish in the season-ending Ford 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

While the top-15 finish was a disappointment by the high standards set by Stewart and Co., the result was impressive considering that at one point during the 268-lap race on the 1.5-mile oval, Stewart was 36th and one lap down to the leader.

"I'm proud of you guys," said Stewart to his crew as he crossed the finish line for the final time this season. "This is why we were champions last year and why we'll be champions again."

The two-time Nextel Cup champion started 21st and fought an evil race car, as it went from overly tight to extremely loose during the course of a race run. But crew chief Greg Zipadelli kept tinkering with the car's chassis setup on each of the team's 10 pit stops. The result was a car that was good enough to earn its lap back on lap 205 and rally to earn the team's 24th top-15 finish of 2006.

"It's hard to believe this is the same car that won Kansas, Atlanta and Texas for us," said Stewart. "It might as well have been a different car. We did the best we could with it. I mean, it was a terror early in the race, but Zippy and all the guys kept working on it. There at the end, we finally had something that gave us a decent finish."

While the season finale didn't end the way anyone at Joe Gibbs Racing would've liked, the 2006 season was still a strong year for the No. 20 team. Despite not making the Chase for the Championship, Stewart and the orange-and-black attack earned five wins - three of which came during the Chase. And when they weren't winning, they still ran well, earning 15 top-fives and 19 top-10s while leading a series best 1,360 laps.

Stewart secured his 11th-place point standing last week at Phoenix. He ended the year with a dominating 299-point margin over 12th-place Carl Edwards.

Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates - Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley - finished third and 30th, respectively, in the Ford 400.

Hamlin's eighth top-five finish of 2006 earned him the 2006 Rookie of the Year title. He ended the season third in points, the best point result ever for a rookie in NASCAR's modern era (1972-present). Stewart previously held the record, as he finished fourth during his rookie year in 1999. James Hylton, who scored two career NASCAR victories, still holds the record for best championship finish by a rookie all-time with a second-place finish in the 1966 point standings.

Yeley, who was leading with 15 laps remaining before running out of fuel three laps short of the finish, ended his rookie year 29th in points.

Greg Biffle scored his 11th career Nextel Cup victory and his second of the season by winning the Ford 400. It marked Biffle's third consecutive win at Homestead, as he also won the season-finale in 2004 and 2005.

Martin Truex Jr., finished second, while Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick secured the rest of the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Scott Riggs, Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer comprised the remainder of the top-10.

Johnson's ninth-place finish earned him his first Nextel Cup championship. He ended the season with 6,475 points, 56 markers ahead of runner-up Kenseth.

The 2007 Nextel Cup season kicks off February 9-18 with the traditional Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The 49th Daytona 500, the first point-paying race of the season, is scheduled for Feb. 18 and will be broadcast live and in high-definition on FOX.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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Thanks for the info!

Yes, thank you, Mrs, for all of your articles!!

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Go Junior Go. Go Smoke Go.

Posted 11/21/2006 8:00 PM ET
By Gary Graves, USA TODAY
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — It didn't seem apparent at the time, but missing this year's Chase for the Nextel Cup by just 16 points benefited Tony Stewart in the long run.
Minus the pressure of defending his 2005 championship, Stewart simply went out and had a ball, winning three Chase races to run away with 11th place in the standings. That's no consolation compared to winning another title, but he earned a $1 million bonus as the highest non-Chase finisher and will carry the momentum of five victories into next season.

"This is why we'll be champions again," Stewart said on his radio after Sunday's 15th-place run in the Ford 400. "I'm proud of you guys."

While Stewart's performance prompted debate of where he would've been had he qualified for the Chase, he quickly reminded folks that he wasn't there and that his focus was on finishing as high as possible. He mainly wanted to boost his team's morale after the narrow elimination from the 10-race playoff.

The payoff was a boost in the No. 20 Chevy's performance. Stewart positioned himself late to win at Kansas Speedway despite limping across the finish line on an empty tank. He was dominant in back-to-back victories at Atlanta and Texas.

"It tells me that even though we didn't get in the Chase that we (did) a good job," Stewart said. "We're working hard at keeping our stats and everything up where we want them to be. It makes me feel good that we (did) a good job this late in the season when we don't have a championship to run for.

"But it's like I told everybody from day one: We're comparing apples to oranges when it comes to what we're doing with points and what those guys are doing with points."

Stewart also became leaner as his car became meaner, losing 20 pounds the past two months under a new diet and exercise regimen. His fence-climbing victory celebrations appeared more fluid as well, probably because he was provided multiple chances to improve.

Most obvious was a demeanor even more laid back than during last year's run to his second championship. For all the disappointment of being outside the title hunt, Stewart was able to race for fun and let his position take care of itself.

"Physically, it's not been very relaxing," Stewart said, "but mentally, it's been very relaxing showing up and not having to count points and worry about points standings."

He started the Chase with a runner-up finish to Kevin Harvick at New Hampshire International Speedway, one example that the disastrous weekend at Richmond International Raceway, where he finished 18th, was but a blip.

An early wreck doomed him at Dover, but then came the rebound at Kansas.

So strong was his Chevy that despite running dry a half lap from the end he still had enough speed to drift across the finish line.

That same car ruled Atlanta and Texas, and from there the question was whether Stewart could steal even more of the spotlight from Chase contenders who, aside from Harvick (two wins), struggled to gain just one victory.

Those victories didn't materialize, but Stewart basically had locked up 11th place with a nearly 300-point lead on Carl Edwards, another 2005 Chase driver left out. On a weekend in which his reign officially ended, Stewart kept a low profile, fulfilling sponsor commitments while trying to figure out how to get more out of his Monte Carlo.

Having succeeded Sunday by finishing six spots better than he started, Stewart simply talked with his crew before heading into his hauler.

Things will be different when he heads to New York for NASCAR's postseason awards, as most of the attention will center on the new champ. But that's OK by Stewart, who not only proved what could have been but what might be next season. And he had fun doing it.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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Just wanted to say hi to everyone and I miss the STEW! LOL! I'll be watching the ceremony tonight!

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