NASCAR WCUP: Tony Stewart ready for racing, not qualifying at Dover
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 2, 2001TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
(YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHETHER OR NOT QUALIFYING IS HELD) "It wouldn't bother me if we didn't. We never qualify very good up here anyway. We usually start mid-pack, so if we get rained out, we'll at least have a good starting spot. Hopefully, we won't have to worry about the things that we typically have to worry about at the beginning of a race here.
"We came here and tested, and I'm pretty happy with the race package that we had when we tested here. Now granted, the track conditions will be different, having had a truck race and a Busch race here. But, we think we've got a pretty good handle so far on what to do, plus we always know what we've had here in the past, too. That should give us a lot of options on what to do for race day right now."
(HOW DID YOU APPROACH PRACTICE THIS MORNING, KNOWING THAT RAIN WAS APPROACHING?) "We just did our normal deal. You don't know when or if the weather is going to get here. Since we tested here and worked strictly on race stuff, we worked all morning on qualifying stuff like we normally would and knew that we had that in our back pocket in case something happened today."
(DO YOU COME TO THIS PLACE NOW EXPECTING TO WIN?) "No, not at all. There are no guarantees in this sport. You can be the fastest guy for 399 laps, but if you make a mistake on that last lap you're not going to win. There are just no guarantees in auto racing, especially Winston Cup with the competition as tough as it is here. We're looking forward to a good day and feel like we can have a good day if we don't have any problems. Now, it's just a matter of going out and doing our jobs and if the circumstances work out to where we can be there at the end, then we're in good shape."
Text provided by Al Larsen
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