NASCAR WCUP: Tony Stewart Interview: Winning at Sears Point

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 25, 2001

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THE CHANGES ON THAT SECOND PIT STOP THAT MADE YOU BETTER?) "Nope. We still have Watkins Glen this year."

(AT WHAT POINT DID YOU SAY, 'WAIT A MINUTE, WEVE GOT THIS ONE?') "I'm not sure I ever felt like we really had it. More to pump the team up and more to pump me up, I think with about two laps after we got by Jeff (Gordon) and I was actually starting to run Robby down I said, 'Hey, we're going to win this thing', but there was no guarantee. Just the fact that we were catching him, that gave me encouragement late in the race. But you never know from run to run or from a caution flag period to the next restart how your car's going to drive. I've even had a car change on me during a caution period when we didn't come in and make any mechanical changes, so there's no guarantees, but at that point I felt like I actually had a shot at winning the race."

(CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE MOVE YOU MADE TO TAKE OVER FIRST PLACE?) "I made the right-hander in (Turn) 7 and Robby and Harvick were off to the right , and I just drove the racing line and drove up beside him and got a good enough bite to where when it came time to get to the Esses before the bridge that I had enough momentum that I got by."

(WHAT WAS YOUR ROAD-RACING EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO WINSTON CUP?) "I never ran a road course other than go-karts. The only variable I felt like I needed to learn for the road courses in a Cup car was learning how to shift gears. I went to the Bondurant School for three days in '99 and actually came to Sears Point on the Thursday before we ran at Fontana and ran a day in the Russell cars. I would say getting our first win in our fifth road-course race, I would have to say our grade is pretty good."

(WHEN YOU MADE THE PASS OF ROBBY GORDON, WAS IT JUST A CRACK OR WAS IT WDE OPEN FOR YOU TO SHOOT THROUGH?) "It was just wide enough. That's the only way I can put it. There wasn't too much room there by any means and it wasn't a deal where I had to just squeak through, but there was just enough room there to get by."

(DOES THIS WIN PUT YOU IN THE UPPER ECHELON OF ROAD-COURSE DRIVERS LIKE GORDON, RUDD AND RUSTY WALLACE?) "I don't think about it a lot. I guess to a certain degree, maybe yes. This was a big win for me today, and I knew it was a big win just being able to beat Jeff Gordon, he's so good. I guess I really don't think about it, but I know I've won 11 Winston Cup races in 2 ½ years, so I'm pretty happy with that no matter where we fit among road-course drivers."

Text provided by Al Larsen

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