NASCAR's Stewart Makes Indy Appearance

INDIANAPOLIS May 23, 2004; Michael Marot writing for the AP reported that Tony Stewart's push to make this year's Indianapolis 500 started as a joke. It ended Sunday with Stewart standing in a white driver's suit on pit road, determined to return to Indianapolis next May.

"I want to be in it more than you can imagine right now," Stewart said of this year's race.

Stewart, the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup champion and the series' bad boy, again found himself embroiled in controversy. This time, Stewart had only himself -- and his stock-car contract -- to blame.

After being criticized recently by NASCAR officials and other drivers, Stewart created a huge stir during Sunday's final round of qualifying on Indianapolis' 2 1/2-mile oval with a last-minute decision to join A.J. Foyt's team.

Stewart finished third in the Nextel All-Star Challenge on Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C., then flew to Indianapolis hoping to spend time at the track with friends. Foyt's repeated phone calls, however, persuaded him to get into one of his backup cars.

That rekindled Stewart's passion to win the Indy Racing League's best-known race in his home state.

With less than an hour to go in qualifying, the engine running and Stewart ready to get in the driver's seat, his agent, Cary Agajanian, personally delivered a message: Stewart's NASCAR contract wouldn't allow it. The expressions on the faces of Foyt and Stewart turned sour and Stewart immediately began unbuttoning his driver's suit.

Part of the problem was Stewart drives a Chevrolet in the Nextel Cup series, while Foyt's team uses Toyota engines.

"You know, you don't just do that without really having people understand and know what you're doing," Agajanian said.

Stewart talked earlier this year about the possibility of doing the double: racing in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day. He ruled it out last month. Robby Gordon, another NASCAR regular, already has announced his intention to do the double.

On Sunday, Stewart nearly joined Gordon in that quest.

Just after Greg Ray answered the day's biggest question by becoming the 33rd qualifier to fill the field, track officials announced Stewart passed a physical and was in Gasoline Alley.

Within minutes, Stewart walked briskly through a gathering crowd from the Indy Racing League track office to Foyt's garage. There he climbed into the car and crew members worked frantically to adjust his seat.

Few people knew of the plan. Stewart said he hadn't even told Joe Gibbs Racing, for whom he drives full-time on the Cup circuit.

Some wondered if Stewart's last-minute decision wasn't a publicity stunt. Regardless, Stewart certainly put up a good front. He climbed back into the cockpit for a second fit, then tried on a helmet and rode to another track office to get a driver's suit and shoes.

About two hours later, Stewart arrived on pit road, dressed and ready to go.

"You don't turn that down at all," IRL senior vice president Brian Barnhart said of Stewart's decision. "Obviously, it speaks well of Tony and what he thinks of us that he is interested in coming back and running here."

Agajanian ended the speculation with a quick conversation just before Stewart was to take the track.

The most relieved driver was Robby McGehee, who had the slowest speed of the qualifiers at 211.631 mph and would have been bumped from the starting grid had Stewart qualified.

"Tony owes me a beer," McGehee said.

The pairing also would have reunited Stewart with Foyt, who gave him his first Indy car test nine years ago in Phoenix. It would have teamed the two people most associated with controversy in their respective circuits.

"He's a friend of mine," Foyt said. "I stay in trouble and he stays in trouble, so we're friends."

Still, nobody was certain whether Stewart would, or could, have a chance to qualify.

Rain stopped practice for more than two hours and left Foyt and Stewart waiting inside the garage for the track to dry. When it did, Foyt's crew towed the car onto pit road and started the engine as Stewart waited to drive. He never got the chance, but he hopes to be back next May.

"We got a couple of calls about contracts," Stewart explained to the small crowd. "We've got 365 days now to put something together for next year. I've got the fever now."