Tony Stewart - "What, me worry?"

 

ATLANTA (July 19, 2006) - Taking a page from MAD magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, two-time and reigning NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Tony Stewart enters Pocono (Pa.) Raceway - site of Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 - with a "What, me worry?" attitude after falling out of the top-10 in points for the first time in 15 races.

The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing is unconcerned about his negative point drop, simply because there are seven more races before the Chase for the Championship begins Sept. 17 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon.

First up in the seven remaining races is Pocono, where Stewart has a win, a pole, four top-fives and 10 top-10s in 15 career starts. And at the six other venues - Indianapolis, Watkins Glen (N.Y.), Michigan, Bristol (Tenn.), California and Richmond (Va.) - Stewart has totaled nine wins, two poles, 25 top-fives, 37 top-10s and a whopping 2,255 laps led in 69 starts.

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And since winning is the goal of Stewart and Co. each time they unload at a Nextel Cup race, their strategy doesn't change even if their point standing has.

You're out of the top-10 in points for the first time since Atlanta, 15 races ago. With only seven races remaining before the cutoff for the Chase for the Championship, is there any concern that you may not make the Chase?

"Let's not overreact, because we're not. We're barely out of the top-10 (11 points separate Stewart from 10th place Greg Biffle), and it's not like we're not running well, because we are. We've just had some circumstances that haven't gone our way. You'll have that. We were fifth in points seven races ago, so who's to say we won't be fifth in points or better seven races from now? more on Tony Stewart making the chase