Look for "Smoke" at Dover, Tony Stewart is Fired Up!
Stewart looks for redemption Heading To Dover
By Mike Arnig
Joe Gibbs Racing,September 21
Tony Stewart's last visit to Dover (Del.) International Speedway was a lot like being stranded in an airport - nothing was comfortable, and your mode of transportation was inaccessible.
The two-time and reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion came to Dover in June with a non-displaced fracture at the tip of his right scapula. Back-to-back crashes the week earlier in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup races at Charlotte (N.C.) were the culprit. The injury didn't require surgery. The only remedy was rest and time.
Neither is available at Dover. Nicknamed the "Monster Mile," Dover can chew up and spit out green rookies and savvy veterans alike. It's indiscriminate, with its 24 degrees of banking and bumpy, concrete surface making Dover one of the more physically demanding tracks on the series' 36-race schedule.
As a result, Stewart had to stand on the sideline for much of the Dover race weekend while veteran NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd piloted Stewart's familiar orange and black No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Stewart made only a handful of practice laps, as it was Rudd who qualified the No. 20 and then dialed it in for 400 laps at Dover.
To earn the points for whatever finish Rudd would post, Stewart started the race, and under the first caution period on lap 38, ceded the wheel to Rudd. Considering the circumstances, the 25th place result was a respectable one.
Three months later with the series set to return to Dover for Sunday's 400-miler, Stewart is 100 percent healthy and 100 percent determined.
For the first time in his eight-year Nextel Cup career, Stewart will not finish among the top-10 in points. He missed the Chase for the Championship by a scant 16 points following the cutoff race Sept. 9 at Richmond (Va.). While disappointed with not being a part of the 10-driver, 10-race Chase for the Championship, Stewart has turned that disappointment into steely determination.
If a championship can't be won, races can.
more on Tony Stewart at Dover
By Mike Arnig
Joe Gibbs Racing,September 21
Tony Stewart's last visit to Dover (Del.) International Speedway was a lot like being stranded in an airport - nothing was comfortable, and your mode of transportation was inaccessible.
The two-time and reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion came to Dover in June with a non-displaced fracture at the tip of his right scapula. Back-to-back crashes the week earlier in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup races at Charlotte (N.C.) were the culprit. The injury didn't require surgery. The only remedy was rest and time.
Neither is available at Dover. Nicknamed the "Monster Mile," Dover can chew up and spit out green rookies and savvy veterans alike. It's indiscriminate, with its 24 degrees of banking and bumpy, concrete surface making Dover one of the more physically demanding tracks on the series' 36-race schedule.
As a result, Stewart had to stand on the sideline for much of the Dover race weekend while veteran NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd piloted Stewart's familiar orange and black No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Stewart made only a handful of practice laps, as it was Rudd who qualified the No. 20 and then dialed it in for 400 laps at Dover.
To earn the points for whatever finish Rudd would post, Stewart started the race, and under the first caution period on lap 38, ceded the wheel to Rudd. Considering the circumstances, the 25th place result was a respectable one.
Three months later with the series set to return to Dover for Sunday's 400-miler, Stewart is 100 percent healthy and 100 percent determined.
For the first time in his eight-year Nextel Cup career, Stewart will not finish among the top-10 in points. He missed the Chase for the Championship by a scant 16 points following the cutoff race Sept. 9 at Richmond (Va.). While disappointed with not being a part of the 10-driver, 10-race Chase for the Championship, Stewart has turned that disappointment into steely determination.
If a championship can't be won, races can.
more on Tony Stewart at Dover
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