Stewart yearns for Daytona victory -- in 24-hour race.
Stewart yearns for Daytona victory -- in 24-hour race.
By MIKE HARRIS, AP Auto Racing Writer
January 26, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Because Tony Stewart's main job is driving Chevrolets for Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR's Nextel Cup series, you might think the victory he would most covet at Daytona International Speedway is winning the Daytona 500.
You would be wrong -- at least this week.
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Stewart, who loves to race just about anything with wheels, will spend the weekend co-driving a Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype with three-time winners Andy Wallace of England and Butch Leitzinger in the Rolex 24 sports car endurance race here.
With the start of the stock car season still two weeks away, and coming off a victory in the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., on Jan. 15, Stewart has his sights firmly set on a Daytona 24-Hour win.
"I've driven 22 different types of cars and won in 21 of them," Stewart said. "And I should have won here twice. Only bad luck got us and kept us from winning."
Three years ago, Stewart's team lost the lead and the race when his suspension failed with fewer than 20 minutes remaining. In 2005, a gearbox failure ended his team's hopes of victory with a little over two hours remaining.
"It is a big deal, a big letdown getting within 17 1/2 minutes of winning this event," he said Friday after the final practice session on Daytona's 3.56-mile road circuit. "It makes you want it even more."
Although the field for the 45th 24-hour race is possibly the deepest ever, with stars from NASCAR, the IRL and Champ Car joining most of the world's best road racers, Stewart's team is among the favorites. Team owner Rob Dyson, who has two Daytona wins, is only cautiously optimistic.
"I know we have a couple of good cars and a lot of great driving talent, including Tony, of course. But it's such long race and so many things can go wrong," Dyson said. "This is the easiest race on the planet to lose."
ANOTHER TONY: Among the other entries at Daytona is a Porsche Crawford prototype with a five-man team listed, including car owner Tony George.
George, founder of the IRL and president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will make his endurance racing debut here, joining stepson Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter, Anthony Foyt and Stephan Gregoire.
Asked who is the more important Tony in the race that begins Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Stewart, who owns Eldora Speedway, a dirt oval in Ohio, said, "Well, he owns a bigger racetrack than I do. And he's taller than I am.
"But we can have an autograph line and see who has more people lined up," he added, grinning.
TOUGH TASK: Scott Pruett, a six-time Daytona winner and the career leader in Daytona prototype victories with 12, has the difficult assignment of trying to win again this year with a pair of co-drivers making their first endurance starts.
He will share one of two Lexus Rileys entered by Chip Ganassi Racing with former Formula One and CART star Juan Pablo Montoya and Mexican driver Salvador Duran. The other Ganassi car will be co-driven by defending Daytona winners Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon and Memo Rojas, another Mexican newcomer.
"Salvador Duran is a young, very talented driver and, obviously, Juan Pablo Montoya, who brings just an unbelievable list of accomplishments, as well, is a great teammate," Pruett said. "Between those two and myself, we have a great chance.
"The only issue, if any, is that they haven't run this race before. So, Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and myself are trying to get all of our teammates who haven't been here before up to speed on what to expect, what to worry about, what not to worry about, when to get excited, when not to get excited."
Pruett said he has tried to get across to the youngsters the kind of test the twice-around-the-clock race is.
"I've told them it's a grind," Pruett said. "It's a driver digging down deep and a team digging down deep. It's a driver jumping back into the car at 2 in the morning. It could be raining, it could be foggy -- the conditions could be absolutely horrible -- but you're going out there driving.
"So, when you get to the end of it, it's just a huge sigh of relief. And, if you win, it's just a tremendous high."
Updated on Friday, Jan 26, 2007 5:34 pm EST
