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No jinx allowed Despite no wins, Stewart starting to recapture rookie form
Posted: Tuesday May 23, 2000 09:37 PM
By Ryan Smithson, CNNSI.com CONCORD, N.C. -- Tony Stewart won't be driving in the Indy 500 this year - but that doesn't make his job at Charlotte any easier this week as he prepares for his second Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year has been taking a lot of heat for his "lackluster" performance in 2000. Before Daytona, Stewart's name was mentioned as much as anyone else's as a favorite for the Winston Cup title. But the fact that the media expected Stewart to top his sensational 1999 campaign has been dificult for Stewart to digest, although he is the first to admit that he's had his chances to win in 2000. "I kind of agree with them to a certain degree," Stewart said. "It does not upset me; I am still going to do my job the same way. It's kind of frustrating that everyone has been putting that kind of pressure on us." But is Stewart really having that bad a season? Probably not. The year-old Pontiac Grand Prix has to compete with brand-new Ford and Chevrolet models, and that has reflected in Stewart's qualifying efforts. In 11 races, Stewart has just three top 10 starts.
"We're are 11th in points, but there are 40 other teams that would love to be where we are," Stewart said. "We have just got to get some luck on our side." Despite some bad breaks, Stewart has raced well, and his season is showing signs of life. In the last five races, he has four top 10s, including the infamous near win at Richmond. "Well, we had a lot of luck on our side last year," Stewart said. "We ran out of fuel at Michigan on the last lap, but we only had two races where we were involved in accidents. But we have not had a terrible year, but we have not had the type of year that everyone was predicting for us." At this time last year, Stewart was seventh in points with four top-10 finishes and three finishes of 20th or worse. This year, Stewart has six top-10 finishes and three finishes of 20th or worse. Stewart won three times in 1999, but all of them came in the final 10 races of the year. The difference is improved competition in 2000. Ward Burton is enjoying a career year, and the emergence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the resurgence of Dale Earnhardt Sr. have tightened things a lot. "There are some variables that are different this year. We have a different tire than last year, and we really have had to work hard to adjust it. Even though it is the same race and the same track, the car drives a little different than it did last year. "We are trying to find a balance to get us back to where we were at this track this time last year." The competition has caught up with the Gibbs outfit -- and everyone else. Ten different drivers have won this year -- including Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond. Stewart led late at Richmond before he and Earnhardt Jr. collided in the pits, cutting Stewart's tire and sending him to an eighth-place finish. He finished second at Las Vegas for his top outing of 2000. "We do not go to tracks saying, 'When we go to this track, we are going to turn our season around,'" Stewart said. "It just does not work that way. You have got to say 'Hey, we have got to make our car better this week than it was last week,' and keep pushing forward." This weekend marks the first anniversary of Stewart's remarkable double-double in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Stewart drove his own car to a ninth-place finish at Indy last year before hopping on a plane and finishing fourth at Charlotte. But that is not all the whole story. Stewart started 43rd in the 600 because he missed the drivers' meeting, and he took the lead in just 67 laps. He is looking forward to benefiting from a complete NASCAR commitment this year - he hired Jeret Schroeder to drive his car at Indy. "We are already running better here [Charlotte] than we were last fall," said Stewart, who finished three laps down in 19th in the fall event at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
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