The agony of defeat

Questionable pit stop puts kibosh on Stewart's hopes

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Tony Stewart left Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a golf cart, too distraught to speak after yet another heartbreak at his home track.

No matter what Stewart does, he just can't catch a break at Indy.

Stewart had the best car Sunday, leading a race-high 60 laps of the Brickyard 400, only to be taken out of contention for the victory after a poor pit stop and unfavorable tires.

His team made a questionable call to make a late -- and possibly unnecessary -- pit stop that put him deep in traffic and unable to drive to the front at the end of the race.

He finished a disappointing 12th -- never even able to challenge winner Kevin Harvick.

"I definitely think the No. 20 was the dominant car," Harvick said. "My jaw hit the floor when I saw him pit. He almost certainly didn't have to, and pretty much gave away any chance to win."

The decision will certainly be debated among his team, which didn't try to mask its devastation after the race.

"It's heartbreaking and it certainly hurts," car owner Joe Gibbs said. "I think just like people have empathy for a great quarterback who never wins the Super Bowl, there's empathy for Tony having a tough time winning at the place he really wants to win."

An Indiana native who never hides his love for the historic 2 1/2-mile track, Stewart has never finished higher than fifth in the Winston Cup race here. But for the second year in a row, he was easily the driver to beat.

Last season he started on the pole and led 43 laps, only to fade to a 12th-place finish. The frustration was so bad, he snapped and punched a photographer afterward. There was no outburst on Sunday, though, just a look of utter disappointment on the face of the Winston Cup champion.

"Beats me, ask the crew. They might know something," he said as he passed through famous Gasoline Alley when asked what happened to ruin his race.

Stewart started 15th but wasted no time charging to the front, taking the lead on the 26th lap.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" he screamed over his radio as he passed Bill Elliott for the lead.

He held it on and off for a large chunk of the race, seemingly toying with the competition. When rookie Jamie McMurray was leading, and Stewart was closing in on him, it seemed to be just a matter of time before he moved back to the front.

Knowing he didn't have enough gas to finish the race, he ducked off the track for what was supposed to be his final pit stop with 29 laps to go. But instead of taking fuel only, his crew changed the tires on the right side of the No. 20 Chevrolet and adjusted the pressure on the left side.

Back in traffic and unable to maneuver his way back up to the front, he blamed his tires and told the crew the car was handling so bad it could "knock down the fence."

So when caution came out eight laps later, the team made the questionable decision to pit again under caution and change the left side tires. It put him deep in a pack of traffic and he couldn't break free.

Stewart ended the race simply riding around for the final 20 laps, his shot at an Indy victory over.

"Just another bad day, I don't know what else to say," crew chief Greg Zipadelli said. "We had a bad pit stop and gave up track position and struggled from there.

"Nothing went our way or we did not play the right game."

Zipadelli seemed drained, and rightfully so. It's been a hectic month or so for the entire Gibbs team as speculation over Stewart's future has been the dominant talk in the garage.

His contract is up at the end of 2004 and rival car owners are chasing after him. Gibbs has offered him a long-term extension, but Stewart said he hasn't looked at it.

And with Zipadelli believed to have already agreed to his own extension, it's quite possible their working relationship will come to an end if Stewart jumps ship.

It's turning an already difficult season -- Stewart has just one victory this year and is 13th in the points standings -- into a disaster.

"It's just a tough year, a trying year," the crew chief quietly said.

But Gibbs believes there will come a day when Stewart breaks his streak of futility and finally makes it into Indy's Yard of Bricks.

"Tony is going to get past it," Gibbs said. "But his attitude and his mindset have been great and I know I would have a hard time treating this place as any other race because it's not for him.

"Obviously it hasn't worked out for him here, but someday it will."

 

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