| | LONG POND, Pa. -- Tony Stewart knows his only true weakness
as a driver has nothing to do with racing.
He has had problems with fuel mileage throughout his 1½ seasons
on the Winston Cup circuit, but has no plans to change his style.
"We just worry about going fast right now," said Stewart, who
has the pole Sunday for the $2.7 million Pennsylvania 500. "We
just need worry about making sure the car is running good all day
and will be there at the end."
That hasn't always been the case. At times, Stewart has been
hurt by being off sequence on fuel stops, and lost a race last year
in New Hampshire when he ran out with less than three laps
remaining.
As a left-foot braker, Stewart is fast through turns because he
uses the pedal in conjunction with the accelerator. Right-foot
brakers save gas but are slower because they must completely
step off the gas to touch the brake.
"But I'm not changing anything," said the 29-year-old driver
from Rushville, Ind. "It's a lot easier to go out and worry about
racing hard than it is about those things.
"That's the motor department. That's not the driver's
department."
There, Stewart is definitely in charge as he seeks to win for
the fourth time in the last seven races. It should be five, but he
lost last month at Pocono International Raceway when he stalled his
Pontiac on pit road with 17 laps remaining.
"The weak link was me," said Stewart, who wound up sixth in
the Pocono 500.
Still, it was another powerful performance in a six-race run
that includes victories in Brooklyn, Mich., and Dover, Del. Two
weeks ago, he was in the lead and low on fuel once more, but got a
break and redemption when rain shortened the New England 300 in
Loudon, N.H.
Stewart, who won three times last year in the greatest rookie
season by a NASCAR driver, says he always will trade fuel for
speed.
"You never know what the strategy is going to be from week to
week," he said. "We can't control those circumstances."
Stewart won his first pole of the year with a track-record
qualifying run of 172.391, knocking Rusty Wallace out of the top
spot after he had broken his own qualifying mark earlier Friday.
Stewart's lap kept Wallace from extending his series-leading pole
total to eight this year.
Wallace has had his own problems with pit stops, most of them
cerebral. Never was that more evident than last month at Pocono. A
late-race mistake on pit strategy ruined 107 laps of leadership.
Wallace, who says he makes those decisions himself, took the
blame for a massive loss of track position that relegated him to a
10th-place finish.
"Fourteen cars took on two tires and we took on four," he
explained. "It was a stupid call.
"It was upsetting to lose after leading the most laps with a
great car."
Starting third Sunday will be Mark Martin, who has run well but
never won on the mountaintop. Outside his Ford will be that of
Jeremy Mayfield, who won last month with a celebrated last-lap bump
that moved Dale Earnhardt out of the way.
Earnhardt, third in the series standings as he pursues a
precedent-setting eighth Winston Cup championship, will start 25th
in the field of 43.
Fifth on the grid will be the Chevrolet of three-time Pocono
winner Jeff Gordon.
Sixth will be Gordon's teammate, Jerry Nadeau, followed by
four-time Pocono winner Bill Elliott. Martin's teammate, Jeff
Burton will go from the eighth spot, followed by Johnny Benson and
Steve Park.
Series champion Dale Jarrett starts 11th. Stewart's teammate,
points leader Bobby Labonte, who swept the Pocono races last year,
will start 13th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 15th, but will have to drop to the
rear of the field on final pace lap because he wrecked his car in
practice and will drive a backup. He was taken to a nearby hospital
for precautionary tests. | |
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Pennsylvania 500 lineup
Weber: Signs point toward a Stewart surge
Mayfield's moment passed quickly
Mayfield more popular since Earnhardt tangle
Pennsylvania 500 Breakdown
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