Tony Stewart covers both lines of the motorsports Mason-Dixon line Sunday when he attempts to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.

It will be the second time Stewart has attempted the 1,100-mile marathon, having done so the first time in 1999, when he finished ninth at Indianapolis and fourth at Charlotte.

	Tony Stewart will jump into his Winston Cup gear after racing at Indianapolis.

Stewart is in select company as one of only three drivers who have ever done the Indy-Charlotte connection. John Andretti was the first to try it in 1994, finishing 10th at Indianapolis and 36th at Charlotte.

Robby Gordon tried his hand at it in 1997, finishing 29th in the 500 and 41st in the 600.

But now, Stewart will step out from the crowd Sunday, as he attempts to become the only race car driver who has ever attempted the feat twice.

As can be expected, Stewart has been deluged by media requests for interviews in the last month, leading up to Sunday's events. But he managed to spend time with the press recently in Charlotte and gave his thoughts about Sunday's motoring marathon.

Here are some excerpts from that press conference, with comments from Stewart, personal trainer Al Shuford on Stewart's "training," and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, followed by the two primary schedules (although he has six other backup schedules to cover any unexpected deviations) Stewart is expected to follow on race day:

Q.) WAS IT A DIFFICULT DECISION TO DO BOTH INDIANAPOLIS AND CHARLOTTE AGAIN?

STEWART: "The reason we decided to do it was this same intentions that had a couple years ago. We want to win Indy. You always hear people say that hindsight it 20/20. Well, after doing it the first time we realized that we made some mistakes and there were some things that we could have done a lot better. But there were some things that we did right, also. We're trying to make the things that we did right better and, at the same time, make sure that the things that we did wrong, make sure that we do those things the right way this time. It really wasn't a hard decision. It was just a matter of making sure it was the right team."

Q.) HOW MUCH MORE DEMANDING WILL IT BE TO TRY TO WIN BOTH RACES COMPARED TO 1999?

STEWART: "If we can win the '500' I can promise you I'm going to be on such a high that these guys down here (in Charlotte) won't stand a chance. I don't know how you could come down here and be more excited about running a 600-mile race after winning a 500-mile race in Indianapolis. If we're fortunate enough to do that or if we have a good day up there at all, I'm going to be on a pretty good high when I get down here. With what we're doing together, I'm going to be ready go when I get down here and ready to go out and try to win this race."

Q.) WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF IT RAINS AT INDY OR IF THINGS GET DELAYED AT ALL THERE?

STEWART: "It depends on what time it is. We've got a deadline time of what time I'm getting out of the car and we're not telling everybody what time that is because we don't want everybody looking at their watch. We know what time it is. At that point, that's when I've got to get out of the car. I've got to make sure that I get out of (Indianapolis) in time to start this race (in Charlotte). If that time comes around, everybody involved in the organization - Chip Ganassi and Gibbs and Home Depot and Target - everybody knows what time I have to be out of that race car. If weather becomes a factor, we know that ahead of time. We're going to be watching the weather four of five days out and starting to try to plan different scenarios. We've got all the logistics done. There are eight different scenarios they've played out and have it down to the minute. Depending on what hand is dealt to us on race day up there, we've got a plan for it. If it means that somebody else will have to get in the car (at Indy), that's what we'll do."

Q.) EVEN IF YOU'RE LEADING THE INDY 500?

STEWART: "I'll have to. That's the commitment I gave to Joe Gibbs Racing and Home Depot. Trust me, they did not have to let me go up to Indianapolis and do this. They did that because they understand how big of a dream it is for me to go win Indy. But there were conditions that had to be met and they're not unreasonable conditions at all. To allow a driver to go run another race the same day that you have the longest race of the year on the Winston Cup schedule, I think they're pretty generous in letting me do that. Saying that at a certain time I have to be out of the [IRL] car to make sure that I start this race on time, I don't think that is unreasonable."

Q.) DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE THE URGE TO DO THIS UNTIL YOU WIN THE 500?

STEWART: "I have nothing against people that eat a lot of health food and like to stay healthy, but I like my pizzas and burgers. To do this every year, I'd kill Al [Shuford] if I had to do this three or four years consecutive, probably. He is a tolerant person to deal with me and what I've wanted to eat and what he has given me to eat. I want to win Indy. The only reason I did it this year again was because I thought it was the right opportunity with the right team to do it. The only way I'll do it down the road if it (winning) doesn't happen this year is to make sure it's an opportunity just like the one I've been given. But at the same time, I think we've got to look at what scenarios are being played out on the Winston Cup side, too. I don't want to jeopardize anything that we've got going on here to do that. My full-time job is in Winston Cup right now and I have no plans of altering that at all. I don't want to do anything that is going to hurt what I'm doing in Winston Cup right now. But by the time my career is over with, I hope to have had the opportunity and hopefully have won (the Indianapolis 500) once."

Q.) WHAT IF THE START OF THE INDY 500 IS DELAYED?

STEWART: "That is one of the scenarios that we have. There is a certain start time and if it doesn't' start by a certain time, then I'm not even getting in the car. We know how long it takes to run a 500-mile race at Indianapolis. We know pretty much what the start time has to be for us to be able to get out of the car at the right time. If we have a big delay like that, then I'll be down in Charlotte in time for the drivers meeting and won't have to start last then."

Q.) WHAT ABOUT THE INDY 500 BANQUET ON THE SAME NIGHT AS THE '600?'

STEWART: "Don't worry about it. We'll worry about the first goal first, the second goal second and we'll accomplish the third one whenever we get to it. The first two are the important ones right now. I'm not one for banquets anyway. They can send me the ring in the mail if they want. I don't care." Q.) WHAT ABOUT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WINSTON CUP TEAM, IF YOU WERE INJURED RUNNING INDY?

STEWART: "The easiest way I can explain that is look at how many people - and just look in the Charlotte area - and look in the paper at how many auto accidents there are per day on the highways. It's a half hour drive from my house to (Lowes Motor Speedway). I've got a greater chance of getting hurt driving to this speedway today and tomorrow than I do getting in a race car. More people get hurt or die in auto accidents on freeways every day than do in race cars. It's just like we do at the Winston Cup shop. The guys in Indianapolis have built me the safest car possible. They worked very, very long on my seat making sure that if I was in an accident that that seat is going to protect me the best that it can. The rest of it is going to have to take care of itself. People are questioning how determined I am to take care of the Winston Cup side. It's not a question of that at all. When you grow up 45 minutes from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all your life, every May when you got home from school that is the first thing that you did was turn on the TV and you didn't turn it off until 6 o'clock when the track closed, it's not hard to understand how important Indianapolis is to somebody like myself who has grown up there. It doesn't mean that I don't care about what is going on with my Winston Cup side, but that is a goal that I've had all my life, as has been Winston Cup. When I was eight years old, did I honestly think that I was going to have an opportunity to accomplish either goal? Absolutely not. But I'm in a unique position to where not only have I been involved in Indy car racing and that keeps my involvement and my interest to where I still have that opportunity to go win Indy, but at the same time, now I'm involved in Winston Cup racing. I'm just in a unique situation where I can try to do both now. The day where a guy used to run Indianapolis during the day and that night he'd go across the street to 16th Street Speedway and run a midget on dirt, those days are over. The sponsors won't let drivers do that and car owners won't let drivers do that. That's why I've always been so impressed with Home Depot and Joe Gibbs Racing because they both realize that I'm a race car driver. I don't just show up and run 36 Winston Cup races a year. I go out and run other things on the side, but they make sure that I'm doing it in a safe way and they're making sure that the cars I run outside of Winston Cup are as safe as possible. My commitment to them is making sure that anything I get in that is not a Winston Cup car is prepared as safe as possible to where I'm not doing anything to jeopardize what I'm doing with the Winston Cup side. It just makes me thankful that I've got a good sponsor and a good car owner that understand what my dreams and goals are.

"? The only thing we really need to do is worry about the race on Sunday. Really, it's been an easier schedule with the added week at Indy. Pole weekend was on our off weekend (on the Winston Cup side), so if anything it has made my load a lot easier this year than two years ago. I haven't had to have all the plane rides back and forth. That took a lot out of us to do that. We haven't had to do any of that this year. Our 'Happy Hour' Saturday is early in the morning, so it gives me all afternoon to get to Indianapolis early and have the whole evening to relax. I feel like the schedule has worked out really well. Now if we can get the TV guys to help us out and do what they do best and talk on TV for an extra half hour, it would make my life a little easier. But, who knows what they'll do?"

Q.) WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST MISTAKES THAT YOU MADE WHEN YOU TRIED THIS TWO YEARS AGO?

STEWART: "I'll tell you exactly what I ate on race day (in 1999). I had two mini-bagels and I had half of a NutriGrain bar in the airplane, and that's all I had on Sunday, except for what they tried to feed me in the car on race day about 200 laps into the race (at Charlotte). That was my biggest mistake. They were so worried about me being dehydrated that I drank like - I swore I was a fish. I thought I could breathe under water after all I drank, but I didn't eat any solid foods with enough nutrients in it. That's where Al comes into play this year. He is giving me foods and I'm going, 'I thought this was bad for me,' and he goes, 'No, trust me, this is good for you.' He knows exactly what he is feeding me and why, and what purpose it is. That is the biggest thing. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm a race car driver. It's just as easy for me to drive through the McDonald's drive-through and get my sandwich and go on down the road and have at it. Having him here has probably been the biggest asset to making sure that we do it right this year - just making sure that I'm getting the right fluids and foods in my mouth."

Here's two planned scenarios that Stewart will follow on race day:

Scenario A
Tony Stewart finishes somewhere between 4th and 33rd at Indianapolis: