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Friday, August 17
Stewart using crutches at Michigan
Associated Press


	Stewart

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Tony Stewart has had success veering away from trouble on the race track this year.

He didn't have the same success with his dog, P.J., earlier this week.

Stewart sprained his left ankle Tuesday while chasing his 6-month-old puppy up the stairs at his home in North Carolina. To avoid stepping on the P.J., he jumped over him and injured his ankle while landing.

Doctors ordered Stewart to stay off the ankle as much as possible and to keep it elevated.

Stewart was on crutches Friday at Michigan International Speedway, but he was able to qualify for Sunday's NASCAR Pepsi 400 and will start 10th after turning a lap at 186.843 mph.

"Where my foot hurts is when I'm using the clutch," Stewart said. "There is a lot more pressure on the clutch to get it engaged all the way."

Stewart, who has won two races and has been in the top five eight times, ranks fifth in the Winston Cup standings.

More memories
Dale Jarrett has compiled a list of milestones at Michigan, and he'll be looking to add another Sunday.

Jarrett, who will start in the ninth row, is hoping to give team owner Robert Yates his 50th victory. It wouldn't be a shock if Jarrett did just that.

In 1991, Jarrett got his first Winston Cup victory at the track. He also won races at here in 1996 and 1999. The only place he's won more often, is at Daytona, where he has four victories.

"Whatever track we won at last is my favorite, which would be New Hampshire right now," Jarrett said. "I think getting my first Winston Cup victory here in 1991 certainly makes Michigan special in my mind. But, I also like the track itself and the type of racing we do there."

Jarrett, who has won four times this season, is third in the series standings.

On the mend
Mike Skinner is driving again after sitting out four races following surgery to repair a broken left ankle.

Skinner turned in the 20th-fastest lap Friday at 186.123 mph -- but not before overcoming difficulties with his car.

"That was our third lap on the race track," Skinner said. "Our second time out this morning, the right rear tire started going down off of Turn 2 and halfway down the backstretch the motor broke.

"The guys worked their butts off to get a back-up engine in the race car without anything falling off. I kind of wish I ran a second lap. I had a good lap going, but they started talking to me. It kind of distracted me and I said, 'I've held my breath long enough."'

Mad Max returns
Defending champion Rusty Wallace will start Sunday's race with the same car he won with last year.

Following that win, Wallace named the car "Mad Max," after he held off Ricky Rudd in the closing laps and won by 2.977 seconds.

"The car has been pretty incredible and has brought us a lot of success," said Wallace, who will start from the seventh row. "Through the years, it seems like we've always had one car that sort of sticks out from the others. It's a car that becomes 'old reliable' and a tried and true car you can always count on. This car is the latest one of those."

Wallace ran the car at Michigan in June's Kmart 400. On lap 23, Todd Bodine clipped the car from the rear and sent it hard into the outside wall on the backstretch. The car was severely damaged, but Wallace was able to complete 118 laps.

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