Stewart

INDIANAPOLIS -- Auto racing is as much a part of the fabric of life in Indiana as the endless rows of corn, the fragrance of the newly mown hay, hot summer days and glorious Midwestern sunsets on the banks of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers.

If basketball is the Hoosier state's favorite game, bordering on an almost religious fervor, then auto racing serves as the state's passion -- a chance to climb out of the hibernation of a long, cold winter and enjoy fast-paced excitement outdoors.

When NASCAR makes its return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this year's Brickyard 400, it will be a homecoming for several drivers in the field. They are part of an "Indiana Connection" that will have a heavy influence on Sunday's race.

This year's event has a definitive Hoosier flavor as several drivers from Indiana will be among the favorites.

Indiana has long been fertile ground for corn, livestock, basketball players and open wheel drivers. Lately, it also has produced NASCAR drivers, changing a long-time trend where young, open-wheel drivers aspired to the Indianapolis 500.

And to four drivers in this year's Brickyard 400 field, it was truly "Back Home Again in Indiana."

Tony Stewart continues the Hoosier legacy.

Stewart grew up in Rushville, about 35 miles southeast of Indianapolis. The star honed his talent racing nearly anything with a steering wheel he could get his hands around. He showed his ability when he became the first driver in USAC history to win the midget, sprint and Silver Crown titles in the same year in 1995.

He moved to the Indy Racing League in 1996 and finished second to Buzz Calkins in his very first Indy car race. He started on the pole for the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

Stewart's best Indy 500 finish was fifth in 1997, the year he won the IRL title. He finished his IRL career with three wins. In 2001, he competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day this past May, finishing ninth and fourth, respectively.

Stewart has also competed at Indianapolis in an IROC car.

"Being able to be the only guy to run in all three divisions there, that means a lot right now," Stewart said. "To be able to race twice in the same year, just to see the difference between the two races will be a real enjoyable weekend."

Stewart is able to offer some unique comparisons to the two types of cars that compete at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Other than the race track itself, you are comparing apples to oranges, basically," Stewart said. "When you drive a 3,400-pound stock car and you see those corners coming up, you wonder how you are going to make it turn. The IRL cars, they drive so good, you know you can make the turn when you get there. It's probably a more tense situation trying to make the stock car go around there."

Has Stewart replaced Jeff Gordon as the hometown favorite?

"I don't know about that, there are still people who think Jeff Gordon is from Indiana," Stewart said. "I'm looking forward to it. We have a lot of fans in Indiana, a lot of them that follow what we do in NASCAR. Because I don't get to run the midgets and sprint cars like I used to, and because I don't run in the IRL full time, it's going to be a good opportunity for us to run in front of fans that don't get to see us race as much as they used to.

"This is the series I feel like I'm going to end my career in, the Brickyard 400 is like my home race now just like the Indianapolis 500 was to me when I ran full-time in the IRL. This is going to be more homecoming and I get to race in my hometown crowd now. This weighs pretty heavy for me as a race car driver."

Ironically, the 1999 Brickyard 400 was the first time Stewart had seen the race in person. When he was an open wheel driver, Stewart was often competing in midget, sprint or Silver Crown races elsewhere in the Midwest.

"The chance to compete in a stock car there now, that is an experience of a lifetime," Stewart said. "I can remember when we used race at Indianapolis Raceway Park then come over and watch them practice and qualify for the Brickyard. It's nice to be on the other side of the fence right now."

So far, Stewart has shown that respect, which has earned him respect from the veterans in return.

"I have respect for what he has done," said Ricky Rudd, who won the Brickyard 400 in 1997. "He is very humble, he's very good and very talented. He has fit right in. He hasn't bucked he system. I like the guy. He has a great future."

Stewart entered the Winston Cup circuit with a very humble attitude. With his Indy car racing success, it would have been understandable for him to come into NASCAR with a big head. But he did just the opposite -- paying attention and learning something in every race in which he has competed.

"If you race them clean, it's easier to get their trust," he said. "They race me clean, so there is no reason I shouldn't do the same. These guys are pretty good with give and take. The nice thing is I've been running with some guys up front who have a lot of experience. When I have made mistakes in front of them, they've either seen me coming or knew how to react to it. It's been as much them helping me as anything."

What Stewart enjoys the most about the Brickyard 400 is a chance to race in front of so many fans that have followed him at all levels of his career.

"The fans that come to this race are so knowledgeable about what's going on," Stewart said. "Everybody is pretty clued in to what's going on. They're not here just because it's a happening. They're here because they want to see a good race. It was neat to see the atmosphere. Everybody was so hyped and pumped up about the event, it makes you proud to be a driver again."

The "other" guys

	Gordon

	Andretti

Three-time Brickyard 400 winner Gordon is from nearby Pittsboro, about 20 miles west of the Speedway.

John Andretti used to drive by IMS practically every day on his way to Cardinal Ritter High School on 30th and Cold Springs. After running in the top-10 for much of the 1999 Brickyard 400, Andretti finished 37th, two laps off the pace.

Ryan Newman is the latest driver from the Hoosier state as the South Bend native hopes to scored his first career Winston Cup victory at the greatest auto racing stage in the world.

The leader of this group is undoubtedly Gordon, who won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, became the first two-time winner in 1998 and won the event for a record third time last year.

Gordon's open-wheel racing roots in the USAC midget, sprint and Silver Crown series could have led him to the Indianapolis 500. But Gordon grew up in the days before the IRL, so his chances at landing a ride in CART were met with general disinterest.

Gordon admits he still gets chills whenever he walks into Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Gordon turns 31 when he gets behind the wheel Sunday and is on top of the sport with four Winston Cup titles. Prior to winning his second Brickyard 400 in 1998, he was honored when Pittsboro unveiled Jeff Gordon Boulevard on his birthday.

"Ever since I've arrived in Indianapolis, it's been incredible," Gordon said. "I went to Pittsboro and there were a couple thousand people there for the street naming. Just to have a street named after you is pretty cool. They could have stuck me with some little road in Pittsboro, but they got me the exit off the highway. That meant a lot to me."

Andretti is always welcome here. He competed in the Indianapolis 500 nine times and led laps in the first three Brickyard 400s.

Andretti is the son of Aldo Andretti, the twin brother of 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti, whose legendary career actually began racing stock cars in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Mario Andretti went on to win the 1967 Daytona 500 and the 1978 Formula One championship in his Hall of Fame career.

While most of the Andrettis remained in Pennsylvania, Aldo relocated his family to Indianapolis. When John came along, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was practically in his backyard.

"I heard Jeff Gordon when he came off the fourth turn of his first lap, he was hooting and hollering like a cheerleader because he was pumped up about being at the Speedway," Andretti said. "He thought all opportunity for him was gone when he chose to go stock car racing instead of open wheel racing. I think for him and for guys like me who have focused and planned on going there, it probably was a whole lot bigger deal than guys who have been in stock car racing there whole life and never had a desire to be at Indianapolis unless they were there in a stock car."

Andretti still hopes to one day compete in another Indianapolis 500, although he admits it is difficult for a NASCAR driver to do both. He was the first driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day when he pulled double duty in 1994.

"Now that I'm here in NASCAR, I feel like if I wasn't running stock cars I would be half-cheated since I haven't been in the Indianapolis 500 for three years because Indy is the place to be for me," Andretti said. "I grew up there. The Indianapolis 500 is the pinnacle of almost every driver's career in open-wheel racing. Your whole focus is on the place and that hasn't changed for me."

Andretti said that all the laps he has driven here in open-wheel cars helped him adapt to the flat 2½-mile oval when he began racing there in Winston Cup.

"One year, I did 2,500 miles in an Indy car including tires tests, the month of May and all that," Andretti said. "I did more laps around there than anybody. I think there is no question about it when you do that, miles never hurt anybody. The more you do in a stock car, the better then. I feel really good about going there because it is like going to one place I really know well."