“We just weren’t very good. We struggled all night,” said Stewart, who has participated in each All-Star Race since joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a rookie in 1999 and won the 2009 All-Star Race. “We just missed it tonight. I mean, we’re not going to hit it every week, and if you’re going to miss it, you’d rather miss it on a night like tonight.”

Stewart’s run in the All-Star Race served as test session for the Coca-Cola 600 next Sunday at Charlotte – a point-paying race that also happens to be the longest event on the Sprint Cup schedule. When asked what he learned from the All-Star Race that could be applied to the Coca-Cola 600, Stewart was succinct, “Yeah, don’t bring back what we just ran tonight.”

The run was disappointment for Stewart, who carried the colors of Bass Pro Shops and the National Wild Turkey Federation on his No. 14 Chevrolet.

“I wanted to run really well for Johnny Morris (founder, Bass Pro Shops) and the guys at Bass Pro Shops and the National Wild Turkey Federation,” said Stewart after the race that was made up of four 20-lap segments followed by a 10-lap shootout. “It was an important night for me to run well for those guys, and I just let ‘em down.”

Teammate Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, finished 10th to score his seventh top-10 finish in 11 career All-Star Races.

Jimmie Johnson won the All-Star Race. It was his third All-Star Race win and his ninth Sprint Cup victory at Charlotte.

Brad Keselowski finished .841 of a second behind Johnson in the runner-up spot, while Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., rounded out the top-five. Kevin Harvick, Marcos Ambrose, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Newman comprised the remainder of the top-10.

The Sprint Cup Series returns to point-paying racing Sunday, May 27 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. The longest race on the Sprint Cup schedule gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning at 5:30 p.m.

HOW FAR ARE YOU WILLING TO PUSH IT TO GET THE MILLION DOLLARS TOMORROW NIGHT?

“Let’s get to the last 10 laps and I will let you know.”

LET’S SAY YOUR ARE IN THE FRONT TWO ROWS FOR THE LAST 10 LAP SHOOTOUT?

“I’m willing to do the same thing that I have done for the last 13 years that I have been here for this race.”

SO YOU ARE GOING TO RACE IT THE EXACT SAME WAY?

“Exactly, you still have to finish you can’t just go out and go do a dive bomb deal and if it doesn’t stick you are not going to make it anyway. You still have to race the race. It’s not like you are going to do much different, nobody is going to do much different than what you would normally do to win a race. You are still trying to win a race. It doesn’t matter whether it’s for a small trophy or it’s for a million dollars everybody just wants to win. Especially here in Charlotte.”

THERE HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC FINISHES HERE THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THIS ALL-STAR RACE. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF THIS EVENT?

“I don’t think you have to go about every two years in history and they are all favorites. There is always something that’s big and something that has happened, whether it has been (Dale) Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Davey Allison or Kyle Petty. There are great races here all you have to do is watch ESPN you get the highlights every day.”

IF SOMEBODY DOES RACE YOU DIFFERENTLY HOW LONG DO HARD FEELINGS FROM A RACE LIKE THIS LAST?

“They don’t. You guys are asking the same questions you ask every year like it’s going to be something different and somehow everybody is going to do something different in the race cars. Everybody races really hard. It’s a logical question but the answer is always going to be the same. Nobody is going to do anything any different than they did a year ago when they tried to win this race. You have to have a car that is good enough to being with, but you are going to do everything that you can do. If you make a mistake and go too far and you crash or you get in a wreck it’s going for it. Nobody is going to do something stupid to try to win the race. If you do they are probably going to remember it for a couple of weeks. You don’t forget those things. Nobody is going to do something stupid and crazy to win the All-Star race.”

HOW WAS PRACTICE FOR YOU?

“I had an hour and 25 minutes and I needed about three hours’ worth of practice. We got a lot better right there at the end. I’m not sure; we took a long time getting there. The last session I thought was pretty productive.

WITH THE CHANGES TO THE CARS AND SKIRTS, HOW MUCH PREP DO YOU USE THIS WEEKEND FOR THE 600 NEXT WEEKEND?

“Everybody is going to use this with the fact there is no points involved, you have to take advantage of this as a test session or practice session. You just have to tune and find out what it likes, what it dislikes and go accordingly.”

I ASSUME YOU HAVE TALKED WITH GREG ZIPADELLI AND TONY GIBSON ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

“I wasn’t really involved in it. On our guys side I think that it was appropriate. It is our responsibility to keep our guys in our pit box and they don’t need to be running down pit road after people after the race is over. I think the message got delivered to our crew guy. I thought that was fine.”

IF SOMEONE GETS FINED IN YOUR COMPANY DO THEY HAVE TO PAY THEIR OWN FINE?

“I think we are helping out with a little bit of it. I’m not going to make a habit of doing that. If they get fined they are going to have to take care of it. The crew guys never helped me pay my fines when I got in trouble; I had to pay them all on my own. It’s a good reminder to these guys that there are reasons that NASCAR has the rules that they have in place. We have to do our part to abide by them.”

ARE YOU AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE BILL THAT PASSED YESTERDAY THAT IS TRYING TO BAN SPONSORSHIP BY MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS? DO YOU FEEL THAT U.S. ARMY IS GETTING A GOOD VALUE?

“I think you are going to have to ask U.S. Army that. All you have to do is turn around and look in all these garage stalls. There are a lot of Fortune 500 companies that realize the value of this sport and realize the marketing value to it. I think the U.S. Army and the National Guard have seen that value as well. They are not in the habit of spending money to spend money. I think they see the value in it, whether legislature understands that or not, they may not be familiar with all the things and how it benefits those programs. You understand why they are looking at it. Anybody that is a good business person had to look at it. You have to look at the numbers, but I think you have to do your homework and they also have to look and see the value that they are getting for that. You look in the garage it doesn’t take long to realize there is something to this that makes all these Fortune 500 companies want to be a part of it.”

DO YOU TAKE ON A DIFFERENT APPROACH NOW WHEN YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR SPONSORSHIP NEXT YEAR WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT PIECE MIGHT NOT BE THERE?

“We are going to go business is usual right now. I don’t think you can plan for something that may or may not happen. As far as I’m concerned we have had a great relationship with the U.S. Army and had a great friendship with them. We are not going to approach anything any different right now. We want them to be here as long as Stewart-Haas Racing is in business.”

That is the only mainstay of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, the non-points event for recent winners in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2011-2012), as well as past All-Star Race victors and former series champions held annually at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

This year’s edition totals 90 laps around the 1.5-mile oval, and it’s broken into four, 20 lap segments and then a final 10-lap shootout that’s kicked-off by a pit stop where teams will need to decide if they want to take fuel only or grab two or four fresh tires.

Ask Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/National Wild Turkey Federation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), if he’s familiar with any of the various tweaks to the 28-year-old event, such as the winners of the first four segments being guaranteed to enter the pits in the top-four starting spots prior to the 10-lap dash to the finish (provided their cars are on the lead lap), and he’ll simply shrug his shoulders and say, “Suuurrrrrrrrrrre.” The format is of little matter to Stewart, for as long as there’s a checkered flag at the end, he knows what to do, as evidenced by his win in the 2009 All-Star Race.

Stewart led only once for two laps in that event, but they were the most important ones. He paced the final two circuits after getting by Matt Kenseth for the lead on lap 98 of the 100-lap contest. Stewart’s margin of victory over the 2003 Sprint Cup champion was .971 of a second.

It was Stewart’s first victory as a driver/owner with SHR, the team he co-owns with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The win made Stewart the first driver/owner to win a Sprint Cup-sanctioned event since Ricky Rudd won a point-paying race in October 1998 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It was also the first All-Star Race win for Stewart, who had six top-10 finishes in 10 previous starts in the event. Stewart became the second driver/owner to win the All-Star Race, joining Geoff Bodine, who accomplished the feat in 1994.

The victory was Stewart’s first in 11 tries, and the soon-to-be-41-year-old – his birthday is May 20 – has been a part of the All-Star Race since his rookie year in 1999. Way back in what used to be known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Stewart advanced into The Winston – the event we currently call the All-Star Race – by winning The Winston Open (now known as the Sprint Showdown). Stewart used the promotion for all it was worth, as he came from his last-place starting spot to finish second to winner Terry Labonte.

Since Stewart has won at least one race in every season he’s competed in the Sprint Cup Series, he’s always been a member of the elite All-Star Race. Back in the All-Star Race for a 14^th straight season, Stewart is looking to grab another All-Star win and pick up his fourth NASCAR-sanctioned checkered flag to add to the ones he earned in the Gatorade Duel at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

For obvious reasons, a win would be ideal. But if victory isn’t in the cards, 90 laps of track time at night is a precious commodity.

NASCAR has a testing ban at all tracks that host its top-three national touring series – Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck. As such, time on the track in actual race conditions is impossible to come by, with the lone exception being Saturday night’s All-Star Race.

While winning is at the forefront of each driver’s mind, gaining valuable information for how their car will react in the following weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 is just as important. With 400 laps being run on the same track, what’s learned in the All-Star Race’s 90 laps is applicable to what drivers will face in the longest race on the Sprint Cup schedule.

The All-Star Race literally provides a win-win scenario for drivers and their teams. The drivers get to vie for a $1 million victory with no points on the line, and the teams they’re racing for get a sneak peek at what they’ll experience in one of the biggest races of the Memorial Day weekend.

For Stewart and his No. 14 team, they’re going all in to this year’s All-Star Race, all over again.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/National Wild Turkey Federation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Are you familiar with the format of this year’s All-Star Race?

“It’s not hard to figure out. I know that it’s a no-holds-barred 90 laps and you could swear that we’re short-track racing on a big mile-and-a-half track.

“It doesn’t matter to me what they do with the format. Whatever it is, the goal is still to win it. So, whether it’s 10 laps, 40 laps, two-tire pit stop, four-tire pit stop – it doesn’t matter to us. The important thing is that it puts on a good show for our fans. At the same time, you’ll figure it out. Whatever the format is, these teams figure out what’s the best way to accomplish that goal.

“I like the individual segments. I think it’s going to add a lot of excitement. I think it’s going to make it to where the class of the field will be up front where they belong. And, those four guys that win those four segments will be the four guys to watch at the end of this thing. It’s going to put an emphasis on each segment on trying to get into those first two rows.”

Because the All-Star Race is a non-points event, does it take on the same kind of importance as a regular, point-paying race?

“It’s an event for the fans and that’s something that’s very important to us, but there’s a lot of bragging rights, too. Charlotte is an area where 95 percent of the Cup teams are based, so when you go there, you want to run well. You’re able to have guys come from the shop that don’t get a chance to travel. They don’t get a chance to come to the racetrack very often and see the fruits of their labor, so for them to come to the All-Star Race and see their cars run, especially when you have a good night, it really pumps up your organization. You do it for your fans, but at the same time, you do it for your organization and your team. That’s why the All-Star Race is important.”

The 2009 season was your 11^th in Sprint Cup, but your first as a driver/owner. How much of your win in the All-Star race was a sense of relief and how much of it was a sense of exhilaration?

“Well, we’d been running well before the All-Star Race, but I don’t think any of us had an expectation of when we thought we’d win a race. I felt in my heart that the team was capable of winning a race in the first year at some point, but I never would’ve dreamed it was going to be one of the biggest races of the year, especially in our backyard. I think that’s really what made it so big – that it happened much sooner than a lot of people anticipated. There were a lot of people that didn’t know what to think about what we were trying to do. I think it really sent a message about how dedicated our organization is to being successful. It kind of quieted a lot of the naysayers and a lot of people that were on the fence trying to decide if I’d made a good decision or not (to become a team owner). I think standing there on the stage and getting the check was a pretty good statement.”

What stood out the most about your win in the All-Star Race?

“Probably the best part was the fact that it was the first chance that Gene (Haas) had gotten to come and watch the team run. For him to come to the track and the first night out, go to victory lane – that was a pretty cool welcome back party for him. That made it a huge night for the organization to be able to have everybody there and not feel like somebody got left out. Everybody was there and present for it. Guys that don’t get a chance to come to the track, get to come to the track that weekend. So, it was cool to get guys in victory lane for the first time.”

What’s the best thing about winning the All-Star Race?

“Well, the greatest thing about it is, if you win the thing from a car owner’s standpoint, which I know very well, now, it’s a great way to pay bills. It helps that out quite a bit. This weekend’s a fun event. It’s not a typical Cup race, by any means. The format is strictly set up for an exciting finish for the fans. It’s cool. It’s a big deal when we come to Charlotte and it’s not because of anything more than the fact that the guys who work at the shop everyday and don’t get a chance to go to the racetrack, they get a chance to go to Charlotte. They get to come see their racecars that they work on during the week. Instead of just watching them on TV, they get to be there, they get to see what the road crews are doing, and they get to be there first-hand. And that’s a big sense of pride if you have a good night. And to be able to celebrate with guys who never get to go to the track, if you can win a race at Charlotte, it’s big. This weekend, we’re racing for $1 million. That’s definitely nothing to pass off lightly.”

Can the All-Star Race be used as a test session for the Coca-Cola 600?

“Absolutely. It always is. If your car is driving well, you’re running for $1 million. But if your car isn’t driving well, you’re learning from that and applying it to the 600 instead. I’ve always looked at it as however your car is driving in the All-Star Race is relatively true to how your car is going to drive in the 600. It’s a really good test because it’s really the only time we have to run at night in race conditions.

“At the same time, the style of racing is very different. Guys that run well in the All-Star Race will run well in the Coke 600, but they’re not going to beat and bang like they might in the All-Star Race.”

TONY STEWART’S NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE PERFORMANCE PROFILE

Eldora Speedway will once again play host to the all-star dirt Late Model race featuring more than 25 world renowned drivers as they battle for dirt supremacy on the half-mile clay oval where HBO Pay-Per-View® will present the event LIVE in high-definition to the entire nation. Net proceeds from the telecast will support Feed The Children, a U.S.-based charity that domestically has helped more than 365,000 families since 2009 through its Americans Feeding Americans Caravan.

The eighth annual Prelude To The Dream joins racing luminaries from all disciplines at one track, on one night as they pilot 2,300-pound dirt Late Model stock cars capable of putting out more than 800 horsepower. It is One Perfect Night.

Tony Kanaan of the IZOD IndyCar Series will again compete against Danica Patrick, who in 2012 has made the full transition from IndyCar to NASCAR. They’ll rub fenders with straight-liners Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Dirt regulars Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz, who have collectively won 24 World of Outlaws championships, will race for the first time in dirt Late Models. All will join NASCAR stars such as Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte and many others, including a band of brothers: the Busch brothers – Kurt and Kyle – and the Dillon brothers – Austin and Ty.

The live, commercial-free, high-definition broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT) with an immediate replay. The Prelude To The Dream has a suggested retail price of $24.95 and is available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming in the pay-per-view industry. Ordering information and up-to-the minute racing information is available at either www.PreludeToTheDream.org or www.HBO.com. Updates can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PreludeToDream and on Twitter at twitter.com/PreludeToDream (@PreludeToDream).

The 2012 edition of the Prelude To The Dream includes hot laps, qualifying, heat races and a 40-lap feature with double-file “shootout style” restarts. New participants include Patrick, Kinser, Schatz and Ty Dillon, who will join Stewart, Capps, Kenny Wallace and Kenny Schrader as drivers who have participated in every Prelude To The Dream since 2005, where Wallace was the inaugural winner.

“We have the most diverse group of drivers we’ve ever had for the Prelude, and for the first time, the Prelude will be broadcast in high-definition,” said Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway and a three-time winner of the Prelude To The Dream. “This year’s event is going to be a can’t-miss show. We’ve added 10 laps to the feature and partnered with a great charity in Feed The Children. You’re going to see some intense racing by everyone, including some drivers completely out of their comfort zone. We’ll all be racing for a trophy, but also to make an impact with the more than 16 million children who are at risk of going hungry right here in America.”

For the top-10 finishers in the Prelude To The Dream, Feed The Children will send a food truck to each driver’s hometown or city of their choice.

“This is an excellent opportunity to bring attention to the nationwide problem of child hunger by working with these world-class drivers,” said Rick England, chairman, Feed The Children board of directors. “Their efforts will allow more families to put food on the table and help us provide a solution to those hard hit by the current economy.”

The seven previous Prelude To The Dream events have collectively raised more than $3.5 million. With each year’s event gaining significant stature and mainstream interest, Stewart’s ultimate goal is to have the 2012 Prelude To The Dream raise $1 million, with the proceeds benefitting Feed The Children.

“It’s an ambitious goal,” admits Stewart, “but if we don’t set the bar high, we’re not pushing ourselves the way we should. That’s our goal, and me and everybody else associated with this event is going to do everything we can to meet that goal. Now, we just need everyone out there to purchase the event, enjoy all the action going on at Eldora, and know that their dollars are going to a very worthy cause.”

“Each year we are thrilled to bring the exciting live action from Eldora into living rooms across the country,” said Tammy Ross, Vice President, HBO Pay-Per-View & Sports. “This year’s benefitting organization, Feed The Children charities’ mission is that no child should go to bed hungry, and the HBO Pay-Per-View team is thrilled to bring the Prelude To The Dream to fans everywhere to help further that mission.”

With no points and no pressure, the Prelude To The Dream is a throwback race, allowing drivers to step back in time and compete for the reasons they all went racing in the first place – pride and a trophy. And they’ll do it on the same surface racing legends A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti competed on nearly 50 years ago.

For those who want to see the Prelude To The Dream in person, tickets are available online at www.EldoraSpeedway.com or by calling the track office (937) 338-3815. Act fast – the race has sold out in previous years.

The third-place effort equaled Stewart’s best career Sprint Cup finish at the venerable 1.366-mile oval, as the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished third in the 2009 Southern 500.

“I broke the clutch with about 85 (laps) to go there,” said Stewart, who now has 11 top-10 finishes in 20 career Sprint Cup starts at Darlington. “Our guys did an awesome job of getting us out of the pits. It didn’t affect us on restarts. It just affected us on the pit stops. So once we got through with that last stop, we were fine.”

The last pit stop came on lap 301 while under caution when Stewart topped off with fuel. Crew chief Steve Addington knew that the balky clutch the team attempted to repair two laps earlier would not serve them well if they had to pit again. Going the rest of the race distance on fuel with no more pit stops was the team’s only hope of securing a strong finish, for the extended pit stop on lap 298 – when the team changed four tires, added fuel and inspected the transmission before pushing Stewart off pit road – dropped Stewart to 16th.

“We just got better as the night went on,” said Stewart, who rocketed up from eighth to fifth after a restart on lap 312. “We weren’t good enough to win the race, but track position was so important. The biggest thing was to get the track position when we could and just try to save the tires. I’m really proud of Steve Addington and all these guy on this Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy. They did an awesome job tonight.”

While Stewart may have felt he wasn’t good enough to win the race, he and the No. 14 team at least put themselves in position to win the race. Stewart lined up second next to eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson on the last restart as part of the green-white-checkered finish, which extended the race to 368 laps, one lap past its scheduled distance.

“The fuel pressure light was blinking when we got the one-to-go signal,” Stewart explained. “So, I had to go down to the apron. It caught on the backstretch, but then we got past the center of (turns) three and four and the pressure was down to 20 pounds again. It laid down all the way down the frontstretch and we lost second because of it. Still, pretty happy to come out of here with a third tonight.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 WIX Filters Chevrolet for SHR, finished 23rd.

SHR driver Danica Patrick finished 31st in just her second career Sprint Cup race. Patrick drives the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing via a collaborative agreement with SHR. Her next race as part of her 10-race Sprint Cup schedule for 2012 is the Coca-Cola 600 May 27 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

“I’m ecstatic with the results,” said Stewart of Patrick’s performance. “She ran good lap times tonight. There was a period of the race where she said her balance was at her best, she was within a 10th (of a second) of the leaders at that point in the race. Really, really proud of her. This is a hard place to learn. First time I came here, about the fourth time I crashed, I finally was glad they couldn’t fix it because I’d had enough for the night. I’m pretty proud as a car owner of what she did.”

Johnson’s Southern 500 win marked his 56th career Sprint Cup victory and his third at Darlington. It also brought Hendrick Motorsports its milestone 200th Sprint Cup win.

“Really proud of Rick Hendrick and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They really deserve this 200th,” said Stewart from pit road as Johnson did burnouts on the frontstretch.

Denny Hamlin finished .781 of a second behind Johnson in the runner-up spot, while Stewart, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose and Joey Logano comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 38 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish.

With round 11 of 36 complete, Stewart leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He is seventh with 369 points, 42 behind series leader Greg Biffle. Newman is 14th with 307 points, 104 out of first.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday, May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The non-point-paying event begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by SPEED beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m. SPEED’s “RaceDay” will begin at 4 p.m.

HOW WAS YOUR PRACTICE SESSION?

“I think we are alright.  We definitely have a different balance than what I had here last year for sure.  I know we came with a different package than what we had here last year.  We are trying to tune on it, but I think when it cools off its going to be a pretty good package I think.”

YOU’VE BEEN WORKING A LOT TODAY WITH DANICA.  IS THERE STUFF YOU CAN HELP HER WITH?

“I was talking to Mike Helton earlier.  I told him it reminded me of the first time I came here in 1999.  The comments that she had are very similar even though the track was a lot more worn out then.  This is a hard place.  That is why we picked this as one of the 10 races for her.  It’s not an easy track.  It’s one that just the more laps you can get the better.  It’s going to be a long weekend for her.  It’s like I told her, I said ‘you are going to hate me by the end of tomorrow night’.  She goes ‘yeah, but I’m going to love you next year when we come back and run this full-time.’ She understands the value of why we picked this as one of the races.  I think she is keeping the big picture in mind.  I think she is doing a really good job of taking it all in stride and not letting her position on the time sheet get her down and realizing that the whole weekend in a learning experience and trying to just get that time.  We are just trying to be there to where she says ‘what can I do to help myself here?’ It’s stuff that we have already had to go through.  That is part of having two teammates that have ran here a long time.  It’s just being there to be able to try to help her with the information of stuff that we have done to try to help shorten that learning curve for her.”

IS THE GOAL FOR HER TO COMPLETE AS MANY LAPS AS POSSIBLE OR DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE FROM HER?

“I want her to just as run as many laps as possible.  The more time she can spend on track the more experience she is going to get.  The good thing running both divisions she is getting a ton of track time both practices, already to this point of the day she had got a lot of laps under her belt.  If she has a good race tonight and good night tomorrow night and can run the whole day and not have too many problems then it’s a lot of valuable experience that when we come back here next year doing it full time should be very valuable when we come back.”

YOU SAID SHE IS NOT GETTING CAUGHT UP IN THE SPEEDS TODAY.  COULD SHE GET FRUSTRATED TOMORROW?

“Sure, anytime you go somewhere new it’s hard.  The races that we picked this year were not meant to be easier races.  They are all harder races that we think are valuable for different reasons.  It’s very easy that this weekend could be a frustrating weekend but it’s all a part of a bigger plan.  I think that is part of what will keep it from being frustrating is that she knows that this is set out to be a tough weekend.  It’s with a bigger picture in mind and a bigger goal in mind at the end of the day.”

ISN’T THERE A RISK IN THAT?  IF THINGS DON’T GO WELL THAT CONFIDENCE STRUGGLES WILL ENSUE?

“I honestly don’t think so.  That’s a valid point.  I think when you don’t set your expectation high right off the bat I think it’s easier to keep that from happening.  She knows this is a tough place.  All you have to do, I think it’s easy for her because she has walked down through the garage and Jimmie Johnson has the right side about half knocked off.  There are a bunch of guys that are veterans here that already got big stripes just like she has on the side.  She realizes this isn’t an easy place.  I think in her head she is smart enough to know that this is supposed to be a hard weekend.  This is going to be one of the tougher places next year too that is why it has been put on the schedule.”

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TELL HER ABOUT HOW TO DRIVE HERE?

“There are a lot of things.  Bobby Labonte taught me a lot of things when I came here the first time because he was my teammate.  It’s part of passing that information down.  The good thing is she has Ryan’s (Newman) information, my information and the time in the Nationwide car.  It’s nice to be able to answer questions when you have those in your mind and you don’t necessarily know what’s the right answer, having teammates to go to that have been through it and can point you in the right direction helps out a lot.”

IS IT AS SIMPLE AS JUST SHOWING HER THE LINE?

“I think a lot of it is what to do on the throttle, on the brake.  How much brake pressure.  Its things that coming from an indy car to these cars it’s different.  It’s just trying to guide her.  Everybody is going to have their own driving style and techniques.  She will have to find what works best for her.  Ryan (Newman) does use his brake pressure different than I do.  We keep reminding her that there is no set way of doing it. It is do what feels best to you.  It’s helping her find a base.  Once we get her on a base then she can fine tune it to what her driving style is like and her techniques that work for her.”

WHAT DID JIM HUNTER MEAN TO YOU?  “He’s (Jim Hunter) somebody who has been around the sport a long time and he’s very knowledgeable about it.  I think all of his peers and all of us in the garage area — we all have a lot of respect for him.  I think it’s well deserved.”

WHAT WERE YOU LIKE TO RAISE AS A CHILD?  “She’s still raising me — I’m still not raised yet I don’t think.  I was a handful.  My sister was a handful too.  My sister and I were like watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon.  You can imagine being the mother of that.”

DO YOU THINK YOU DELIVERED A MESSAGE LAST WEEK AT TALLADEGA? “I wasn’t trying to deliver a message.  The good thing is that I’m in Darlington this week and I’m happy to be in Darlington this week.  I haven’t won a Southern 500 yet so I’m excited with getting Vegas under our belt earlier this year — this is a big week for us and I’m glad to be focusing on it.”

DO YOU THINK ANY CHANGES WILL COME FROM WHAT YOU SAID AT TALLADEGA?  “I don’t know and I didn’t say anything to try to get them to make changes.”

WHY HAS THIS TRACK BEEN TOUGH FOR YOU TO WIN AT IN THE CUP SERIES? “It’s not a big list of races that we haven’t won at.  I’m not ashamed of it by any means.  For some reason, I just haven’t figured out how to win one yet so hopefully this year will be the year.”

IS THERE LUCK IN WINNING AT DARLINGTON?  “I don’t think so.  There are some tracks that have been easier tracks for me and then there are tracks that have been tougher.  This one — not getting a victory here that is proof this is a tougher track for me.  It’s one that I like and the good news is that I’m pretty happy with my race balance right now so I’m hoping it’s going to be a good weekend.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD BRING MORE FANS TO THE RACE TRACK?  “I have no clue.  I honestly have no idea.”

DO YOU THINK IF DALE EARNHARDT JR. WON THAT WOULD BRING MORE FANS TO THE TRACK?  “I don’t know — do you think it is?”

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT PEOPLE ARE QUESTIONING THE RACING IN NASCAR AFTER THE HIGH THE SPORT WAS ON AT THE END OF LAST SEASON?  “I still think it’s on a high.  The racing has been awesome this year.  The races have been, you look at the whole Richmond weekend, the whole Richmond weekend the races were great.  From K&N to the Nationwide race, the Cup race — they were exciting races.  I think it’s proof that the sport is still on a high right now.  I don’t think that’s stopped since last year.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT SOME FANS STILL DON’T SEEM HAPPY WITH THE RACING?  “Yeah, but when has that not happened?  It’s always been that way.  I don’t think that trend has stopped either.  I don’t think it’s any different now than it’s always been.”

Roughly 145 miles north of Augusta up Interstate 20 sits NASCAR’s version of Augusta National.

Darlington (S.C.) Raceway is NASCAR’s oldest venue. Built in 1949 by Harold Brasington, the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval has hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races since 1950, and Saturday night will mark the 63^rd running of the Southern 500 – one of the crown-jewel races on the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, is well aware of Darlington’s history. The three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion covets a win at the track nicknamed “Too Tough To Tame”, as it is one of only two tracks the Sprint Cup Series visits where Stewart has yet to win – the other being Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, which hosted its first Sprint Cup race last July.

But beyond checking Darlington off his “to-do” list, Stewart knows the track’s history and its list of winners, particularly those who won and set the stage for NASCAR’s rise to mainstream prominence – inaugural Southern 500 winner Johnny Mantz and multi-time Darlington victors David Person, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon being some of the most notable.

Despite his open-wheel upbringing and Indiana roots, Stewart knows the Southern staple of racing at Darlington.

The track’s 25-degree-banked corners could also be called Amen Corner, for they’ve chewed up and spit out many a competitor. At best, driver’s finish the 500-mile marathon with a “Darlington Stripe,” the ubiquitous rite of passage that adorns the right sides of their racecars after a too-close encounter with the old school red-and-white striped walls that line the outside of the racetrack.

Stewart has endured his share of Darlington Stripes, but the 14-year Sprint Cup veteran has more often than not posted a respectable finish at the track that demands respect. In 19 career Sprint Cup starts, Stewart has three top-fives and 10 top-10s. He’s led only 20 total laps, but he has a lap completion rate of 98.9 percent.

Many a golfing great went winless at the Masters – Greg Norman, Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Nick Price, etc. – and Stewart has no intention of seeing his name absent from the Darlington Raceway victory scroll. With NASCAR’s annual pilgrimage to its version of Augusta National next up on the Sprint Cup docket, Stewart sees opportunity to add another jewel to his crown.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Why is a win at Darlington a feather in any driver’s cap?

“A lot of it has to do with the history of the track. If you can say you won a race at Darlington – that’s a feather in your cap. That’s something to be proud of, knowing that you’re in a group of drivers with names like Pearson and Petty – the pioneers of our sport who you hear stories about the races they ran there and the races they won there.

“Darlington is such a tough track to get a handle on and to be good at all day. You don’t see a lot of guys who have a lot of success there. You see only a handful of guys who religiously run well there. That just shows you how difficult Darlington is to get a handle on. If you can have a good day and win there, it’s a track that’s like winning at Bristol. It’s the same type of feeling – knowing that you conquered something that’s very hard to obtain.”

It may not be in Sprint Cup, but you have won at Darlington. Even though it was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race in 2008, how did it feel to finally win for the first time there?

“With the rich heritage and history at Darlington – to win there and be the first guy to win after they resurfaced it – it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s just cool to win at Darlington. You think back to guys like David Pearson who were so good there. This series is just so deep in history, and this is one of those tracks where the history goes as deep as NASCAR does. To finally get a win at Darlington was a huge honor for me.”

Does that win help in any way for what you want to accomplish when you return for this weekend’s Southern 500?

“It doesn’t hurt. Just because you won in a Nationwide Series car doesn’t guarantee success in the Cup car. We still have to go out and do our job on the Cup side. The cars drive totally different. We’ve got a lot more horsepower with the Cup cars than the Nationwide cars have, so the driving style is different. But still, we had a good run with the Nationwide car and then a good run in the Cup car, and I think that, as much as anything, gives you confidence.”

One of your old USAC T-shirts read “New Blood From an Old School.” In terms of you racing at Darlington, is that a shirt that could be sold again?

“I think that shirt would be appropriate at Darlington. Some people aren’t that deep into the history of the sport, but there are a lot of us who do appreciate the past. And I guess for me, being able to race at Darlington is a way of preserving the past.”

Coming from an open-wheel background, was Darlington a place that even open-wheel guys had respect for simply because of the track’s history?

“Absolutely. As much as we know about the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I think people underestimate how much we know about Darlington and the history of that track, and how hard it is to win races there. I guess that’s why a Sprint Cup win at Darlington is something that’s really important to me.”

Darlington was repaved back in 2007. Because the still relatively new pavement has increased speeds, does aerodynamics play a bigger role at Darlington?

“Aerodynamics plays a role everywhere we go nowadays. Martinsville might be the only track where aerodynamics doesn’t really play a role anymore. So even at a place like Darlington, you’ve got to make sure you keep the fenders straight because you need every bit of downforce you can get.”

The Darlington race is the night before Mother’s Day, and your mom – Pam Boas – will be one of the many mothers who will serve as grand marshals for Saturday night’s race. What kind of support has your mom given you during your racing career?

“My whole family supported me, basically. Mom was a little more reserved and a little more quiet about it than my father was. My father was kind of the ring leader. He was the one who made all the decisions on what we did and didn’t do. While she was a little bit reserved, she was, and still is, one of my biggest supporters.”

How would you describe your mom?

“She’s a pretty patient woman. Anyone that could actually raise me and not want to kill me or kick me out of the house has got to be a very patient person. That’s my mom. She’s a very patient lady with a great heart and she’s really good with people.”

TONY STEWART’S DARLINGTON PERFORMANCE PROFILE

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

* Race cut short due to weather.

Stewart started eighth and rocketed to the lead on just the first lap. The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) led the first 16 circuits around the 2.66-mile oval and ran among the top-five until lap 100. There, after a series of green-flag pit stops, Stewart’s engine began to run hot.

Three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Stewart had to duck out of the draft to get clean air onto the grill openings in the nose of his Chevy, and while he was able to cool the engine’s water temperature, the engine’s water pressure still was dangerously high. It wasn’t until a lap 177 pit stop under caution that the team was able to go under the hood and decrease the water pressure.

Stewart left pit road and restarted in 18th with an Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy that was back to the strong form it showed at the beginning of the race. But as is often the case in restrictor-plate racing at Talladega, where cars run in packs and one small misstep by one driver drastically affects others, a multi-car crash on lap 186 collected Stewart as he was making a run toward the front.

“I thought it was a pretty good race. I made it further than I thought I would before I got crashed,” said a sarcastic Stewart after the race.

Despite the 24th-place finish, Stewart gained one position in the championship standings. He rose to seventh and has 328 points, 50 behind series leader Greg Biffle.

Stewart’s SHR teammate, Ryan Newman, had an even worse day at Talladega. The driver of the No. 39 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet finished 36th after an engine failure 42 laps into the race. Newman fell three spots to 13th in points. He’s 92 points out of first with a tally of 286.

Brad Keselowski won the Aaron’s 499. It was his sixth career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his second at Talladega. Keselowski’s win marked the first time in 36 years that a Dodge has won at Talladega. The manufacturer’s last win at Talladega came in August 1976 with Dave Marcis behind the wheel. It was also the first Sprint Cup win at Talladega for Penske Racing.

Kyle Busch finished .304 of a second behind Keselowski in the runner-up spot, while Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Biffle rounded out the top-five. Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Trevor Bayne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were five caution periods for 24 laps, with 19 drivers failing to finish the 194-lap race, which was extended six laps by a green-white-checkered finish.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the 63rd running of the Southern 500 on Saturday, May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race starts at 7 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 6:30 p.m.

HOW WAS THE CAR ON THE TRACK TODAY? “It seems fine. It is so hard to tell. Practice really is hard to gauge anything here until you get everybody out there. You don’t get the pack you are going to race in. You just go out and check for vibrations. Might try a couple of different cowl combinations, but that’s about it.”

ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT TEMPERATURES IN THE FIRST PRACTICE? “You look at it. Everybody was looking at their temps in practice to see where they are at, and what they are going to have to do to manage it. It’s part of what we know we are all going to have to pay attention to on Sunday, but it didn’t seem like it was something that was going to be out of control right now.”

ARE YOU HAVING AN ISSUE WITH YOUR FEET GETTING HOT? THE TEAM WAS SAYING THEY ARE PUTTING FANS ON THE FLOOR: “I’m not worried about it.  The hotter it is, the better I like it. I’m not worried about temperature right now to be honest, as far as inside the car. I’m more worried about the motor than I am me right now.”

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TRIP TO TALLADEGA? “I do. I remember I wrecked in a Nationwide car in three and four, and backed up and caught Mark Martin between me and the fence. It pealed the whole door off the car. I remember how bad I felt crashing Mark Martin. It was a different animal than it is now, obviously. It had a lot more bumps, sealer and seams and everything. It is a pretty cool place to come to. It’s fun…actually this is the first time we have ever worked on handling is this weekend. It’s not a big issue. We’re finally having to work on the handling of the cars a little bit. It makes it fun.”

ROBIN PEMBERTON TOLD REPORTERS THAT THE DEBRIS (AT RICHMOND NEAR THE END OF THE RACE) WAS A PIECE OF ALUMINUM. ARE YOU OK WITH THAT EXPLANATION? “They picked it up. They know what it is. It looked like a bottle to me. But, the end result is the same thing. It still cost us an opportunity. It still cost us a win.  The good thing is, no matter what it is on the race track. You can’t have a race car hit and then go in the stands and hurt somebody. They did what they needed to do, but you just hate the timing of it. And, you hate that it even happened in the first place.”

FANS ARE UPSET BECAUSE THEY DON’T SEE THE DEBRIS ON TV A LOT OF TIMES.DOES TV NEED TO SHOW THE DEBRIS SO EVERYONE IS CLEAR WHAT IT IS? “No. I think NASCAR has done a really good job in the last year or so of making sure if there is a debris caution, it’s not a just mystery caution. There is something out there that they are picking up. I’ve got the trust in them that when they through the debris caution that there is something out there. The big thing is you don’t want something to be out there and it get hit by a race car and it goes in the stands and hit somebody or hurt somebody. They have pretty good eyes around the race track to make sure that there’s not stuff laying out there.”