In the Pits with Tony Stewart

SONOMA, Calif. – A brief Q&A with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice). Stewart is a two-time winner at Infineon Raceway (2001, 2005). He placed second in the 2009 Toyota/Save Mart 350 behind race-winner Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser).

Q. There was quite a battle between you and Kasey Kahne during last year’s race at Infineon Raceway. What were those last laps and double-file restarts like for you?

A. “We were really close to each other, but it was going to take a mistake for us to get by (Kahne). There were areas of the track where we were stronger than he was, but there were areas where he was stronger than us. It seemed like he was vulnerable the first few laps after a restart, but once everything settled in he could pull away pretty easily. Every restart it was kind of a pressure situation for us to try to make something happen, because we knew once he settled in, we couldn’t get by.”

Q. Last year was the first year of double-file restarts at Infineon Raceway. What did you think?

A. “There were definitely times when you wanted to be on one side or the other. One restart you’d be in the wrong line and it’d hurt you, but the next time you’d be on the side you wanted and it would help you, so I think it added a lot of excitement. It made it fun for us drivers, because instead of being 20th and 20 rows back, you’re 20th and only 10 rows back and you’ve got a shot and could make a run at the leader.”

Q. You have two wins at Infineon Raceway, and great success there, is there something special about the Sonoma road course?

A. “I just like the road courses. I’ve always liked Sonoma. It’s really a driver’s track. It’s tough to make your car drive perfect all day. You can have a really good car, but it’s going to slide around and you’re going to struggle for grip, and that’s what makes it so fun. You have to do the work behind the steering wheel.”

Q. Have you reached a point where you’re content in your public and personal life?

A. “I’m definitely content in my driving career. There are some races that haven’t been checked off the list of accomplishing the wins on yet, but I can’t say that if it all ended tomorrow that I’ve had a bad career by any means. I’ve been very fortunate. The personal side, it always takes a back seat because you put your personal life on hold to do what you do on the professional side — owning racetracks and owning race teams — that’s the sacrifice I have to make to do what I want to do.”