TONY STEWART

Harried at Martinsville? Not This Year

ATLANTA (March 26, 2008) – Tony Stewart comes into Martinsville (Va.) Speedway relaxed and refreshed after a rare off-weekend on the 38-race weekend NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing is also a bit more aerodynamic, for the long hair he had sported since the end of last season is gone. Stewart’s mane looks more like it did when he was a rookie in 1999. Perhaps prompting the retro style was the sting of having his back waxed, as Stewart underwent the painful process in the name of charity.

On March 17 during Tony Stewart Live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Stewart had to live up to the bet he made with friend and competitor Kevin Harvick nearly a year ago. On Friday of last year’s spring Martinsville race weekend, Harvick dared Stewart to have his back waxed. Stewart took the dare, albeit with one caveat – that $100,000 gets raised for Victory Junction Gang Camp. An impressive $125,000 was raised, and in turn, Stewart’s back became hairless and the Victory Junction Gang Camp’s coffers rose by six figures.

It’s ironic that Stewart’s stature is slightly less hairy as he returns to a race track known for its harried racing. The .526-mile Martinsville Speedway is known for its less-than-forgiving confines. Forty-three cars roaming the paperclip-shaped layout for 500 laps usually makes for a handful of sheet metal skirmishes and a driver’s occasional angry gesture.

Yet, short track racing forms the foundation of NASCAR’s 60-year heritage, and throwback racers like Stewart who will race anything with four wheels for the pure fun of it, relish the gritty style of racing Martinsville promotes.

How much so? Stewart has two wins at Martinsville and three poles, and has finished outside of the top-10 only eight times in 18 career starts. He’s also led 1,193 laps, second only to Jeff Gordon, who in 30 career starts at Martinsville has led 2,466 laps.

And while the style of racing piques Stewart’s interests, so does the trophy Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell gives to the race winner. An authentic grandfather clock made by Martinsville-based Ridgeway Clocks goes to the victor, a tradition dating back to 1964 when Fred Lorenzen won the Old Dominion 500.

With Stewart’s last Martinsville victory coming in April 2006, he feels it’s “time” to pick up a third grandfather clock when the checkered flag drops on Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500.