Tony Stewart On Where He And His Team Are At

Earlier this week, Tony Stewart sat down with some media members via teleconference and fielded some questions. The following are excerpts from that interview with Tony Stewart

On his new team: He's pretty happy with how things are going. Especially with the great day they had at Martinsville, both teams finishing in the top 10.

Not knowing when the organization was going to hit its stride, but they did right off the bat was a great thing. Obviously he's overlooking the bad luck Ryan's had, and focused on the fact that he's had a 7th- and a 6th-place run consecutively.

He feels they clicked sooner than anticipated.

NBaP Warning: It's a long read folks but I didn't want to leave too much out. Get some coffee and kick it a few!

On thinking more as an owner than a driver when racing:
TONY STEWART: I haven't. I catch myself worrying sometimes about where Ryan is, you know, with some of the bad luck he had early in the year and that's probably the only difference between what I normally would do and what we're doing now.

For the most part, I stay strictly in that driver mode and concentrating on what I've got to do to get to the front.

On feeling any pressure to not get involved in the controversies that come along during race weekends?
TONY STEWART: If anything, it's made me feel like I could get involved in them if I chose to.

It's been easy to kind of stay out of the controversy. We've got enough stuff to keep us busy that I think it's a little better to put it all in perspective and realize that some of those controversies aren't worth the time and effort.

On the idea of building a Cup team from scratch, like Michael Waltrip Racing, and on the improvement from MWR:
TONY STEWART: Definitely seen a great improvement. With Reutimann and Marcos, they have had two great weekends in a row.

I can't honestly imagine building an organization from scratch. I don't think I would have tried to take that on.

On where the 20 car is now in points, feeling bad for them? Has Joey called for comfort?
TONY STEWART: He hasn't. But I feel bad for those guys because I know they deserve better than that. It's just a matter of time before Joey hits his stride and gets used to being in a Cup car full-time.

He's more than capable of doing it. He's going to hit his stride soon. You can see his confidence building every week.

On the rush or feeling of satisfaction out of having a business success (wins):
TONY STEWART: I am proud of our guys. I've left Martinsville after a third-place finish and left mad 'cause I knew we had a shot at winning the race or a shot at at least a better finish than a third. This weekend a third was like a win to us. A year from now it won't necessarily be like that. I think we'll constantly adjust the yardstick as far as where we expect to be.

But six races in, to have a top-three run like that, then to find out Ryan had a 6th-place run, I felt that was an awesome accomplishment for a young team to be able to do that in just six races.

On comparing winning a race yourself as a driver vs being an owner.
TONY STEWART: A win is more of an individual feeling, whereas a team owner you're happy for the whole organization.

Being a car owner has helped put it in perspective, that it's not just a personal accomplishment.

On feeling if he and Darian have broken each other in yet?
TONY STEWART: I think so. Every week we have spent more time with each other. The one thing that's happened from day one is we felt very comfortable around each other. So from that side, it's been really easy.

At the racetrack, obviously it's taken me a little bit of time to get used to his package, the cars that we're bringing to the racetrack. But every week that we go out and have a good run, I gain that much more confidence in him, in that relationship that we have, with the communication just getting stronger and stronger each week.

NBaP: I told ya it was a long read!

On the government involvement with GM and if he thinks it's going to impact the sport:
TONY STEWART: I don't know honestly. I know that talking to the people at Chevrolet they're very committed to the racing program. They realize the value of it with not only the rest of corporate America but what it does to our nation. It still goes back to 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday.' This is a sport that's been good for the auto industry and vice versa.

I know it's a tough time for them, but they're very committed to not only the racing product, but also the products that they build for the Americans out there in tough times. I'm very confident that the racing side is going to be fine.

On how he looks at the new loop data and their performance potential at Texas:
TONY STEWART: We're pretty comfortable with it right now in all honesty. I mean, we've been to California, which was two-mile. We've been to Vegas, a mile-and-a-half. I feel like our superspeedway program is really good. Our mile-and-a-half package is really good, even though we've really ran one of 'em.

I've got a lot of confidence going into this weekend. Texas is a track that I really enjoy. It's a lot of fun. I feel like we're gonna have a good run this weekend. I have that gut feeling.

On whether they've set goals with the team and if so, where are they with those goals right now:
TONY STEWART: Honestly, we didn't. We go to the racetrack with the attitude that we're going to try to get a hundred percent out of whatever we've got that weekend. I think when we sat down early in the year, you look at everything on paper, and it's supposed to be successful. All the pieces are in place. I feel like all the right people are there, all the right tools are there. So on paper it's supposed to work. It's just a matter of how soon are all the personalities going to click with each other. You start building momentum.

On the recent success being a morale booster back at the shop:
TONY STEWART: It is. You know, perfect example was yesterday. (Monday) We have our competition meetings on Monday. Ryan and I are both there, both the crew chiefs. Bobby Hutchins, our competition director is there. The atmosphere at the shop was unbelievable. Since I've joined that organization, I've not seen everybody in such a good mood and the morale so high. It's a good feeling.

On whether it's too early or just about time to size up where everybody is?
TONY STEWART: I think it's starting to shape up, at least who has the opportunity to be in the Chase. I'm not sure it's an accurate assessment of who's a championship contender or not. I think by now we're all starting to get an idea of who the contenders to be in the Chase are.

I think the next three or four weeks will be an indication of who those people are really going to be that are really solid to be in the Chase this year.

On being a satellite teams and what they might be doing different or better than other teams:
TONY STEWART: I don't know honestly (laughter). It's the first time I've done this. You know, I feel like the biggest key to making all this work is having the right key people in the right places and having the right tools in place.

I feel like Haas Automation, Haas CNC Racing did a great job of building a foundation long before I got there. I can't take credit for all of it. I think what we were able to do, what I brought to the table, was helping to attract some other people that they weren't able to attract in the past that helped make the difference and take it from a team that, you know, kind of was so-so to now a team that can run in the top 10 I feel like consistently.

Megan Fox, trying to figure out if the Ford Transformer is a Toyota or a Chevy!
Just because you've lasted this long reading the article!

On any discernible difference driving a Toyota to a Chevy?
TONY STEWART: It is feeling-wise. It's not so much physically as much as it is in your mind. I'm proud to be back in an American car. That being said, I mean, the physical part of it is it's a motor difference really and decal package. You know, there's that feeling and pride of knowing that you're in an American car, that we're out there racing with some of the best manufacturers in the world. So that sense of pride is the biggest difference.

On the differences between Atlanta and Texas, since they both look the same:
TONY STEWART: They're night and day, in all honesty. I'm not sure that everybody realizes, even though if you looked at the top of the tracks, there's shaped almost identical. But Texas is built quite a bit different than Atlanta is and Charlotte. What most people don't realize is the bottom of the racetrack, the apron, is paved all the way to the inside wall. That's different to what you see at Atlanta, Charlotte, some of these other places. The reason, that's what the IndyCar track was supposed to be. IndyCars were intended to run on the apron. That was going to be their racetrack. The transitions going into the corners and coming off the corners are a little more abrupt and later. The banking comes in a lot later, then it falls off a lot earlier than we have at the other tracks. That's to accommodate what was going to be the IndyCar track. That poses its own unique challenges.

But obviously the grip level at Atlanta is a lot less than what we have at Texas, too. But that's what makes Atlanta so much fun. But, you know, Texas every year that we go through, it's getting better and more worn in to where the groove moves around the racetrack and cars are running from the bottom to the top. At least from a drivers standpoint, we enjoy that part of it. We enjoy not having to be line committed. Helps us out on the aero side. We can help ourselves out as drivers versus just being stuck behind somebody.

On if running Nationwide races are beneficial anymore?
TONY STEWART: I don't think you learn a ton. I mean, you might learn some stuff air pressure-wise. Aside from that, as far as the actual setup of the chassis, they're night and day different now between the two series. I don't think you learn as much as you used to.

On any doubts going into Cup team Ownership:
TONY STEWART: I was eager. I mean, I don't think if I didn't have the background of ownership with the USAC side, the World of Outlaw teams, I don't think I would have been as comfortable making the adjustment to the Cup side. But it's having a great owner like Joe Gibbs that I learned from for 12 years, being in his organization, having that experience at a smaller level.

On the (premature) idea of expanding to 4 teams:
TONY STEWART: I'm not sure we've got that far yet. Obviously when we had our first meetings with Joe Custer, he filled us in on their intentions to be a four-car team eventually.

My opinion on it right now is I don't want us to try to expand until we get two cars really successful. I don't want to expand till we know that they both have an opportunity to win a championship. Once we get to that point, then I feel comfortable expanding the operation.

Question: This was a long read. Should NBaP have broken this up into more than one article? Thanks for coming by.