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Stewart In Solid Position In The Chase Race

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2007

Updated: 09/03/2007 12:55 am

FONTANA, Calif. - Two-time series champion Tony Stewart was feeling a lot more secure at California Speedway this time around.

Last year, Stewart left Fontana in a tenuous eighth place in the Chase standings. The following week at Richmond - the last race before the 10-race Chase - he crashed in practice and wound up finishing 18th in a backup car.

That dropped him to 11th, 16 points behind 10th-place Kasey Kahne, so he missed the then-10-man Chase.

Stewart headed into Sunday's Sharp Aquos 500 at Fontana second behind Jeff Gordon in the standings, solidly in with this year's field for the Chase expanded to the top 12. The most important thing for Stewart and the other drivers already in the Chase is going for wins, which this year are worth a 10-point bonus for seeding purposes at the start of the stock car playoff.

'It's nice coming here and knowing that if it comes down to a fuel mileage race this weekend that we can take a chance like we did at Kansas City and go for those 10 points, versus not being locked in like we were last year and fighting at this time,' Stewart said.

'So it's definitely taken a lot of the stress and the pressure off, for sure.'

Out of the Chase last October at Kansas Speedway, Stewart was able to gamble on fuel and ran out of gas on the final lap - but coasted across the finish line to win.

IT'S THE PEOPLE: After shopping around, Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel settled on a racing team owned by a couple of proven winners - Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.

Moorad, CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Garfinkel, the NL team's chief operating officer, have bought controlling interest in Hall of Fame Racing.

'We spoke with several teams and decided that Hall of Fame has assembled a special group of people and created a foundation for success that we hope to build on,' Moorad said Sunday at California Speedway.

'You win with people and we want to add resources and opportunity for the people who are here.'

Moorad and Aikman have longtime ties, going back to when Moorad's sports management agency represented the former Dallas Cowboys' star in his first contract negotiation.

Garfinkel previously was executive vice president of Chip Ganassi Racing and was involved in Ganassi's NASCAR and open-wheel organizations.

'Jeff has been a positive influence for me throughout my career and has been successful in whatever he's done,' Aikman said. 'And Tom is certainly an impressive individual with a unique blend of significant business acumen and racing experience.

Aikman and Staubach and their partners formed the racing team in 2003. They retain minority interest, along with partners Bill Saunders, Paul Whitman and Mark Griege.
Hall of Fame Racing is in its second season, with Tony Raines and Terry Labonte splitting driving duties. The No. 96, sponsored by DLP HDTV, finished 26th in owner points last year and was 25th heading into Sunday's race.

OK, BUT OUCH: Jeff Burton said that, unless a NASCAR driver is pulled out of his car and hauled off on a gurney, everybody assumes he's completely OK.

'A lot of times we're hurting more than people ever know about because you don't want everybody to know you're hurt,' he said. 'I always laugh when I watch a race and a guy takes a big hit and he gets out of the car and someone says, 'Oh, he's OK, he got out.' They don't have a clue if he's OK or not.

'So I always find that a little humorous. From the outside looking in, OK sometimes is a relative term, but this is a dangerous sport. Anytime you strap yourself into something that's propelling down a straightaway at 200 miles an hour, you have the potential to get hurt.'

KESELOWSKI RELEASED: Rookie driver Brad Keselowski, airlifted to a hospital after crashing in Saturday night's Busch Series race, has been released.

Keselowski was released later Saturday night after undergoing CT scanning and X-rays of his left ankle and chest.

The Associated Press

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