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Sickness Forces Stewart From Race

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The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 6, 2008

DAYTONA BEACH - DAYTONA BEACH - For the second time in two years Tony Stewart had to yield to a relief driver to finish a race.

A heavy favorite for Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Stewart has been under the weather this weekend - so much so that he had to get an IV an hour before the race. Former Joe Gibbs Racing driver J.J. Yeley, who failed to qualify for Saturday's race, was on standby in Stewart's pit in case his old team needed him.

He got the call during a caution period on Lap 72 of the 160-lap race.

It took less than two minutes for the team to pull Stewart out of the car and get Yeley strapped in, his communications connected. Stewart had been running as high as third early in the race and was in the top 10 when he turned the car over to Yeley, who returned to the track in 33rd place - with not a lap of practice in the car.

After getting out of the car Stewart sat down on a stack of tires and got ice, then climbed up on the pit box to speak briefly with crew chief Greg Zipadelli before getting treatment for flu-like symptoms at the infield care center. He stayed in the care center for the remainder of the race and was not available for comment.

The last time a relief driver was used in the Sprint Cup Series was when Ricky Rudd relieved Stewart at Dover in 2006. Stewart broke his shoulder in the preceding race at Charlotte.

RAYS ON HIS MIND: Academy Award winner Kevin Costner performed with his band, Modern West, during the prerace show - and took an opportunity later to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays for their best-in-baseball season. Costner filmed a promotional announcement for the team's now-defunct stadium proposal and said he's been following the Rays' season closely ever since.

"It's one of the highlights of this band to look up on the Fourth of July and see Tampa is in first place and that no one's taking them lightly," said Costner, whose band recently played in the stadium of the Rays' Triple-A team in Durham, N.C. "I'm really happy for those guys. It shows it's not all about the payroll."

Costner conceded he was much more comfortable in a baseball setting and even turned down an offer to ride around Daytona International Speedway's famed high banks in a pace car before the race.

"I was never the speed guy," Costner said. "Even today when they asked me if I wanted to go around the track, I told them I'd rather go to a press conference."

THE CAPTAIN'S RETURN: Legendary team owner Roger Penske missed his second consecutive NASCAR race weekend after having a scheduled medical procedure two weeks ago. Team president Tim Cindric handled the day-to-day operations for both the NASCAR and IndyCar teams in his absence. "The Captain," as Penske is known, is expected back at the track today for the IndyCar Series race in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

GETTING IT RIGHT: A day after feeling he was robbed of a position in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona, Carl Edwards spoke up at Saturday's Sprint Cup Series drivers meeting and gave NASCAR the opportunity to clarify its position.

In the Nationwide race on Friday night, Edwards had to drop below the track's yellow line to avoid an accident and subsequently missed a scoring loop, so he was scored incorrectly during a restart. It ended up costing him a position during the restart and he believes that made the difference in his finishing position.

Edwards was visibly upset in a postrace television interview and asked NASCAR to apologize.

While NASCAR didn't go that far, managing event director David Hoots did promise Edwards on Saturday, "In the future, we'll review the video when a car misses a scoring loop so we can ensure that doesn't happen again."

Of course that's too late for Edwards, the defending Nationwide Series champion, but he received the explanation with a smile and nod.

ATTENDANCE: Although speedway officials said advance ticket sales were down slightly for Saturday's race, there was a large crowd in the grandstands by the time the green flag dropped. The backstretch grandstand was only sparsely filled but it's not traditionally a sellout for the July race anyway.

Holly Cain

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