Tony Stewart: “Never Say Never”
May 17, 2008
NASCAR Media
Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart bucked bad weather to pay a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, where rain washed out practice for the Indy 500 on May 25.
As rain and high winds lashed the speedway, Stewart, 36, a two-time winner of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, arrived at the famous track where an Indy 500 victory eludes him.
“It’s neat for me to have cars and race in a series I’ve been passionate about,” said Stewart of competing in midgets. “Chevy has been absolutely wonderful to work with.”
Stewart’s day job is driving a Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Stewart, on pole for the 1996 Indy 500, left the door ajar for a return to Indy in an open-wheeler, but just barely.
“There’s part of me that thinks running at Indy and in IndyCar is a chapter of my life that is closed, and then there is an emotional part of me that says, ‘Never say never.’ I don’t know if I’ll ever get in an Indy car again, but if it happens, it’s obviously going to be a long way down the road because I have a lot of commitments on the NASCAR side. If I was going to come to Indianapolis again, I don’t want to come and show up and run the month of May.
Stewart said he was thrilled with the recent unification of open-wheel racing.
“I’m really excited to see everyone back,” said Stewart of the return of Champ Car teams to Indy. “What’s the car count this year so far? Thirty-nine? That might actually make it fun and exciting to come here on Bump Day. That’s going to be cool. I think you’re going to see one of the most competitive fields ever at Indy this year.”
