Tony Stewart story for Saturday

Indianapolis
News-Sentinel photos and story by Chad Ryan


Winning relieves pressure. Few people understand that better than Tony Stewart. When the second half of the NASCAR season kicks off Sunday in Indianapolis, Stewart won’t be feeling the pressure.

Winning two weeks ago in Chicago, Stewart snapped a 20-race winless streak. After his first win of the season and a week away from racing, he says now is a good time to start having fun. Stewart looks to continue the party at his favorite race in the Nextel Cup Series: the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

“If you have to have a streak when you don’t win and then you get your first win, and it’s about a week before you come (to Indy), that’s the week to do it,” Stewart says. “If you get a good package here, it’s a good package for other racetracks we have to run in that 10-week stretch that get you to the end. So, if you run good here, you got a good shot of doing well the rest of the time.”

Statistics say drivers who win in Indianapolis have better than just a good shot of doing well through the rest of the season. Six of the 12 Brickyard winners, including Stewart in 2005, went on to win the Series championship. Stewart dismisses that fact as a “neat stat.”

“We still race them one race at a time, so anything can happen,” Stewart says. “If you’re a betting person, you always bet on the odds, but there’s no guarantees. I’d rather bet on a guarantee.”

It took seven tries for Stewart to win at Indy. Stewart considers the Brickyard his home track having grown up minutes from the speedway and making the annual trek to watch the Indy 500 with his father.

“It’s my home race, obviously,” Stewart says. Growing up in Indiana and every year watching the Indy 500 and the whole month of May leading up to it, a race at the Brickyard is more than just a regular points race. It’s always been a big race to all of the Cup drivers, but then when you grow up in Indiana, it just makes it that much more important.”
The betting person can be guaranteed one thing: Stewart wants to win it again. He says he now knows what it takes to make it happen.

“Definitely last year, the race level wasn’t as intense,” Stewart says. “It wasn’t that we weren’t trying to win, it’s that now, you go out with no pressure on you. Now you can just go out and focus on and have the knowledge of what you got there before. You know what it takes to win, and that’s half the battle.”

One feature of the track at Indy that makes it difficult for NASCAR drivers is the flatter, non-banked turns that are separated by straight-aways, giving the track four 90-degree turns instead of two 180-degree turns. Stock cars don’t have as much down force as Indy cars do, forcing drivers to work the brakes harder in the turns. It is especially important that stock cars are handled correctly in the first and third turns. The front and back stretches are long compared to other tracks, allowing the drivers to push the speed.

“I think the biggest thing is the way we ran at Chicago,” Stewart says. “The package is pretty good. It’s not the same setup, obviously, but the approach is the same.”

Right now Stewart’s approach is to stay relaxed during this stretch of the season.

“Every day, I wake up, I’m pretty happy, so everyday is just a new day, Stewart says. “It’s not about, really, stretches, you just go out and do what you do, and we’re having fun as a race team, being able to do what we do. I’m having fun as a driver …”

For more race coverage go to News-Sentinel.com and the new community photo sharing site CU

Foggy start

It's quite a foggy start to the day here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Practice is set to begin at 8:00 a.m., but crews are working to dry the track. I'm sure the practice will be pushed back, but no announcements have been made yet about when that might be.

Finally, an internet connection ...

Yesterday's track activities, as you know by now, were rained out. There was a brief time where we thought the cars might roll out to the track, but the rain kicked up again as crews worked to dry the track. Finally, officials shut it down from good around 6:00.


Members of Jeff Burton's crew hang out in the team garage during a rain delay on Friday that later forced NASCAR officials to shut down practice sessions for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Kevin Harvick, left, and Tony Stewart look back as a friend jokes with Stewart in the team garage during a rain delay on Friday that later forced NASCAR officials to shut down practice sessions for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Jeff Gordon speaks to the media during a press conference during a rain delay on Friday.


Tony Stewart smiles as he talks with a member of his crew in the garage during a rain delay on Friday that later forced NASCAR officials to shut down practice sessions for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Country music singer Tracy Lawrence performs during a concert at the Pagoda Plaza at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday.

Live from the Brickyard

OK, well, I'm not live at the Brickyard yet. It's actually 1:40 a.m., and as is usually the case, I am still awake trying to get things together. I will, however, be leaving home in just a few hours to race to Indianapolis Motor Speedway where I'll be posting content all weekend. I plan to post more pictures than anything else because I'll be shooting and writing stories for The News-Sentinel - and I can only handle so much writing.

Later today, (Friday 07/27) I'll be shooting practice sessions, a Tracy Lawrence concert and interviewing Tony Stewart. Saturday is qualifying. I'll post a link to a story for the paper, car and driver pictures from the day and if I'm not burnt to a crisp, I'll stick around and shoot the Gretchen Wilson concert. I'll try to get some stuff up on Sunday, but I can't promise anything there as it will be a LONG day, and I'll be hauling the usual 50 pounds of photo gear for countless miles walking around the track to get photos from various angles.

Oh yeah, I'll try to work in some fan photos too. The only problem with that is my wife thinks I just run around taking pics of ladies allowing as much of their bare skin as is legally possibe to soak up the sun. I got in trouble because of some pictures from Miami Beach during the Super Bowl. I tried to explain that most of the 10 people who read this blog are males, and I was only catering to my audience. That argument wasn't well-received. So this time, I'll provide balanced coverage.

Anyway, if NASCAR is your thing, check here and let me know what you think. My bosses at The News-Sentinel would like to know that my efforts are worth the sacrifice of sending me out of town for a whole weekend.

Next stop ... Terre Haute.

More racing to come

Recently, I've been covering motorsports for The News-Sentinel. Up to now, all of my experience has been gained providing the paper with photo coverage of the Indy 500 for the last few years. This year, however, I am writing about racing as well, and it started with a story I did about Baer Field Speedway a few weeks ago.

It was my first time at the speedway, and I was a little surprised at the speeds those cars can get to on such a short track. I can also say with certainty, those race drivers don't do it for the money. The payouts were somewhat less than I expected they might be. In some case, I bet the payout for winning doesn't cover the team's cost of the fuel used during a weekend. Baer Field pictures can be found here.

Last week, I travelled to Rossburg, Ohio, to cover a race at Eldora Speedway. NASCAR's Tony Stewart owns the half-mile dirt track that sits out in the middle of nowhere but boasts tremendous history providing a starting point for several hall of fame drivers careers, including A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Dave Blaney and Stewart entered Tuesday's race in the winged sprint car division.

Although the NASCAR drivers said they were there to compete, the best finish of the group was Kahne's fourth place. Afterward, thought, the placingg didn't really matter to those guys. They were there to have some fun without all the pressure that the Nextel Cup Series brings. I had heard that Stewart was hard on the media, but aside from having to wait a long time for a short interview, I found him to be relaxed, quite personable and easy to talk to. Although it made a long night for me, I didn't mind too much. Stewart and the others signed hundreds, if not thousands, of autographs so I took the opportunity to talk to some fans to try to get some inside information about the NASCAR fanatacism. I talk to some nice folks who waited all day for a chance to meet one of the drivers.

During Stewart's endless line of autograph signing, he talked to one fan who asked when he was going to get it done again. Stewart told the guy he hoped to be back in Victory Lane soon. Well, Stewart made that happen Sunday with a win in the USG Sheetrock 400 in Chicago. Maybe the fun he had on the dirt track Tuesday was enough to help deal with the pressure. Maybe not, but it must have been nice to get away from the big time to take a step back. I plan to ask Stewart about that when I meet up with the crowd down in Indy for the Brickyard weekend. Until then, I plan to spend some time learning a little more about the racing world.

More Eldora Photos can be see on The News-Sentinel's new community photo sharing website named CU: here.

New arrival

On Thursday, June 7, my wife gave birth to the newest addition to our family. Our newborn son made his way onto the scene at a healthy 7 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches long. It was quite a day for our family. My 11-year-old son is especially happy to have a little brother despite the age difference. After coming home from vacation, my older son met and held his little brother for the first time. It was very cool to see him embrace the little guy. He made the observation that his birthday as well as his brother's and his stepmother's birthdays are all on the 7th (differrent months). My wife said I should just get everyone a gift on the 7th of every month to avoid forgetting birthdays. Sounds like a good plan as my friend Ellen wil attest to the fact that I seem to be forgetful of birthdays.

Anyway, I couldn't be happier - even if I only get sleep in two to three hours bursts. I'll be taking more pics soon.

Misleading headline on my story

Andre "Bone Breaker" Beffenbarg, left, celebrates winning his first mixed martial arts fight, stopping Wyatt Marker at 15 seconds of the first round.








I attended the Legends of Fighting Championship event on Saturday at The Plex and saw some great fight action. The bout featured 13 matches between fighters mostly from around the Indiana/Ohio area. I had a great time watching and photographing the action.

I wrote a story about the event for The News-Sentinel that was published today (Monday, May 21), and the headline on the story is misleading, in my opinion. The headline reads "Local fighters punished in Legends Championship." In defense of the headline writer, that person probably read the paragraph about Bobby Martinez' gash on the side of his nose and described it as punishment. Someone just reading the headline might get the impression that Fort Wayne fighters didn't perform well. That just wasn't the case, and it certainly wasn't my intention to give that impression. I thought my story actually spoke more to the strengths of the local fighters and not describing it as punishment. I certainly plan to bring this to the attention of the headline writer, when I find out who wrote it. It is generally that person's job to read the whole piece to figure out the importance of the article, and I'm not sure that's what happened.

In any case, I apologize to anyone who read that headline and took a meaning from it that I did not intend.

This weekend should be a treat to MMA fans. On Friday, the Legends of Fighing Championship will host an event at the 8 Second Saloon in Indianapolis on Friday. In the LFC main event, Fort Wayne fighter Anthony Lapsley takes a 9-1 record against undefeated Kyle Gibbons (9-0). Then on Saturday, Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson square off in UFC 71 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, also available on pay-per-view. That should be a great match to watch.

Another fight to put on the radar is the match between Fort Wayne native Jon Fitch who carries a 18-2 record against 11-5 Roan Carneiro in UFC fight Night, JUne 12 on Spike TV. some writes have said Fitch is the best MMA fighter no one has heard about. This match will be his national TV debut and is scheduled as a co-main event.

From left, Jaron Markland, 6, Mikayla Markland, 7, and Tanya Markland react as Wade Markland is forced to submit in his fight against Chris Higi at the Legend of Fighting Championship contest on Saturday at The Plex.

MMA story tomorrow

In my new writing/shooting capacity at The News-Sentinel I am given the opportunity to work on story packages - sometimes of my choice, and sometimes not. But, whether I choose a topic or not, it is a bonus to have control over the types of images I include with the story. I worked on such a package last week that will run in The News-Sentinel Thursday, May 17.

Mixed martial arts competitions are popping up all over the country. It is certainly due to a huge explosion in popularity and some claim it is the fastest growing sport in America. Having trained in martial arts for more than a decade, I was enthusiastic about writing a piece describing the sport and its growth in popularity.

This Saturday, (May 19) the Legends of Fighting Championship group is bringing its MMA show to The Plex, here in Fort Wayne. It should be an interesting show, and LFC promoter Steve Sims assured me that almost every one of the events his group puts together sells out due to the party atmosphere he's worked to create. He calls it the "ultimate party."

If you have any interest in mixed martial arts, check out The News-Sentinel on Thursday and again on Monday for the results of the LFC fight.

Pole Day - part deux

If you read the previous post, you already know Dario Franchitti led the race for the pole position for this year's Indy 500. In fact, he led for about five hours before Helio Castroneves, the second to last driver on the track, took it from him. Castroneves waived off his earlier attempt to take another shot at the pole, and it paid off. But after the first two laps from Tony Kanaan, who took the track last, Castroneves' lead looked in doubt. Kanaan held the fastest pace through three laps, but his last lap cost him the pole by the slimmest of margins at .06 mph. Castroneves held on to the pole, giving team owner Roger Penske his 14th pole position at the Brickyard. News-Sentinel columnist Reggie Hayes pointed out to me that Castroneves had won the pole in more than half of the last 26 races he's entered. If things go his way on May 27, Spiderman will climb the fence at Indy for the third time.

Pole Day

For the first time in three years, the race car drivers are running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday for Pole Day. The weather at the track is great with clear skies and 80 degree temperatures. The drivers are through the first round of runs, and now they're going back to practice mode to work out the kinks and prepare for another run at the pole.

Andretti-Green racer Dario Franchitti is currently in the pole position with an average speed of 225.191 mph. It remains to be seen if Franchitti will hold the top spot, considering five other drivers have driven faster during practice sessions today than his fastest lap speed in the qualifying run. Penske racing drivers Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. both pulled off the line before entering the track, so they still have yet to take a green flag. Yesterday, Scott Dixon broke the 227 mph mark. Dixon is holding the fourth spot at the moment.

Danica Patrick qualified in the third spot on her first run but was bumped down to fifth after teammates Franchitti and Tony Kannan qualified in the first and second spots, respectively. Other driver to look out for are Ryan Briscoe in the third position and Dan Wheldon, currently in sixth.