The NASCAR racing season gets underway this weekend, and Danica Patrick isn’t the only person thrilled that she’s sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500. Indeed, NASCAR officials are counting on that little extra oomph to drive eyeballs to the TV screen as they try to turn around another down year on the ratings scale.

After what was one heck of a start to the century for stock car racing, their sport has seen a decline of sorts. The past three years of TV ratings have resembled a roller coaster: dipping, then rising, then dipping again. It’s a downward trend, but it hasn’t exactly fallen off the table. In the past 4 years, Daytona has failed to register a double-digit share in the Nielsen ratings, after going 10 or higher in 7 of the last 8. (In their defense, last year’s race suffered from a weather delay that pushed it to a Monday.)

The news this year is already positive: Patrick’s winning run in the Budweiser Shootout gave Fox a pretty little 2.0 share, already up from last year’s qualifier. There’s a reason NASCAR put a lot of effort into wooing her over from open-wheeled racing, even though it hasn’t paid out in checkered flags yet. I’ll put money on the Daytona cracking a 10 share this year.

While it does seem like NASCAR isn’t the rising star and darling of sports entertainment anymore (for the record, that would be MMA), the crowds are still strong. All 3 television networks that carry the races, Fox, ESPN, and TNT, have made statements that they are confident in the motor sports fanbase to be tuned in every Sunday. It’s not as if the fanbase has deteriorated back to Hoyt in the trailer park, either. It was just a couple of years ago when my dentist had to push an appointment back because he was going to Daytona… right after going to the Super Bowl, no less. It’s no wonder why I suddenly needed a root canal that year

So, why the stagnation? I’d lay the blame on some of the meddling NASCAR made while the sport was on the rise. Take, for instance, the Car of Tomorrow: it was a standardized body shape that was supposed to improve driver safety and save money. However, it took the individuality away from each manufacturer. Who was driving Ford or Chevy? Which was a Dodge or Toyota? Didn’t matter, they were all out of the same cookie cutter. NASCAR finally ditched the body type for this year, and you can finally start to see the “stock cars” resemble… well, stock cars

Also taking some flack for NASCAR losing it’s momentum: Jimmie Johnson completely owning the Sprint Cup for 5 years. Utter domination is cool, but Johnson is no Tony Stewart in the personality department. Racing has always fed off guys who had a wild streak about them, and those guys are winning again.

I’ll even give NASCAR credit in some of the more subtle changes they’ve made. This year, they’re premiering a new method of drying the track after rainfall: instead of running massive heat blowers over the track for hours in order to dry a surface, they’ve developed a system of pushing the water off the track and vacuuming it up on the apron. What it means for us is that races can get back on track in a matter of minutes instead of hours.

NASCAR knows where they stand in the sports entertainment world, and they’re making the smart tweaks to regain their footing. Spreading the media partnerships around certainly doesn’t hurt on that front: the more organizations touting your product, the better (Did you hear that, NHL?) The good news for stock car racing is that their fanbase is massive and they’re passionate: they’re not going anywhere. NASCAR’s job is to get Joe Average Sports Fan to tune back in, and they’re all going to be there when Danica Patrick starts on the pole this Sunday. How they keep the fans tuned in is up to them.

Tags: Danica Patrick, Daytona 500, Nascar, Shaggy Matt Culbreath

This entry was posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2013 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Nascar, Shag on Sports, Sports.
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“I’m a big music fan”, the old joke goes. “I love country and western.”

That joke got a very recent redesign: “‘I like everything except rap and country,’ said every boring person ever.”

I am a little shocked when I talk to “huge sports fans” whose full intake consists of football, baseball, and maybe basketball or hockey. Possibly NASCAR. I get the sense that not a whole lot of people were watching the Rugby Sevens tournament that NBC broadcast last week.

I watched it, and I enjoyed it. Why not? And why is there such a resistance to anything different?

I’ll admit it, when I was growing up, I wasn’t the biggest sports guy. I’d collect baseball cards and watch football on Sundays with Dad, but that was about it. In junior high, I had a Philadelphia Eagles Starter jacket, not because I was an Eagles fan, but because Starter jackets were the in thing, and I liked the color green. In high school, I’d watch the Swanton football and basketball teams over the bell of my trumpet, playing fight songs in a valiant, fruitless effort to pump up the crowd. It wasn’t until my college years, when my roommate Nick would leave the morning Sportscenter loop on when he went to morning classes, did I really start to follow sports. Must have seeped in subconsciously. When it was discovered that I had an uncanny ability to read sports news in front of a microphone, I was all in

In my pursuit of athletic knowledge, I came acrossed an awesome book. Simply titled The Sports Book, it’s the one book that can be judged by it’s cover, as it’s cover is made of Astroturf. The contents within, however, were even better: a primer on over 200 different sports. From popular sports like football and basketball, all the way down to sumo, handball, and lawn bowling. If it has a rulebook, it has a page in this book.

Armed with my encyclopedia, I take in everything I can. English Premiership Football, Australian Rules Football, curling… if there’s a way of watching it, I want to watch it. Friends and co-workers will tell you, there were sports that I turned my nose up to in the past. As I got more involved with being a “huge sports fan”, I understood that it meant taking in these other sports. I didn’t have to like them, but I do at least need to respect them.

The Olympics are the best avenue for this pursuit, because every single match in every single sport is being streamed online. Last year, I spent a little too much time watching preliminary rounds of judo or fencing. I might not understand it, but it’s at least interesting. These athletes worked for years to reach this point, the apex of their sport. While all eyes were on basketball, swimming, and gymnastics, there’s incredible drama happening on every level, and it’s there for the watching if people would just, well… watch it.

Unfortunately, that’s not happening, and it’s starting to change the landscape of sports. Last week, it was announced that the International Olympic Committee is removing wrestling from the games, to be replaced by golf and rugby in 2020. A shrewd business move by the IOC, motivated not by the passion of amateur sports, but by eyeballs on televisions. If Tiger Woods playing for his country is great in the Ryder Cup, imagine how great it will be for a gold medal! At least when the NCAA cashes its checks written with the sweat of amateur athletes, it leaves the non-profitable sports alone

But if NBC is showing rugby sevens on national television, and BCSN is airing honest-to-goodness I-kid-you-not collegiate quidditch, then I suppose there’s hope for the outlier sports yet. It’s good to see something different grace your screens, even if it is a curling bonspiel on the CBC. If you’re the “huge sports fan” I mentioned at the start of this article, try branching out. The Daytona 500 is next Sunday. Premiere League soccer airs early enough here in the States that you can watch a whole game and be done by noon. Flip open a sports almanac and pick a sport at random, see if you can find it somewhere. Find the song that gets you out of the “country and western” ditch.

Matt “Shaggy” Culbreath is sports director at 1370 WSPD. Email him at shaggy@wspd.com.

Tags: ESPN, Nascar, Shaggy Matt Culbreath, WSPD

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2013 at 11:49 am and is filed under Shag on Sports, Sports.
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Americans love racing. NASCAR, lawnmowers, whatever — if it moves, we’ll race it. The same goes for R/C cars, trucks and anything else with a motor. During the fall and winter, HobbyTown USA in Holland and Aaron Mermin host indoor soft track racing and R/C rock crawling.

“The racing and rock crawling events are staggered,” said race coordinator Mermin. “One weekend we’ll race the 36 and 24th scale cars and trucks, and the next weekend we’ll compete in rock crawling.”

The Losi brand-specific indoor soft track racing requires participants to pay a $5 entry fee but “Everyone wins something,” Mermin said. “There are cash prizes for the winners of each class of racers, and everyone will get store credit just for entering the race.”

Racing takes place every other Saturday at noon, with driver meetings at 11 a.m.

The races are five minutes long; the racers who complete the highest number of laps in that given time are the winners.

“We have transponders that we let people borrow for each race. There is a computerized system that keeps track of each car, lap time and number of laps completed,” Mermin said.

On the weekends opposite soft track racing, HobbyTown USA hosts R/C rock crawling. Rock crawling is intense for the driver of the crawler and the spectators.

“The rules for rock crawling are national,” Mermin said. “The crawling is based on a points system — he who has the lowest points after a crawl wins.” Mermin said drivers acquire points for things like touching certain objects, needing to reverse, or actually rolling their vehicles down the rock crawling course. “You have points deducted every time you make it through a gate; the objective is to have the lowest points at the end of a crawl or even have negative points.”

Rock crawling costs competing participants $10 per event.

Indoor rock crawling and soft track racing only take place during the colder months and will come to an end in February.

Tags: HobbyTown USA, Losi, Nascar, R/C

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 11:49 am and is filed under Gaming, Star.
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Although my interests are fairly eclectic, I’ve never quite understood the appeal of certain things. Things I just don’t have much of a taste for include car racing, “Two and a Half Men,” classic rock, fictional books, musical theater and camping. By the same token, it is somewhat hard for me to understand others’ aversion to rap music, Facebook, sarcasm, NPR and life in suburbia, which are all things I generally hold in high regard.

Surprisingly, some of my teenage pop culture archenemies have become personal favorites over the years. There was a time when I certainly never could have imagined myself watching soccer, listening to country music or eating spicy food. I regarded soccer as one of the most boring sports on earth, just a smidgen below curling, and could not understand how anyone could bear to listen to the obnoxious twang of country songs. Spicy food seemed appealing, but any attempt to try it left the memory of a burning fire in my mouth for years to come.

I have learned that tastes, however, change if we let them.

There came a day when listening to bands like Nine Inch Nails and Cypress Hill no longer made as much sense in my life as listening to the heartfelt lyrics about parent/child relationships and loving your spouse that country music had to offer. Still, taking on new interests hasn’t meant completely writing off what I used to love. I still appreciate good bass-thumping music, but, as my life has turned in that direction, I have also gained an appreciation for music with nothing more than a happy, positive message, regardless of the genre.

Soccer and spicy food have been more of a gradual transition. I was first reeled in with jalapeno poppers and preschool bumblebee soccer. After getting hooked by the humor of several 4-year-olds kicking a ball back and forth, I worked my way up to discovering that there is much more to soccer, even professional soccer, than 90 minutes of near nothingness. Aside from skill and strategy I didn’t know existed, there is the reality that most people on earth have the physical and financial means to give it a whirl. To my surprise, the supposed beautiful game really is beautiful in its simplicity.

My own continuous pop culture acceptance and growth has instilled in me the importance of teaching my children the lifelong value of an open mind. I’m not speaking of the politically rhetorical open mind, but rather one of the honest-to-goodness, anything-is-possible variety. As part of the generation that vehemently swore off ever driving a minivan only to find that particular vehicle quite useful for toting around the soccer-playing kids we said we’d never have, I’m here to say that you just never know what tomorrow will bring.

Of greater concern than whether my children will be listening to the same music at 35 that they did at 15 is their willingness to accept other people’s pop culture choices. A common side effect of trying to find yourself as an adolescent is an acquired feeling of superiority based ever-so-simply on peer influence and personal preference. In short, liking certain things makes us feel like we’re somehow more in the right than those who like other certain things. Although figuring out what you enjoy in life is good, looking down on what others enjoy is not.

I have to admit that I am floored when I come across a peer who is still holding onto the idea that the music or movies or favorite sports teams they enjoy are somehow intrinsically better than the ones someone else enjoys. Of all the qualities we’ve chosen to judge one another on in this life, pop culture preferences may be the silliest. Continuing the practice as adults who should know better sets a bad example for children and young adults who are not yet able to see the lack of weight their childhood pop culture likes and dislikes will actually bear over the entire course of their lifetime.

I personally don’t get the appeal of NASCAR, Pink Floyd or “Mamma Mia!” but I’m certainly happy for the folks who do. I ask for the same respect as I update my status in the suburbs while listening to Flo Rida.

Columnist Shannon Szyperski and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. Email her at

letters@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Cypress Hill, Facebook, Family Practice, Mama Mia!, Nascar, Nine Inch Nails, NPR, Pink Floyd, Shannon Szyperski, Two adn a half men

This entry was posted on Friday, October 7th, 2011 at 1:25 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Family Practice.
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The official Nationwide show car is making a pit stop at Groulx Automotive on its way to the Alliance Truck Parts 250 race.

“It’s a big race weekend at Michigan International Speedway,” dealership owner Bobby Groulx said. “It will be a real nice event leading up to that. There’s a huge NASCAR following around us.”

The event is a joint effort between the dealership and its local Nationwide Insurance representative, Ignazio Cuccia.

“We’re going to partner up on this thing and try to make a real nice event out of it,” Groulx said.

The event is free to the public and will feature a NASCAR simulator, giveaways and concessions such as hot dogs.

Radio stations 94.5 WXKR and 106.5 WLQR will broadcast live from the dealership.

Groulx said he plans to test his skills in the NASCAR simulator and expects a large attendance. “Based on what we’ve heard, the turnout for these events has reached more than 500 people,” he said.

The show car will be on display June 17 from noon to 5 p.m. Groulx Automotive is located at 15434 South Dixie Hwy. in Monroe.

Tags: Groulx Automotive, Jason Mack, Nascar, Sports

This entry was posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Nascar, Sports.
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“Monster Jam:  Path of Destruction” (Activision): Monster truck fans get 28 vehicles, eight authentic stadiums, 32 race events, and more than 20 freestyle events (90 seconds with possible 30 second bonus time) while having the ability to create their own monster truck. Use different strategies for events that include stunt challenges, stadium races, circuit races, time crunches and team races. No online play, but the multiplayer mode, authentic components and various stunts echo entertaining realism just like the real shows. Players must work for the rewards in career and multiplayer modes while mastering movement presents the greatest challenge. Control schemes include use of the left analog stick to steer the front wheels and the right stick to steer the rear wheels. Sharper graphics would improve the excitement, but the sound provides additional pros. Nintendo Wii and PlayStation3 versions available with Grave Digger Steering Wheel Peripheral with stickers (**1/2, rated E for mild violence, also available on Nintendo DS, PSP and Xbox 360).

“Moto GP 10/11” (Capcom): Motorcycle racing has never been better with one- and two- player modes with two to 20 player online modes. Players can record and upload their races. Green trails show if the direction, speed and other factors are “on track”. The challenging braking takes real effort — veterans of this game series have a definitce advantage in this area. The online mode includes messaging and friend invitations. Time trials have a ghost rider option while challenges offer a wide variety like slipstreaming, but the career mode provides the main appeal.Co-op play in this mode lets players take a detailed journey together involving sponsorships, reputation and other managerial elements. Game modes promote short sessions or extremely detailed experiences. For example, in world championship, play can range from a full season to a single race. The European music soundtrack pumps with energy (***, rated E, also available on Xbox 360).

“NASCAR 2011” (Activision): Improvements in vehicle damage, race logistics and proximity radar add to a highly authentic NASCAR experience for all skill levels in one- and two-player gameplay (two to 16 players online). Players can take the customization and immense options to a high level along with a limited number of “rewinds” to turn back the clock on crashes for another chance. Check the visuals for help, which include a brake indicator that shows alerts if turns are angled poorly or too fast. Game modes include career mode, race now, eliminator, invitational events, track testing and practice. Building skills and progression transfer to experience points that can lead to fun celebration burnouts and doughnuts for more bonus experience points. Look for an upcoming add-on content update with 2011 car models, paint schemes and more (***1/2, rated E for mild language, also available on Xbox 360).

Tags: Nascar, PlayStation 3, Video games

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 6:20 am and is filed under Star, Video games.
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Related stories:

• Tony Stewart praises track at MIS
• MIS passes offer up-close view of pre-race action
• Win at MIS would be a boost for many drivers

Danica Patrick will make her first Michigan International Speedway (MIS) stock car start during the NASCAR Nationwide Series CARFAX 250 race on Aug. 14.

Patrick has previously raced in Irish Hills as part of her IndyCar career. Participating in three IRL IndyCar races at MIS from 2005 to 2007, Patrick’s best finish was seventh in 2007.

Her previous IndyCar starts at MIS will help the rookie NASCAR driver at the track.

“It’s always good to have a visual of the track. It’s always very different when you actually get out there from when you can see it in pictures or you’re just standing in the infield,” Patrick said during a press conference June 22. “It’s nice to know those little things, where Pit Road is, and the things you have to get used to very quickly on a race weekend if you’ve never been there.”

“When you put all those new things on top of each other, things feel very chaotic and overwhelming,” Patrick said.  “Just having been there and seeing the place and knowing what it’s like and how the track surface is and everything, I think it’s a really nice thing for me to have that going into the race weekend.”

Danica Patrick (AP)

As the race weekend approaches Patrick is looking forward to seeing the differences and similarities at the 2-mile track between the Indy and stock cars.

“I think it will be interesting to see how Michigan will go, since it’s the ‘Car of Tomorrow’, and it’s just one of those sort of big, fast tracks — at least in an IndyCar. I’m curious how it will be in a stock car,” she said.

The Illinois native began racing IRL IndyCar in 2005 and won Bombardier and Chase Rookie of the Year honors. Patrick races the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Honda/Dallara for Andretti Autosport in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

In 2008, Patrick became the first woman to ever win an IndyCar race at the Japan 300.

In January, it was announced Patrick would join NASCAR’s Nationwide Series in addition to her IndyCar races. She made her NASCAR debut in February at Daytona and is scheduled to compete in 12 Nationwide Series races this season.

Patrick, who races the  No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for JR Motorsports, said she is “eager” to learn her stock car.

“I think that the best thing I can do for myself on the NASCAR weekends is really come up with some realistic expectation levels instead of having them be like IndyCar expectation levels where I’m hoping to win and I’m hoping to finish on the podium, those kinds of things,” she said. “Those are probably a little bit more unrealistic in Nationwide at this point for how much I still have to learn.”

Patrick’s best NASCAR finish this season was 24th in Chicago as of press time.

MIS offers  “Danica’s Go with Daddy” special ticket package during the Show Me the CARFAX Race Weekend.

The $88 package includes two adult seats and one 12 and younger admission to the Aug. 14 race. Kids 12 and under are free, so additional tickets may be requested to ensure seating.

The package also includes one voucher for a free officially licensed Patrick T-shirt and an MIS hat.

To purchase a “Danica’s Go with Daddy” ticket package, call 800-354-1010.

Tickets for the Nationwide Series CARFAX 250 are $40 for adults and kids 12 and younger are free. The race is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and will air on ESPN.

Tags: Danica Patrick, Michigan International Speedway, Nascar

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Featured, MIS/NASCAR, Sports.
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With the official start to the Sprint Cup Chase for the Cup a little more than a month away, drivers who are at the top of the standings are still jockeying for position, hoping to be in the top 10 to qualify for the Chase.

Headed into the race at Watkins Glenn, the top 12 drivers in the points standings are all within 428 points of first place. While the deficit might seem like a large one to overcome, it really isn’t when one takes into account how points are awarded to drivers.

The driver who finishes first receives 185 points, but considering that second place receives 170 points, it makes it difficult to pull away from the pack.

Any driver would tell you the key is not whether or not you win the race, but rather running a consistent season week in and week out. But with the deadline to qualify for the Chase for the Cup looming, the CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) becomes even more important as several drivers battle it out for the final spot.

Several drivers could use the point bump provided by a win at MIS on Aug. 15 as the time slowly ticks toward the Chase cutoff. Here are some of those drivers.

Greg Biffle: Biffle ended a 65-race winless streak Aug. 1 after he won the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Biffle’s win was the first since 2008 and, despite his absence from the winner’s circle, the driver of the No. 16 Ford has somehow managed to stay within striking distance of 10th place in the Sprint Cup standings. Could the win at Pocono be the jump-start that Biffle and Rousch Racing needs to rebound from two tough seasons?

Mark Martin: The 51-year-old Martin sits in 13th place in the Cup standings, just 550 points out of first place and 136 out of 10th place. Martin riveted fans last year with his run at the Chase for the Cup, finishing second to five time winner Jimmie Johnson. A win would put the elder statesman on the circuit well within striking distance of qualifying for the Chase, and he would be the fan favorite to capture his first Sprint Cup Championship.

Carl Edwards: Edwards sits in the final qualifying spot in the Chase, and with three drivers within 200 points of him, the 30-year-old needs a victory to make sure he qualifies. The driver of No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion has never finished higher than 11th place in the points standings, which was in 2009. A win in the CARFAX 400 might give Edwards that extra kick he needs to clinch his first chance at a run at the Sprint Cup.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Since his much-publicized move from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports, things have not gone smoothly for Earnhardt Jr. Only one win in two seasons with Hendrick Motorsports has some questioning his move, but a win at MIS might change all of that. Earnhardt’s last win came at Michigan in 2008 and he could use another win at the track in Brooklyn. Currently sitting in 14th place and 231 points out of the Chase, a win at the CARFAX 400 would help Earnhardt’s chances to redeem himself with a berth in the Chase for the Cup.

Chris Schmidbauer is sports editor for Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at cschmidbauer@toledofreepress.com. He also can be heard every Friday at 11 a.m. on the Odd Couple Sports Show on Fox Sports Radio 1230 WCWA.

Tags: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Michigan International Speedway, Nascar

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 3:42 pm and is filed under MIS/NASCAR, Nascar, Sports, The Cheap Seats.
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Visitors to Michigan International Speedway (MIS) have the chance to get a closer view of the NASCAR race and the drivers.

The speedway offers pre-race Pit passes, which allow fans to visit the Pit before the races and, for the first time this year, fans can walk near the Pit to watch the race at ground level.

The passes, which cost $50 for adults, cover from qualifying rounds Aug. 13 to the official race  Aug. 15, said Dennis Worden, public relations manager for the speedway.

Junior passes are $25 for those 17 and younger. Those passes only cover Sundays because of safety regulations, he said.

With the passes, fans can enter the Pit area, take photos with the trophy, walk on the track to get their picture taken at the start/finish line, write on Pit wall and visit the box of their favorite driver during nonrace times, Worden said.

The speedway added new Pit Road Suites, Media Center and extended the pedestrian tunnel under the track. Now pass holders can go into the tunnel during the race and come up past Pit Road, but near the track onto Pit Patio, which has concessions and merchandise, Worden said.

“That new patio, it gives them the ability to watch the event from the Pit area,” he said.

Fans also can attend the drivers’ meeting in the new building before the race. When drivers come down the hallway after the meeting, they usually sign autographs, Worden said.

“You have tickets to the race, you can sit in the stands and watch the race, but this gives the fans a lot more to do,” he said.

The Pit passes have been available for years, Worden said, but fans were able to take stock of the new Pit Patio during the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 weekend in June and also will be able to use the new amenities from Aug. 13 to 15 during the Show Me the CARFAX race weekend.

NASCAR fan Scott Jasinkowski from Martin, Ohio, used a Pit Pass during the June weekend.

“It’s nice kind of being able to get close and personal with the drivers and crews and see what work they’re doing on the cars,” he said.

Jasinkowski, who has gotten Pit passes in previous years at MIS, also took advantage of the new additions to the speedway. He and friends stood in one of the new areas near the Pit to get autographs from drivers, he said, adding that the speedway has “nice, new additions.”

Fans can purchase the passes at ticket booths during the race weekend or in advance by calling 800-354-1010.

On the web: visit www.mispeedway.com and click on links for more information.

Tags: Michigan International Speedway, Nascar

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 3:38 pm and is filed under MIS/NASCAR, Nascar, Sports.
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Tony Stewart is looking forward to the “flexibility” of Michigan International Speedway’s (MIS) racetrack as he revs up for the CARFAX 400 on Aug. 15.

“Michigan is a very, very wide racetrack. The good thing with that is, it gives us, as drivers, an opportunity to move around to different spots of the track and help ourselves out as far as if our cars aren’t handling exactly the way we want,” Stewart said during a July 6 press teleconference.

“That’s one thing about MIS that I think all the drivers really like, is that there are so many options. It’s not a track that’s ‘line committed’, we call it, where you’re stuck in one spot on the racetrack. We have the flexibility to move around. That gives us the opportunity to make our cars drive a little better without having to make changes.”

Tony Stewart

Stewart, a two-time winner of the Sprint Cup, finished fifth during his last appearance at MIS in June, moving him up within the Sprint Cup rankings.

Stewart is ranked eighth in the Sprint Cup, 361 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. In Stewart’s most recent race, the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, he finished second.

Stewart said how he’d like to run at MIS is “obvious.”

“Nobody goes into a race going, I think I’ll just try to run 30th to 35th. We obviously want to win every time we go out. That’s what we’re hoping for,” he said. “We’re trying to improve every week on where we run. We had a good run there at MIS last time. Hopefully, we can have a better one this time and finish a little higher.”

Stewart drives and owns the No. 14 Office Depot Old Spice Chevrolet.

In 2008, Stewart announced he would become a driver/owner in the Sprint Cup Series as Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart-Hass Racing owns two cars, Stewart’s and teammate Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Army Chevrolet.

Stewart doesn’t foresee the team expanding to include more cars.

“I would say there’s probably a zero percent chance we’ll expand to a third team for next year. We’re still trying to fill the void when Old Spice changes this year,” he said. “We’re talking to a lot of great people. There’s a lot of good opportunities out there. It’s just a matter of finding a package that works for somebody to fill our spot.”

The CARFAX 400 is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Aug. 15 and will air on ESPN. For MIS tickets, visit www.mispeedway.com.

Tags: Michigan International Speedway, Nascar, Tony Stewart

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 3:35 pm and is filed under MIS/NASCAR, Nascar, Sports.
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