NASCAR Cup
Tony Steward Honestead Preview
After winning the second Winston Cup race of his career last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, rookie Tony Stewart and the ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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After winning the second Winston Cup race of his career last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, rookie Tony Stewart and the #20 Home Depot team head to Miami for the inaugural Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Stewart was one of the first Winston Cup drivers to test at the 1.5-mile circuit, when he tested for Goodyear Tires in late August. He recorded an unofficial lap time of 36.70 seconds.
Stewart's Phoenix win moved him back to fourth in the overall point standings, ahead of three-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon. If Stewart holds his position, he will become only the third rookie in Winston Cup history to claim a top-five points finish. The last rookie to end the season in the top five was James Hylton in 1966.
With two races remaining in the 1999 season, Stewart is leading in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, with 313 points. Rookie Elliot Sadler follows with 187 points. In 32 starts, Stewart has recorded two wins, two poles, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. He has led 15 different races this season for a total of 1,178 laps, more than any other driver except Gordon.
Tony Stewart, Driver -- (Fourth in standings with 4,471 points) On Winning at Phoenix: "It's great for the entire Home Depot team to be going to Homestead with the momentum we gained at Phoenix. I never thought we would win the first race this year, so getting number two was pretty awesome. I just feel so fortunate to be in the position I'm in. I've got the best of everything supporting me - the best team in the garage, the best car owner, a great teammate and the best sponsor. I'm on top of the world right now; the whole team is."
On Racing in Miami: "I've run the Busch car at Homestead but had some problems and didn't finish very well. We had a pretty good test session at the track this past August for Goodyear. Bobby (Labonte) also went and tested down there a few weeks ago. We'll combine results from both of these test sessions which should give us what we need for a solid base setup. We've run pretty well on the flatter tracks this year so I feel like we'll be able to arrive at a setup that gets the Home Depot Pontiac pretty close right off the truck."
On Miami: "We're all hoping to sneak in a little R&R while we're down in Miami. Me and the guys went out deep-sea fishing when we were there in August. We didn't have much to show for it but we had fun. I think some of us might head over to Key Largo again this time around and maybe check out the scene at the (Coconut) Grove one evening. I'm packing my swimsuit and some sunscreen just in case we get some time away from the track."
#20 Home Depot Team 1999 Winston Cup Stats STARTS WINS POLES TOP 5 TOP 10 TOP 15 MONEY WON 32 2 2 11 20 27 $2,281,146
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