Stewart will drive solo at Pocono 500
LONG POND, Pa. — Even with a bum shoulder and a lengthy race ahead, Tony Stewart is ready to go the distance at Pocono alone.
No relief driver. No one to bail him out if he starts feeling pain. The defending NASCAR champ insists he can drive all 500 miles at Pocono Raceway two weeks after breaking his shoulder blade.
"There's still a lit bit of soreness, but every day we're making huge, huge steps," Stewart said Friday. "By Sunday, I think we're going to be fine."
Stewart turned a qualifying lap of 166.988 mph and will start the No. 20 Chevrolet 18th in the Pocono 500.
"If I know I don't have anyone here, that makes it easier to stay in the car," Stewart said. "I honestly don't think we are going to have any problems."
In case he thought he could sneak up on the field, points leader Jimmie Johnson said no one was underestimating the feisty Stewart.
"He's going to be out there mad and that's going to be bad news for the rest of us," Johnson said.
Stewart completed 38 achy laps at Dover International Speedway before using Ricky Rudd as a relief driver. Stewart needed to start the race to earn points in the standings under NASCAR's unforgiving structure. He dropped a spot after Dover to fifth in the standings, 293 points behind Johnson.
Rudd, who practiced the car and qualified it, came out of his season-long break and helped Stewart to a 25th-place finish.
This week Stewart told Rudd thanks, but no thanks. The veteran driver was sent home, and Stewart's car has been fitted with a new seat that is wider in the shoulder area.
"I didn't have any problems in the 90 minutes of practice we had before qualifying," Stewart said. "It was natural and we're back to normal."
With it's tricky banking, Dover proved a difficult track for a hurting Stewart to drive much longer than he did. But Pocono provides some relief. Yes, the triangle is 2Z\x miles and the race is 100 miles longer than Dover, but Pocono's 3,740-foot straightaway is the longest in Nextel Cup. Turning the wheel won't take as long and should provide some needed relief.
"It's probably one of the least physically demanding tracks," said Jeff Gordon, ninth in the standings. "It's one of the better tracks to be able to do that. Last week was the tough one."
The Pocono track didn't seem so tough Friday for Denny Hamlin, who took his second career pole in 169.638. Kurt Busch joins Hamlin on the front row after a lap of 169.485. Kasey Kahne starts third and Brian Vickers, who asked for and received permission from Hendrick Motorsports to look for a new ride, is fourth. Jeff Burton rounds out the top five.
Much like Carl Edwards prepared before his win in this race last year, Hamlin played video games to learn some of the intricacies of the track.
"I got on that all week," Hamlin said. "I got a little bit of experience that way. You just can't beat on-track experience."
