Stewart in a talkative mood at Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Tony Stewart found himself addressing a wide range of issues during his weekly media session at Phoenix International Raceway on Thursday – from driver safety to the unification in open-wheel racing to his own workout program.
The two-time NASCAR Cup champion offered insight and perspective to the raging issues of the day, as well as a commentary on his own state of being.
As to the safety issue, Stewart talked about the merits of a traveling safety team in NASCAR much like the one used in the Indy Racing League.
He sees both sides of the issue concerning whether NASCAR should continue to use local emergency teams or ones that travel week to week and know the drivers well.
“Obviously the [Indy Racing League], where I came from, had their own safety team and I think there's aspects of that that can be translated here and be good as far as having the same guys that drive the safety trucks, knowing a driver and knowing when it's OK to get out there,” Stewart said. “Those seconds could mean a huge difference obviously if someone is injured. It's something that in conversations with NASCAR, having a trauma team on board that just comes for that weekend from that respective area - that makes a lot of sense, too.
“If you're a trauma doctor and you've been on a traveling series all year and you haven't had any traumas to deal with you kind of get out of the rhythm of things where a trauma doctor that is in the local area and has to deal with emergencies every day is on top of his game. You bring him here and if there's a trauma, he probably dealt with it the day before and is ready to go. I think there's a mixture of the two that would probably be appropriate and make it the best it can be.”
He also applauded the men who created both the HANS device and the SAFER barriers, a pairing of safety devices that was highlighted in Michael McDowell’s vicious crash at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend. McDowell walked away from that crash uninjured.
As to his own life, Stewart said that eating healthy is something he’s focusing on right now. The heavy travel of the NASCAR schedule makes it difficult for anyone to maintain a healthy diet, but Stewart says he is trying to be better about it.
With Subway joining the No. 20 JGR team as a primary sponsor for three races, including the upcoming races at Phoenix and California and fall race at Talladega, healthy eating was a hot topic for Stewart on Thursday.
“I gained a little bit back when we quit having the trainer come on board,” he said of his weight. “It's been hard for us and that's what has made Subway such an important part of our routine now. Everybody's daily lives are busier than what they used to be. Especially with this job - all of us our on the road 120 days a year, not to mention the travel days, testing, appearances and everything - then you throw on four race teams that we have and three race tracks that I'm a part of.
“It makes your schedule hard so it makes it very easy to go get junk to eat.”
As to the reunification of the American open-wheel series, Stewart said that he still thinks that sponsorship will be difficult to come by in that series. That’s the big issues teams could face there.
“I'm afraid in all reality it's hard to get sponsorship over there and I think that's a big issue,” he said. “I don't think drivers are going to necessarily have the opportunities that they had when the IRL first started. It kind of weaned itself away from that anyway, it got to just the financial side it was too difficult for the owners to get sponsors that if a driver could come along and bring sponsorship dollars, it gives them an opportunity to get a ride.
“That's kind of what the IRL was designed for in the first place - to get away and give guys who didn't have multi-million dollar partners and sponsors to come in and help out. I don't know if that's ever going to get to that stage again. That's what the IRL was intended to do from the get go and it worked for a little while but it still going back to car owners having to rely on that sponsorship money to make it work.”
