Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Gibbs denies Stewart returning to Indy Racing

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2002 | 9:17 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

There has been speculation -- even before his recent altercation with a freelance photographer after the Brickyard 400 -- that Tony Stewart may be tiring of life on the NASCAR circuit and might return to the less frenzied world of the Indy Racing League.

Not so, said Stewart's car owner, Joe Gibbs.

Based on Gibbs' five-year association with Stewart, the former Washington Redskins coach said he believes Stewart is in NASCAR for the long haul.

"I go all the way back to the very first contract we signed," Gibbs said. "He said, 'Hey, listen, I want to tell you something right now: I could have made a lot of money ... the year before racing in Winston Cup.' But he said, 'I'm not ready for Winston Cup. I need to drive another year in Busch. I don't care what you pay me.'

"I think that says that Tony Stewart, to me, is probably more focused on what he wants to be driving ... at least as much as anybody I've ever met. So, I think for him, (NASCAR) is where he thinks he belongs. I think through this process, I think if he had sensed that this is not where he wanted to be, this would have been a perfect time to say, 'OK, I'm out of here.' I think it is just the opposite."

The "process" to which Gibbs was referring was the weeklong controversy surrounding the incident in Indianapolis that culminated in Stewart being fined and placed on probation by both NASCAR and his sponsor, The Home Depot, and his announcement that he would seek anger management counseling.

Although Stewart has complained about the sport's intrusion into his personal life, Gibbs said the immense fan and media interest in NASCAR is what makes it so special.

"I would say that one of the things I enjoy the most is that in this sport you have a chance to come on race day, get back (in the garage area), maybe get an autograph, talk to people, maybe talk to certainly a driver at some point and if you're lucky, get an autograph. In most other sports I've been around, you could get arrested doing that," Gibbs said.

"I kind of like the fact that it is a 'free-for-all' and I think it's great. To get a chance to get an autograph and everything is one of the best things we've got going. I think the media probably enjoys it over here a lot more, too, because you have better access, you can get closer to people and I think it's a real plus."

Saturday's race marked the ninth time in 15 races that Gaughan was the highest-finishing rookie.