Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Stewart wants title but not champion’s responsibilities

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 9:39 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.

Tony Stewart is on the verge of winning his first Winston Cup championship and NASCAR is on the verge of crowning perhaps its most reluctant champion.

It's not that Stewart wouldn't relish adding another title to his already impressive assortment that includes three USAC championships in one season (1995) and an Indy Racing League title (1997). It's just that he isn't looking forward to the additional responsibilities (i.e., the increased interaction with the media) that comes with being NASCAR's poster boy for the next 12 months.

"To be honest -- maybe I'm wrong in this -- the last time I checked, we were racing for a points championship; I don't think I'm running for political office," Stewart said this week.

"I'm sure there are obligations that require our time, but ... I've not been told of any 'responsibilities.' If everybody is going to make it a lot more complicated, I'm going to be pretty disappointed to be perfectly honest."

The easy part of the job, Stewart said, is driving the car -- something he has done very well at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the site of Sunday's season-ending Ford 400. He won the race there in 1999 and 2000 and led 72 laps last year before a tire problem relegated him to a 19th-place finish.

He goes into the race leading Mark Martin -- the only other championship contender -- by 89 points and needs only finish 22nd or better to wrap up the title and nearly $4 million from the Winston points fund.

Martin has appealed the 25-point penalty he was assessed after the Rockingham race and if the National Stock Car Commission overturns the penalty and restores Martin's points, Stewart would need to finish 13th or better on Sunday.

Either way, the 31-year-old Stewart isn't sweating it.

"I don't feel any pressure. I've been in this situation multiple times," Stewart said. "After you deal with so many championships like that, you learn how to deal with it. I feel like I have the best shot at winning, over the last six or eight races, at Homestead, considering our track record there.

"If we just go out and do what we typically have done, I don't think we'll have to worry about anything this weekend. I'm sticking to the plan that I've said every week for the last five or six weeks: I'm going to race to win and the rest of it will have to take care of itself."

But will it? Team owner Joe Gibbs, who won the Winston Cup championship in 2000 with driver Bobby Labonte, is worried that another driver could intentionally take out Stewart during Sunday's race to deny him the championship.

"I think there is always a fear of that," Gibbs said. "Certainly, I can tell from talking to our drivers that there are certain people that they don't mind racing next to and other people they're more concerned (about).

"You can kind of hear it and you can hear it in the voice of the spotter and you can hear it in our crew chiefs. I think there is always a concern of that. You don't like to have any personality conflicts -- you don't like to have anything on the track -- when you're in this position so, yeah, I think you worry about that."

Like Stewart, Martin, 43, is no stranger to championship battles. Unlike Stewart, however, Martin never has won one. He has finished second three times during his Winston Cup career.

"We are just going to go there and do what we've done all season," Martin said. "Race smart and race hard, that is what we've done all season and it's gotten us this far.

"No matter what happens, this has been a remarkable season for the Viagra Racing Team. I feel like this team has gotten my career back on track -- and I mean this team, not me. So no matter what happens I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys and what they have done this season."

The difference between third place and eighth place when the checks are handed out next month in New York is $580,000. The third-place driver will earn $1,050,000 from series sponsor Winston while the eighth-place driver earns $470,000.

"It's going to be a doozy down at Homestead," Busch said. "I'm real excited about the race and, hopefully, we can run strong and get that third in points."

Dr. Terry Trammel, CART's chief orthopedic consultant, advised Fernandez that he risked suffering a "catastrophic injury" were he to be involved in another collision this weekend.

"To say that I am shocked would be an understatement," Fernandez said. "I looked at the CT scan as a formality, just a routine procedure, and fully expected to be driving this weekend. My heart is very heavy right now.

"After speaking with Dr. Trammell and understanding what the possible consequences are if I were to drive this weekend, I agree that the risk is just too great. I am deeply disappointed ... the dream of racing here in my hometown will have to wait another year."

Toyota Atlantic driver Luis Diaz, also a native of Mexico City, will make his CART debut this weekend as Fernandez's replacement.

Nelson, 21, is the third of four Red Bull Driver Search winners to secure a ride next season. Scott Speed will drive for Alan Docking Racing in British F3 and Grant Maiman will compete in Formula Renault with Jenzer Motorsports. Red Bull Energy Drink will sponsor all program winners.

Red Bull is negotiating a deal with teams in other European championships for Paul Edwards, the fourth winner of the program that is designed to groom an American driver for Formula One.

Mike Cofer of Las Vegas qualified 41st among 43 trucks but earned a provisional starting position in the No. 5 Rick Ware Racing Enterprises Dodge.

Series points leader Mike Bliss won the pole for the race and can clinch the NCTS championship if he finishes fifth or better in today's race. Bliss leads championship contenders Rick Crawford, who qualified fifth, by 32 points and Ted Musgrave, who qualified second, by 72 points.

NASCAR Winston Cup driver Robby Gordon, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year Brendan Gaughan, CART drivers Jimmy Vasser and Michel Jourdain Jr. and former open-wheel driver Roberto Guerrero are entered to drive in the 1000, which starts Thursday morning in Ensenada.