Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Stewart bullish on Bullring races

Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 10:35 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.

Less than two weeks after wrapping up his first NASCAR Winston Cup championship, Tony Stewart will be returning to his roots this weekend to take part in the U.S. Auto Club's season finales for Sprint Cars and Midget Cars at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Why, after a grueling nine-month Winston Cup schedule, would Stewart choose to spend part of his precious off-season piloting open-wheel cars around a 3/8-mile oval on a Saturday night in November?

For the love of the sport, Stewart said.

"I've raced for 23 years (and) I love it for the same reason that I did when I was eight years old," he said. "When I was eight years old, it was cool because I was the only kid on the block that got to race a go-kart that went 50 miles an hour -- let alone drive anything. That was the fun part.

"It's just knowing that you're out there competing with other guys and just trying to go faster than they do; that is what it has always been about. It's a fascinating sport and it always boils down to one thing and that is trying to be faster and get to the finish line before anybody else does. Just knowing that we did a better job that day than anybody else is what has always kept me excited about racing."

Despite his highly publicized off-track run-ins with the media and race officials and his sometimes sullen demeanor, Stewart said getting in the car -- any racecar -- and driving remains fun.

"To me, it's about driving a race car and trying to win races," Stewart said. "I made my father a promise a long time ago when we started racing that the day I wasn't happy doing this anymore, I would quit. I still plan on fulfilling that obligation to my father."

Stewart, who earned nearly $8 million this season, is the only driver in USAC history to win the National Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown championships in the same season. The Rushville, Ind., native still counts that 1995 season as among the highlights of his professional career.

"The toughest of (the three championships) was the Silver Crown series," Stewart said. "We actually locked up the Sprint Car series first. Then, we went to Sacramento, California. We were basically a long shot going into that last (Silver Crown) race.

"There were three of us in that battle that mathematically had a chance. Basically, they both had to finish outside the top 14 and I had to finish in the top two. Both of those guys did finish outside the top 14 and I finished second and won by two points, I believe."

Saturday night's racing card at The Bullring will be broadcast on a tape-delay on ESPN2 (Cox Cable channel 31) on Sunday, Dec. 8.

Dollansky, who finished third in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws standings this season, made five laps in a car provided by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing before the rookie test was called off. Dollansky, who said he would like to run some IRL races next season in addition to a full WoO schedule, reached 167.3 mph on one of his warmup laps.

"I felt very comfortable in the car," Dollansky said. "Unfortunately, the weather was pretty cold so it was hard to get the tire temperatures where they needed to be. We are just going to have to reschedule.

"We are looking to get something done to go to the Indianapolis 500 in 2003. There are a lot of good people behind the deal. Robbie Buhl and everyone at Dreyer & Reinbold have been very good about the whole situation. I definitely like the race cars; I like the high speeds."

In five races this season with Cheever, Rice completed every lap and posted four top-10 finishes, including a second-place effort in his initial race in July at Michigan Speedway.

"Buddy demonstrated (this) season that he is professional, fast and able to lead this team into the future," team owner Eddie Cheever Jr. said. "It doesn't hurt that he is one of the top American drivers, either."