Stewart makes rare testing visit

The controversial — and highly successful —
NASCAR driver will represent Toyota this season.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Unshaven and months overdo for a haircut, Tony Stewart used his trademark sarcasm to welcome the new season.

But the fact that the two-time NASCAR champion showed up for preseason testing — a monotonous three-day session he’s skipped the last three years — suggests he’s taking his team’s recent switch to Toyota rather seriously.

Stewart settled behind the wheel of his No. 20 Camry to learn the nuances of his new car this week, claiming a quirk in the schedule was the only reason he arrived at Daytona International Speedway. He drove General Motors cars in the first nine years of his Cup career.

“I wouldn’t know the difference so far,” he said. “It’s hard to say. I mean, you’ve got to keep in mind, you’re on a two-and-a-half-mile track and you’re holding it wide open. You’re not going to really feel it until you get around other cars. You’re not talking about 20 to 30 horsepower gains to where you’re going to feel it. You’re only talking five to eight horsepower difference, and you’re not going to feel that.

“Any driver that says he can feel that on the race track is lying to you.”

Stewart is known for his brutal honesty, which has often gotten him in trouble. No one is expecting him to hold back when it comes to this manufacturer change.

He was mighty comfortable driving for General Motors, which fielded cars that earned him two titles, 32 victories and more than $63 million in winnings. Even though Joe Gibbs Racing made the switch to Toyota this season, Stewart still has a cozy relationship with GM. He races Chevys in his open-wheel events and GM is under contract through 2009 to sponsor his sprint car teams.

So this new relationship with Toyota could be tricky, especially if the manufacturer struggles the way it did last season, its first at the Cup level. Toyota teams had difficulty making races last year and failed to reach Victory Lane, with Dave Blaney’s third-place finish at Talladega and Brian Vickers’ fifth-place finish at Charlotte the only top-fives for the Camry.

If the Camry can’t consistently run up front this season, Stewart is certainly not going to stand for it. Toyota officials are keenly aware that placating a frustrated Stewart could be their biggest challenge of 2008.

“I think there is one thing that makes Tony Stewart happy, and that’s getting the hardware under his seat so he can go fast and win races,” said Lee White, senior vice president of Toyota Racing Development. “The challenge here for TRD and Joe Gibbs Racing is finding a way for our 234 engineer-driven associates to contribute to their on-track product in a way that makes Tony Stewart better than he was last year. The guy knows how to get it done, and knows how to win races.”