CONCORD — He could be called Tony the Tiger.
Tony Stewart, one of the new stars on the Winston Cup circuit, will be racing like a tiger on Sunday, May 27.
Stewart plans one of the most unusual performances in auto racing on that day. He is scheduled to compete in the Indianapolis 500 about midday. When he finishes that race, he will take a jet to Charlotte in time to run in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which begins at 5:30.
It will not be a new venture for Stewart. He did the same thing in 1999.
He finished ninth in the Indy 500 and then arrived in Charlotte just in time to take the green flag for the 600. He finished fourth in spite of the fact that he was sick — not to mention exhausted.
He finished 596 laps of a possible 600 in the two races. “Idon’t want to try this again,” said Stewart when he was taken from his car at Charlotte after running both races.
But he since changed his mind.
“This is something I want to do, and I know I can do it,” he said in announcing plans for the two-race schedule.
“I feel I have won well in Winston Cup racing,” said Stewart, who won the Pontiac 400 in the last Cup event before the week off for Mother’s Day.
Stewart announced that in case of any conflict, his main responsibility will be the Coca-Cola 600.
“We learned a lot from our first experience doing this,”Stewart explained. “We’ve got a physical trainer to help me. I will try to stay off pizzas, sodas and eat properly before the events. I was sick and exhausted last time.”
Stewart added, “We are trying to do everything we can off of what we learned in 1999. We felt we did it the right way, but we also feel we made some mistakes along the way and we’re making sure that we don’t make those same mistakes this year.”
Stewart will be a threat in both events. He started on the pole in the Indy 500 in 1996 and was the Indy Racing League series rookie of the year in 1997.
Stewart drives a Pontiac for the Joe Gibbs Racing team.
John Andretti competed in both races in 1994. He completed the 500 but crashed and didn’t finish the 600. Bobby Gordon attempted the feat last year. He finished sixth at Indianapolis but his return to Charlotte was delayed by rain. He arrived at Charlotte when the race was half over. He finished 35th after replacing fill-in starer B. J. Jones.
Stewart has pledged $100 to charity for each lap he completes Sunday.
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