Check this out: Following Sunday’s Indy Racing League-sanctioned Indianapolis 500, defending IRL champion Tony Stewart will board a jet and fly South to Charlotte, N.C. and prepare to drive, if necessary, in the NASCAR Winston Cup Coca-Cola 600. “It’s possible that I might substitute for an injured driver,” Stewart told a capacity crowd of more than 400 at the annual Knights of Columbus “Race Night” here. He confirmed that team owner Richard Childress had contacted him about taking the wheel for either of his wounded drivers.(Mike Skinner/Dale Earnhardt). Stewart won’t be alone on the flight, though. His spotter for Sunday’s Indianapolis event will be the same person that spots for his NASCAR Busch Series team, and for Earnhardt in Winston Cup. In addition, Chocolate Myers, Earnhardt’s gas man, will be fueling Billy Boat’s Indy entry and flying to Charlotte for the NASCAR race.(MotorSports PhotoSource OnLine News Service) – makes me wonder about that NASCAR ‘rule’ that Cup ‘rookies’ are not allowed to run in a race unless they qualified the car (or at least have a lot of practice at the track that weekend).(5-21-98)
