Stewart in the Indy 500 Part II and an UPDATE 4: Tony Stewart is close to heading back to the Indianapolis 500. Sources close to Stewart’s Joe Gibbs racing operation say that Stewart has been granted permission to compete in this year’s 500-miler, provided that he meets several stipulations. Stewart must agree to a rigorous strength and conditioning program to prepare him for the potential 1,100 miles of racing he will put his body through on May 27. Gibbs reasons that such a program will provide his driver with some much needed athletic development that will pay off during the remainder of NASCAR season. The proposed ride for Stewart is rumored to be in the Target car owned by Chip Ganassi Racing. Target’s sponsorship is another stipulation the source indicated needs resolution before Stewart can drive at Indy. Home Depot must have a presence on any car that Stewart races at the Brickyard. As late as last week, Stewart scoffed at his rumored return to the race that first thrust him into national prominence. During FOX TV’s pre-race coverage, Stewart told Chris Meyers that he was “bringing a two-car team to Indy with Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond (two former NASCAR mechanics and current Fox commentators) as my drivers.” When asked about a possible Stewart ride, Chip Ganassi said “the drivers in the cars now are the ones scheduled to run Indy.” Those two drivers are Ganassi’s CART team of rookies Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian. Previous reports linked both Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy as potential Ganassi Indy 500 drivers, but Ganassi denied any move to replace either of his two rookies with Vasser or Tracy.(ESPN) (NOTE: I missed this interview, but my understanding is that Tony Stewart’s comments on Fox last week concerning him possibly running the Indy 500 to Chris Meyer’s were.. .that he was bringing a two car team to Indy with Darrell Waltrip and Matt Yocum as the drivers,(not Larry & Jeff), makes more sense, but it was just a tongue in cheek statement by Stewart because of all the rumors). See the past news on this on my #20 Team News and Links page UPDATE: Despite recent rumors to the contrary, seeing Tony Stewart in the Indianapolis 500 is wishful thinking, a team spokesman said Friday. The spokesman said that the major conflict with the issue, other than the obvious fact that the Coca-Cola 600 is run the same day, deals in the high-dollar realm of sponsorship equity in drivers(NASCAR.com Buzz)(4-27-2001) UPDATE 2: from a story on ESPN’s site by Robin Miller – A story that started out as a rumor on RPM2Night two weeks ago is almost a reality. Tony Stewart will drive for Chip Ganassi in next month’s Indianapolis 500. Despite Ganassi’s contention it’s not a done deal, ESPN.com has confirmed that Stewart will be in a Target G-Force/Aurora for the 85th Indianapolis 500. A source close to the NASCAR star said the contract was agreed on Friday(more at ESPN)(4-29-2001) UPDATE 3: Tony Stewart has not finalized a deal with Chip Ganassi to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and said Tuesday that he is running out of time to make it happen. Reached at his home in North Carolina, Stewart said he has until Thursday to pull the Indy Racing League program together. Stewart would not elaborate on the specific obstacles standing between him and a chance at a fifth 500 start. Left unresolved though is the business relationship between Ganassi’s sponsor (Target) and the company that funds Stewart’s Winston Cup ride with Joe Gibbs Racing (Home Depot). Gibbs and Ganassi could not be reached for comment Tuesday(Indianapolis Star)(5-2-2001) UPDATE 4: Tony Stewart said Thursday he still does not have a contract to drive one of Chip Ganassi’s IRL cars in this month’s Indianapolis 500, although rumors continue to swirl that he has one. Stewart previously said he wanted the deal finalized before he went to Richmond, Va., for today’s stock-car qualifying. The 500 opens for practice Sunday. Ganassi has been pursuing Indy veterans to possibly replace his CART rookies, Nicolas Minassian and Bruno Junqueira. In Nazareth, Pa., where CART will race this weekend, Minassian said he would be disappointed if he’s replaced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But he would abide by Ganassi’s wishes(Indianapolis Star)(5-4-2001)
